Devon Councillor slams fibre optic broadband project

A Councillor who represents a rural area of Devon has called a fibre optic broadband project a "disgrace" after it announced the locations that would receive an upgrade.

The area of Upottery has not been included on the initial list of communities that will gain superfast speeds as part of the Connecting Devon and Somerset scheme.

Councillor Graham Long, who lives in the village of Smeatharpe, criticised the programme for neglecting rural areas.

He told the East Devon Herald: "Out of the money to fund this scheme, £53 million is made up of public funding, and it’s unfair that Upottery residents have contributed towards something that will not be of any benefit to them.”

The upgrades are largely focused on more urbanised areas of the county such as Hemyock, Dunkeswell and Churchinford.

Connecting Devon and Somerset is a collaboration between the government and service provider BT, which is investing a total of  £94 million to bring fibre optic connections to the region.

The project is scheduled to bring superfast services to the selected areas of Devon and Somerset by the end of 2017.