THE latest developments in the ongoing North Swindon broadband story manage to be both good news for some and worrying news for all.

People concerned at the thought of large masts being placed near homes, schools and play parks will be relieved at the withdrawal of the plans.

It has yet to be proven conclusively that such masts are dangerous, but any alarm at potential harm is still entirely understandable.

On another positive note, local MP Justin Tomlinson’s announcement that negotiations with fibre optic providers are going well will also be widely welcomed.

Amid all this positivity, however, we should not lose sight of the fact that the planned £2m 4G rollout with private company UKB seems to be very much still on the table.

Readers will recall that half of the £2m is coming straight from the council’s coffers.

The local authority has previously said it cannot back out of the deal, and its response to the latest situation is a re-iteration of its commitment to placing masts.

But where these will now be put up, in light of vehement local opposition, is anybody’s guess.

Also unresolved is the issue of how negatively affected the UKB project will be if fibre optic providers can indeed be persuaded to offer their services.

It is to be hoped that when the council and its private sector partner were setting the terms of their deal, provision was made for just such eventualities.

After all, it is not as if public opposition to masts was impossible to predict - and the same goes for potential challenges from rival broadband providers.