Compensation payment to Gigaclear at Monkland Common
Case reference FOI2023/01428
Published 31 August 2023
Request
Can you confirm or deny that a payment of £12,000 was made to Gigaclear by Herefordshire Council in compensation for Gigaclear running fiber cabling across Monkland Common. If this is the case can you tell me where this money went or what it has been used for?
Response
I am advised that Herefordshire Council has not made a specific compensation payment of £12,000 to Gigaclear to run cabling across Monkland Common. While Herefordshire Council provides public subsidy support to internet service providers to facilitate the deployment of fibre networks in rural and hard to reach areas, this support is extended exclusively when commercial initiatives by network providers have proven insufficient.
It is important to note that any funding provided by Herefordshire Council does not cover the full costs associated with building the fibre network. Instead, this financial assistance aims to bridge the gap between commercial investment and the economic feasibility of expanding network access to these underserved regions. The service providers continue to make substantial capital investments in the network construction.
It is worth clarifying that any financial support offered by Herefordshire Council is allocated explicitly to bringing the network up to the boundaries of the targeted properties. This support does not encompass the installation of the fibre cable from the property boundary to the property itself.
Upon reviewing the specifics of Monkland, our data indicates that most properties near Monkland Common have been connected to the fibre network through commercial means. Within the vicinity, three properties have received funding from Herefordshire Council to facilitate their connection to the fibre network. Based on our calculations, we estimate the total funding provided by Herefordshire Council for the provisioning of these properties to be approximately £1,035.
Documents
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