A DEAL between Swindon Borough Council and a telecoms firm could see superfast broadband rolled out to almost every household.

Unfortunately, the reaction among many of our readers will be a reflexive cringe followed by an avowal that our local authority should have nothing to do with such matters.

The council has only itself to blame for that, thanks to the wi-fi catastrophe which unfolded some years ago, leaving local taxpayers £400,000 poorer.

To this day there has been no conclusive explanation of precisely how that money was disbursed. However, we should not let our memories of the fiasco blind us to some plain truths about the new project.

Chief among those truths is that universal high-speed broadband is highly desirable. Just about any business or organisation in a location deprived of high speed broadband is at a severe disadvantage.

It is also important to remember that the new project differs from the wi-fi affair in a number of ways, notably in that a major company has a significant financial stake.

Such organisations are not known for backing losing propositions.

There is every cause for us all to be cautiously optimistic, but there is also every cause for us to demand complete openness at each stage of the proceedings.

If members of the public raise queries, they have every right to insist that those queries are dealt with courteously and respectfully.

Let there be no suggestion by any councillor or official that those who ask perfectly logical questions are somehow hoping the project will fail.