Voneus’s £12 Million Broadband Contract for Rural Shropshire Concluded

A broadband provider has agreed to terminate a £12 million government contract intended to connect specific rural areas of Shropshire. Voneus had been awarded the Project Gigabit contract for mid west Shropshire, which aimed to serve over 6,000 homes, in March 2024. Building Digital UK (BDUK) announced it was “moving swiftly to put in place alternative plans with other suppliers to connect premises that were due to be connected”. In a joint statement released with the government agency, Voneus indicated that the two organizations had “mutually agreed to end the Project Gigabit contract”. This agreement was anticipated to enable the company to establish gigabit-capable connections in some of the county’s most remote areas, with initial properties accessing the high-speed network by 2025. Nevertheless, the company has encountered numerous complaints from existing network users, who reported that sluggish speeds and inadequate customer support were negatively impacting their businesses and personal lives. Following several months of grievances from over 100 customers, Chirbury and Worthen councillor Heather Kidd reached out to Voneus and media outlets earlier this month. Kidd commented: “Working from home is now an essential, not a ‘nice to have’. Even watching TV is now something most expect to be able to do online.” She further noted that numerous individuals depended on landlines connected to their routers, or VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), due to inadequate mobile phone coverage. Kidd explained that this situation could leave people “completely cut off”. Charles Rowton, proprietor of an environmental consultancy firm, informed the BBC last week that he had “wasted hours” redoing bank transfers or data tasks because of a sluggish internet connection. He added, “It also interrupts phone calls, Zoom calls and Teams calls. It can be very frustrating.” William Edmonson, residing in Rowley near Westbury, stated, “It’s a pain in the butt… the browser gives you the endless circle of doom and then says server not responding… it’s very irksome.” At that time, a Voneus spokesperson indicated that the company acknowledged the concerns brought forward and intended to “increase community communication”. On Friday, BDUK declared that it and Voneus had reached a mutual agreement to terminate the Project Gigabit contract for mid west Shropshire. Kidd expressed, “My concern now is what happens to customers who have the very poor wireless link. This will have damaged the Voneus business case.” She added, “Probably rightly but the existing system needs support and customer care.” Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.