answer text |
<p>Homes and businesses that do not yet have access to superfast broadband will be
prioritised for gigabit-capable delivery with connections capable of offering more
than 1,000 megabits per second, or one gigabit per second.</p><p>There is a consultation
underway looking at large regions of England that are most likely to attract commercial
investment but requires subsidy to reach the hardest 40,000 to 80,000 premises in
each area. In addition, there will be smaller contracts to connect around 1,000 to
8,000 premises, to stimulate competition across a wider range of small, medium-sized
and rural specialist telecoms providers and help them to scale up. DCMS is also exploring
how to make available a small number of contracts covering very large areas that are
the least commercially attractive to build in. This would help make sure that no areas
are left behind - even those where there is a limited prospect of competition.</p><p>As
well as these supply-side market interventions, the government is also seeking industry
views on how to extend its successful Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme from April
2021. The scheme allows people in rural areas to request a gigabit connection with
the government subsidising the installation costs. This would help broadband suppliers
respond to increasing consumer demand for gigabit broadband while the new procurements
get up and running. The government will also continue its programme to connect public
and community buildings - such as council houses, schools, libraries and GP surgeries
- so they act as full-fibre ‘hubs’ from which industry can build their networks and
connect surrounding homes and businesses.</p><p>These new procurements for gigabit
infrastructure are set to begin in Spring 2021. The government will now seek industry
and local authority views on the strategy to define small and large procurement boundaries,
as well as ensuring that priority areas are served.</p><p>The recent Spending Review
set out the timeline for how the first tranche of £1.2bn of funding will be made available
to industry over 4 years. The commitment to spend £5 billion stands, and the government
will accelerate this investment if industry can demonstrate it has the capacity to
deliver further and faster.</p><p>In parallel to these interventions the Superfast
programme has put in place a number of new contracts during 2020 for delivery between
now and 2024. This obviously includes R100 in Scotland and Stratum in Northern Ireland.
Less well publicised are a number of English and Welsh procurements such as Devon,
Somerset, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, North Yorkshire, Cheshire and Lincolnshire.
These new contracts are almost entirely for delivery of gigabit capable fibre. In
total these represent c.500k premises with incremental delivery for the Superfast
programme in lieu of the new Supply Side procurements under the UK Gigabit Programme.</p><p>
</p>
|
|