Melton commits £360k to super-fast broadband rollout

The first Leicestershire council has made a commitment to supporting the rollout of faster broadband. Melton has become the first borough in Leicestershire to make a financial commitment toward the rollout of super-fast broadband. The local council has agreed to invest £360,000 of its capital receipts in a multimillion-pound scheme that aims to deliver broadband connectivity to rural communities, along with next-generation speeds for towns and cities. Byron Rhodes, leader of Melton Borough Council, told the Melton Times that all the money needed to take the project forward is now in place. Councillors are now awaiting approval from government agency Broadband Delivery UK to select a contractor, with BT and Fujitsu both in the running. Once a preferred provider is in place, progress on the deployment could begin as early as this autumn, Mr Rhodes explained. "Melton is the first district council in Leicestershire to approve its contribution, so we should be first in the queue and that is what we are saying to the county council," he added. Under its super-fast broadband plan, the county council is aiming to deliver the technology to the 'final third' of local properties set to miss out on commercial rollouts. In Leicestershire, up to 190,000 people could be left without next-generation connectivity unless the local authority intervenes.