Can I agree with the leader of the house that I think we must celebrate the fact that the Superfast Cymru project has been successful in delivering fibre broadband to many homes and businesses across Wales? The consequence of that improvement, of course, is that there's a sense of injustice that grows for those that are left behind, and the sense of injustice has been made worse, I think, by continued delays, poor communication and a lack of capacity that has left a significant minority of residents wondering whether they will ever get the upgrade that they have been repeatedly promised—or should I say 'scheduled'? I'm genuinely pleased, of course, leader of the house, that you have recognised this frustration in your statement and I'm encouraged that the new scheme will bind the winner of any given lot to set out which premises will be served. I think that's very much to be welcomed and I think that's a lesson learnt from the Superfast Cymru scheme.

As you would expect, I have a series of questions on the new scheme. Of the 88,000 premises included in the new scheme, how many were identified as part of the open market review and how many were previously in scope for an upgrade under the Superfast Cymru scheme? Last week, Openreach, in the committee session, suggested that they do have those details, so I would be grateful it you could provide detail in that regard, in writing if not today. In your statement, you also said that there will be three lots, but some telecoms experts suggest that too few lots may mean that little is gained by splitting them up in this way. So, do you recognise this view? And, if you are awarding a lot for the whole of rural Wales, how will you ensure that the mix of technologies is flexible enough for different areas that have unique requirements due to challenging topography?

An Ofcom-commissioned report into the cost modelling of universal broadband appeared to suggest that one needs to be extremely careful about how the mix of technologies are deployed in rural areas, saying that the cost of fibre to the premises if it is clustered is two thirds less than fixed wireless access, while the cost of FTTP if it is dispersed was around a fifth more than fixed wireless access. So, I would be interested in hearing about how you have considered this Ofcom report in designing the different lots to take into account that, so that public funds are, of course, spent effectively and reach as many people as possible. 

You've also confirmed that the budget for this scheme will be £80 million, which is only around £900 per premises, and this seems to suggest a technology mix where fibre to the cabinet and wireless will be dominant, which is a major stumbling block, I'd suggest, for those residents with long lines in deep rural Wales, such as Powys and Ceredigion, for example. Therefore, can I ask how you will guard against the prospect of rolling out an inferior technology that fails to deliver for the deep rural locations? I'll give an example. If Openreach were to win a lot, it would surely be a step backwards if they were to decide to deploy more fibre to the cabinet to save costs, rather than pushing forward with fibre to the premises for the long-range VDSL technology, which has already been successfully trialled in the highlands of Scotland.

I'm assuming that the three lots for the new scheme are expected to be awarded later in the spring, so therefore the roll-out won't begin until later in the summer or the autumn, and this will be many months, of course, after the Superfast Cymru project has ended, leaving many thousands of premises in limbo in the meantime. So, can I ask why didn't you ensure that the scheme dovetailed with the Superfast Cymru scheme to avoid the inevitable delay that will now occur, and what will happen if you deem that none of the bids are acceptable for one or more of the lots, or if no company is interested in one or more of the lots? 

And finally, you say in your statement that in some communities the infrastructure has been partially rolled out, and many of us have heard reports, of course, as you mentioned, of cables hanging from poles awaiting to be connected. What will happen to those part-built Superfast Cymru FTTP connections that simply ran out of time? Can you confirm that you will use the gainshare windfall to ensure that there is 100 per cent superfast footprint in these communities?