Internet firm drops out of rural broadband project

An internet provider has pulled out of a government-backed project to bring faster broadband to rural areas of Cornwall.

Liskeard-based Wildanet said it had taken the "difficult decision" to scale back its Project Gigabit work for parts of south west and central Cornwall due to costs increasing significantly.

The company said it had connected about 13,200 properties to gigabit-capable broadband from the original target of 19,250, but would no longer be able to deliver to the remaining premises.

A Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) spokesperson said the government was already in talks with alternative providers to pick up the work.

A statement from Wildanet said: "Following a review of our Project Gigabit contracts to roll-out gigabit-capable broadband to hard-to-reach premises in south west and central Cornwall, Wildanet has taken the difficult decision to scale back the build on these.

"Despite extensive efforts to deliver the programme in full, the cost of delivery in these areas has increased significantly beyond anticipated and it is unfortunately no longer commercially viable for Wildanet to complete these works."

Wildanet's withdrawal has sparked concerns from local MPs in the county.

All six of Cornwall MPs wrote a letter to AI and Online Safety Minister Kanishka Narayan which urged him to "prioritise the roll-out of gigabit-capable broadband" to the properties which had not been connected.

The MPs said lengthy outages caused by Storm Goretti had highlighted the county's issues with connectivity.

"The fact thousands of premises are still awaiting gigabit-capable broadband leaves them particularly vulnerable in future emergencies," the MPs said.

A DSIT spokesperson said: "To ensure these premises still get access to a fast, reliable broadband connection as soon as possible, we are already in discussions with alternative suppliers."

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