A joke, surely!

The Rural Broadband project appears to me to be merely a way for some councils to get hold of additional money!
I reason that since BT is now about the only player left prepared to bid for these projects around the country, and they're not about to convert many new small rural exchanges (other than the larger one's they've already announced they're going to convert anyway) to handle fibre, they've worked out that those (previously nominated) exchanges already serve some 90% of the population - as they're living in the major conurbations which are easy to cover!
So the 90% target has already been 'planned for' anyway.

And yes, I am bitter about it: my (local) Unitary Authority received some £5M to provide for the whole of rural Bedfordshire to be upgraded. I think it was Yorkshire who recently closed a deal with BT for a total of £70M. Now I wouldn't want to deny the good people of Yorkshire the opportunity to get hi-speed broadband (PlusNet???) but just where do Cameron & Co expect Central Beds to find the additional money to pay for our 43 rural exchanges to be upgraded??? £5M ain't gonna get them very far into the process! And the Beeb's £150M is presumably part of the £560M which the government have already announced as providing the current funding - even if it doesn't happen until April 2015.
In the meantime, my bit of wet string will continue to limp on at little better speed than the old modem. Bah!!!