Project Gigabit

​In March 2021, the Government revealed its plans for the first measures under a £5bn rebranded broadband connectivity programme known as Project Gigabit. This is the Government’s national mission to deliver gigabit capable, reliable broadband for everyone in the UK.

Background

The Government has set a target to see at least 85% of UK premises able to access gigabit capable broadband by 2025, and to achieve as close to 100% coverage thereafter. At a UK level the Government expect over 80% of coverage to be delivered commercially by broadband network providers. Project Gigabit is providing a catalyst for that commercial investment and providing subsidy to serve the ‘hardest-to-reach’ properties which are not viable commercially.

Regional procurements, led and managed by Building Digital UK (BDUK), the government agency leading on all things broadband, are coming forward in phases in support of the gigabit roll out.

Commercial broadband network suppliers will compete to win the contracts to help deliver Project Gigabit.  Three Lots are relevant to Northamptonshire:

  • Lot 5 (Project Gigabit Phase 1a) – Cambridgeshire and surrounding areas, including part of North Northamptonshire.
  • Lot 11 (Project Gigabit Phase 2b) – Leicestershire and Warwickshire, includes the boundary edge with Northamptonshire.
  • Lot 12 (Project Gigabit Phase 2b) – (Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes, most of West Northamptonshire and part of North Northamptonshire.

Further Information

Visit the Project Gigabit Campaign website

project gigabit intervention areas map
Project Gigabit Communities in Build plans

CityFibre have been awarded Project Gigabit contracts by government to build full fibre networks which will enable local residents and businesses to access broadband services capable of gigabit speeds (1,000Mbps). Around 17,500 premises in Northamptonshire are set to benefit, targeting premises which currently fall outside of any known commercial telecoms plans and providing more choice to consumers. Not all premises in communities which form part of CityFibre’s plans will benefit as some premises may already have a full fibre connection.

Plans can be subject to change. This may be due to changes in the commercial plans of other telecoms providers or it could be due to constraints beyond the control of CityFibre such as securing wayleave agreements to access private land.

The communities currently in plans are detailed below. More communities will be announced in due course.

Lot 5 Communities
Apethorpe Glapthorn Twywell
Collyweston Kings Cliffe Wadenhoe
Cotterstock Lilford Wansford
Denford Nassington Warmington
Duddington Thorpe Waterville Woodford
Easton on the Hill Thrapston Woodnewton
Fotheringhay Titchmarsh Yarwell
Lot 12 Communities
Castle Ashby Bugbrooke Denton
Ecton Hackleton Nether Hayford

 

Project Gigabit Delivery Plan updates

You can find out more about Project Gigabit and the expected scope of the procurements, including those relevant to Northamptonshire, in the BDUK updates available below:

    Lot 5 Procurement: Cambridgeshire and surrounding areas, including parts of North Northants

    Lot 5 is centred around Cambridgeshire and includes Peterborough and parts of North Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Hertfordshire.

    The Lot 5 procurement was launched by BDUK in January 2022. Around 49,700 premises were confirmed in scope at that time – these were premises impacted by market failure (no existing or planned gigabit coverage). The contract was awarded to CityFibre in March 2023.

    Government have committed £69 million of public subsidy to Lot 5. This funding, along with a commercial investment of £53 million by CityFibre, will bring full fibre gigabit capable broadband to around 45,000 homes and businesses across Cambridgeshire and neighbouring areas including parts of North Northamptonshire.

    CityFibre report that they are the UK’s largest open access, fibre only operator, with services live in cities, towns, and villages across the country. They aim to serve 8 million homes across the UK by 2025. They already have a strong presence in Northamptonshire including in the towns of Northampton, Kettering and Wellingborough.

    As part of its private investment, CityFibre has committed an additional £300,000 local stimulus package to create local jobs and provide training across the Lot 5 area – including construction and engineering internships for disadvantaged groups such as armed forces leavers, people with disabilities and those affected by Covid.

    BDUK expect that the Lot 5 build by CityFibre will take around 5 years to roll out.  Delivery is underway in other parts of the area, whilst the first premises in North Northamptonshire to be connected are expected to be delivered later in 2024. Further information will be provided once available.

    You can view the government’s press release below:

    You can find out more on the CityFibre Project Gigabit webpage below:

    Intervention Area

    A Public Review to inform the Lot 5 intervention area was launched in May 2021 and closed in June 2021. This followed a consultation with telecoms providers to determine their existing and planned coverage looking ahead.

    View the Cambridgeshire Lot 5 Public Review Closure Notice which confirmed the intervention area, including illustrative maps of the outcome for further information.

    Lot 11 Procurement: Leicestershire, Warwickshire, and a small part of Northamptonshire

    Lot 11 is primarily focused on Leicestershire and Warwickshire but also includes a sliver of Northamptonshire, from Lilbourne to Great Oxenden in the West and from Braybrooke and Sutton Bassett to Wakeley in the North.  The Project Gigabit boundaries are shown in red on the Gigabit Coverage Map.

    The procurement for Lot 11 was launched in March 2023.  BDUK awarded CityFibre the £71m contract in February 2024.  This will deliver full fibre broadband to serve around 38,000 of the 45,400 eligible premises across Leicestershire and Warwickshire. Any coverage in Northamptonshire has yet to be confirmed. More information will be posted here when known.

    Intervention Area

    A Public Review to help determine the intervention area was launched on 17th June 2022 and closed on 18 July 2022. This followed a consultation with telecoms providers to determine their existing and planned coverage looking ahead to 2026.

    View the Leicestershire and Warwickshire Lot 11 Public Review Closure Notice which confirmed the intervention area, including illustrative maps of the outcome for further information.

    Lot 12 Procurement: Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire (part) and Milton Keynes

    The Lot 12 procurement includes most of West Northamptonshire, the western side of North Northamptonshire, Central Bedfordshire, Bedford and Milton Keynes. The Project Gigabit boundaries are shown in red on the Gigabit Coverage Map.

    The Lot 12 procurement was launched by BDUK in February 2023, with an Invitation to Tender published in May 2023. BDUK awarded the contract to CityFibre in February 2024.

    The public subsidy available for the Lot 12 procurement is £51.4m, with 30,300 eligible premises in scope, of which around 25,000 fall within CityFibre’s announced plans.

    Details of where CityFibre plan to build are not yet available but are expected to include Ecton, Great and Little Addington and Greatworth in Northamptonshire. Other rural towns and villages surrounding Corby, Daventry, Kettering and Wellingborough are also expected to be upgraded.

    More information will be posted here as and when it becomes available.

    For more information go to the BDUK Lot 12 webpage Project Gigabit network build contract – Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

    Intervention Area

    BDUK launched a Public Review on the Lot 12 intervention area in March 2022 which closed in late April 2022. This followed a consultation with telecoms providers on their existing and planned commercial coverage, looking ahead to 2026.

    View the Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes Public Review Closure Notice which confirmed the intervention area, including illustrative maps of the outcome for further information.

    You can view more information on the UK Gigabit Programme: Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes Public Review web page.

    UK Gigabit Voucher Scheme

    In addition to the phased procurements, the UK Gigabit Voucher Scheme (UKGV) was re-launched in March 2021 (£210m) and provides complementary support for connectivity to unserved premises.

    In November 2022, BDUK announced upgrades to the scheme to target premises in particularly hard to reach areas. The voucher scheme now provides an increased subsidy of up to £4,500 for eligible residents and businesses towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband via local community broadband projects.

    BDUK have paused the UKGV scheme in areas where regional Project Gigabit procurements are underway.  This means that for the time being, vouchers are not available in Northamptonshire.  Now that Project Gigabit Lot 5, 11 and 12 contracts have been awarded to CityFibre, we are waiting to hear when the scheme will restart.

    More information will be posted here in due course.

    What is Gigabit Capable Broadband?

    Gigabit capable broadband can provide a download speed of at least 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) (equivalent to 1,000 megabits per second (Mbps) which can be delivered by a range of technologies. People can order services of less than a gigabit on such networks, but they provide the potential for gigabit services for those data hungry households and businesses.

    These include full-fibre networks, high-speed cable such as Virgin Media’s latest DOCSIS 3.1 cable upgrade, 5G and some Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) networks. Gigabit capable networks are more reliable than existing copper wires or partial fibre networks (Fibre to the Cabinet) which are currently more widespread.

    Premise Level Data for Project Gigabit

    Building Digital UK (BDUK) has published premises-level data for Project Gigabit
    The data includes:

    • BDUK’s current view on whether homes or businesses in England and Wales have access to gigabit-capable broadband.
    • Whether an individual premises is currently included in the scope of Project Gigabit.
    • Whether an individual premises is expected to be reached as part of a supplier’s commercial rollout.

    This information is taken from data collected by BDUK through subsidised delivery reports and broadband suppliers during the regular Open Market Review (OMR) process. The OMR gathers data from broadband suppliers to identify which areas are likely to require public subsidy to receive a gigabit-capable connection.

    The data is available on the BDUK website here – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/premises-in-bduk-plans-england-and-wales

    The data is designed to help technical users including broadband suppliers and local councils understand where BDUK plans to deliver. It will be easiest to open, read and analyse using programming software, and may not be suitable for spreadsheet software applications like Excel, which may not display all rows.
    A user guide is included in the publication.