Broadband connection costs rise

North Yorkshire County Council said the average cost of connecting properties had risen from £200 to £600 since the programme to upgrade the county’s broadband began in 2012.

The authority explained the increase through the focus of its broadband programme shifting to more rural areas.

Phase three of the Superfast North Yorkshire programme is due to get underway later this year.

The county is aiming to have 95 per cent of properties accessing broadband speeds of 25 megabits per second (Mbps) by 2019.

County Coun Don Mackenzie, the county council’s executive member for broadband, said: “We have made the most progress of all organisations as part of the BDUK programme and have the best track record.

“It is a top priority to make North Yorkshire an even better place to live and do business.

“The average cost of connecting a property to superfast broadband has increased as we reach more remote, less populated communities.

“At the start of the programme in 2012, the cost was almost £200. That has risen to more than £600.

“Nevertheless, we are committed to helping our most isolated residents and businesses to get a good-quality connection.”

Phase two of the Superfast North Yorkshire programme is due to be completed this summer and will see 90 per cent of premises with access to 25 Mbps speeds at a cost of the £35.4m shared between the county council, the Government and the European Regional Development Fund.

A further £20.5m is in place to fund phase three and the county has earmarked £600,000 to ensure individual properties or businesses are not missed out in the next round of communities that are connected.

A county council spokesman said the costs of the programme were always expected to rise in later phases and the increases would not affect the scope or timescale for the plans.

Sheffield Heeley MP Louise Haigh recently produced figures showing Yorkshire has the lowest broadband download speed of any English region.

The average download speed in Yorkshire and the Humber is 34.6 Mbps compared to a UK average of 37.8 and a high of 40.6 in the South East.

The research showed Penistone and Stocksbridge was the parliamentary constituency with the lowest average download speed at 19.2 Mbps.

Ms Haigh, Labour’s Shadow Digital Economy Minister, is campaigning for the Government to raise the minimum speed consumers can demand.

The Government has promised to introduce a “universal service obligation of 10 Mbps by 2020.

But Ms Haigh is arguing that broadband standards have already moved to make that target irrelevant and the minumum speed should be set at 30 Mbps.

MPs have repeatedly rexpressed criticism at the way the Government has financed the rolling out of superfast broadband across the country.

Concerns have been raised that communications firm BT has dominated the contracts for the work.

North Yorkshire residents can find out when they will be connected to superfast broadband and how to access it when the technical work is complete at , www.superfastnorthyorkshire.com.