CROSSED wires could hold up Herefordshire's bid for a high-speed broadband internet link.

The Hereford Times has learned that Herefordshire Council has referred its Herefordshire in Touch (HIT) project - boosted by £2 million in funding at the start of the year - to the European Commission as a possible breach of business competition rules.

A wait for the ruling should add around six to 10 weeks to the project's timetable.

In the meantime, work on HIT would go on, with more than 3,000 would-be subscribers countywide so far signed up to its related We Want Broadband campaign, said programme manager Jim Fenning.

The council's cabinet backed sending the bid to Brussels when it met in secret session last Thursday.

Members were acting on advice from the council's legal team that suggested funding for HIT - found from a number of regional and European grants - might be interpreted as an 'anti-competitive state subsidy' if used to favour a specific service provider.

The cabinet heard that, as the law stood, those providers not selected could cry foul on suspicion alone and hold up HIT until its contractual conditions were clarified. By going to Brussels, the council hoped for a definitive ruling from the Commission on how HIT can proceed without the risk of such claims, said Mr Fanning.

The possibility of a breach arose after the Commission ruled on a £30 million broadband scheme in Cumbria that involved state aid to the single service provider and business users.

This scheme was eventually found not to have infringed a European treaty, known as Article 87, which allows state aid to be used to promote the economic development of disadvantaged areas.

The Herefordshire project was looking at several suppliers rather than one, said Mr Fanning.

"However, the project team agreed that the only way to be sure of the legal situation was to get an official ruling from the European Commission," he said.

June French, cabinet member for corporate support services, said seeking a ruling represented a "prudent risk assessment".

She added: "We don't want anything to delay getting broadband out to rural communities."

Launched in January, HIT aims to encourage businesses and communities to register for high speed broadband internet links. When enough registrations have been taken, HIT can put contracts out to tender. Herefordshire lags a long way behind the on-lines. The faster internet access offered by broadband is seen as essential in extending the county's economic options.