Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what role he plans small and medium-sized enterprises and smaller communications providers will have in delivering superfast broadband access to remote premises in his Department's superfast broadband roll-out programme.

Three projects supported through the Rural Community Broadband Fund, are being delivered through small suppliers, and eight contracts have been awarded by local bodies to suppliers other than BT to cover some or all of their project area as part of Phase 2 of the Government’s programme to provide superfast broadband to 95% of homes and businesses in the UK. The Rural Community Broadband Fund allowed communities to apply for funding to support locally delivered superfast broadband projects over 3 separate bidding rounds.