A Councillor's Guide to Project Gigabit
This guidance provides an overview of Project Gigabit and answers to frequently asked questions. It outlines how councillors can use their unique local role to support the deployment of gigabit-capable broadband in their area.
Introduction
The government has established Project Gigabit, a £5 billion programme to be delivered by Building Digital UK (BDUK), which will fund the roll out of gigabit-capable broadband to some of the hardest to reach parts of the country. Alongside Project Gigabit, broadband suppliers are also extending gigabit-capable broadband coverage as part of the market-led commercial roll out. The government has set an overall coverage target of at least 85% of UK premises being able to access a gigabit-capable network by 2025.
What is gigabit-capable broadband?
Gigabit-capable broadband provides a download speed of at least 1 gigabit per second (or 1000 megabits per second). It is at least twenty times faster than the current average broadband speed in the UK will allow you to download a high definition film in less than 1 minute.
There are a range of different infrastructure types that can deliver broadband at this speed. These include: full-fibre, cable broadband, and fixed wireless access, with further information available in the glossary section of BDUK website.
What are the benefits of gigabit-capable broadband?
Gigabit is considered a “future-proof” broadband speed, capable of providing enough capacity to support a household needs from using multiple devices simultaneously to supporting any future advances in technology. Faster more reliable broadband connectivity can also help support businesses to sell goods online, access cloud services and increase their productivity and turnover.
The infrastructure that supplies gigabit-capable broadband can be much more reliable than older telecommunication networks. It is often delivered through fibre infrastructure - glass cables, encased in a thin layer of plastic, which transmit data via a light signal. These suffer five times fewer faults than old copper based networks. This delivers a better service for residents and businesses, and less time is spent on infrastructure repairs which can create local disruption like street works. It also maintains a consistently fast speed to a premises, unlike old copper lines which degrade your broadband speed the further away your home is from your local telephone exchange. Visit our Project Gigabit website for the latest case studies and research on the benefits of gigabit-capable broadband.
How will my area be covered by gigabit-capable broadband?
The majority of gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure across the UK will be delivered by broadband suppliers’ commercial rollout. However, there remain some areas of the country which will be too costly for a broadband provider to cover on a commercial basis.
If a premises is within these types of areas, and is eligible for public subsidy, the government’s Project Gigabit has a number of interventions designed to provide gigabit-capable broadband:
- Project Gigabit Procurements - The majority of premises that will be connected by Project Gigabit will be served by the Project Gigabit Procurements element of the Programme. These will involve local, regional, and cross-regional contracts with broadband suppliers to deliver gigabit-capable infrastructure to an agreed set of premises. We call these “intervention areas” - premises we understand do not have access to gigabit-capable speeds and will not be connected by the market-led commercial roll out in the next three years. Our procurements will launch in a phased way over the lifetime of Project Gigabit. BDUK’s quarterly updates provide the latest timetable for when these contracts will begin in your area. The sequence of the pipeline prioritises those areas with a larger percentage of hard to reach homes and businesses that we expect will need government subsidy, and a higher percentage of premises which do not yet have access to superfast speeds
- Gigabit Voucher Scheme - Eligible residential and business not currently within Project Gigabit projects can apply for a UK Gigabit Voucher worth up to £4,500 for homes and businesses to help cover the costs of installing gigabit broadband. To see if your area is eligible visit the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme website. Some councils provide a local “top-up” voucher where the cost of connection is above the government’s voucher limit - an effective way to boost rollout - with some councils limiting their top-ups to premises with sub-30 Mbps broadband speeds to target the worst served areas
- GigaHubs - We are working closely with councils and other public bodies to connect rural public sector buildings with gigabit-capable broadband in order to improve public services. These premises will act as “hubs” to bring gigabit-capable speeds into the heart of communities. This will incentivise other broadband suppliers to build off the newly installed network drawing surrounding premises into their build plans
- Superfast Broadband Programme - There remain legacy contracts under the government’s previous Superfast Broadband Programme that are still delivering to homes and businesses in the slowest-speed areas. These contracts are now mainly delivering full-fibre infrastructure, so over 90% of the premises delivered will have access to gigabit-capable broadband, while other contracts are being extended to deliver 100% gigabit build to some of the remaining sub-superfast premises
What impact will the process of installing gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure have on my local area?
Just like any infrastructure project, the installation of new broadband infrastructure may have some short-term disruptive impacts on a local neighbourhood. This includes deployment activity such as streetworks, for which the supplier will have outlined a planned completion date with the local council Highways team.
Broadband suppliers use a range of installation techniques to deploy gigabit-capable infrastructure, for example via a public road or across private land. Suppliers will look to minimise disruption by using existing infrastructure such as ducts, overhead cables and poles, before considering the need to build new infrastructure. For more detailed information on the regulatory framework that oversees all installation of broadband infrastructure read our best practice for street works and highway works guidance.
What about those premises which are Very Hard to Reach with gigabit-capable broadband?
The costs of deploying gigabit-capable broadband rise exponentially as deployment extends to the most remote premises. A very small proportion of premises in the UK are considered Very Hard to Reach with gigabit-capable broadband technologies. This is due to factors like their isolated geographic locations, or the great distances between them and existing or planned telecommunications infrastructure. The government is progressing its work to explore the available solutions and technology types that can serve the Very Hard to Reach premises.
As part of this work, the government has launched an initial series of Alpha Trials to see the extent to which satellites can be used to deliver high-speed connections to more than a dozen Very Hard to Reach locations.
How will Building Digital UK work with councils?
BDUK will work in collaboration with councils (via their digital connectivity programmes/leads) to connect eligible premises in your local area. Councils, whether unitary, county or district, have vital local levers that can help fast track broadband roll-out to rural communities. As an example, constructive working relationships with highways, broadband delivery or planning teams can help problem-solve delivery issues and ensure deployment isn’t held up. For more information on the role councils can play in support of Project Gigabit visit the government’s Digital Connectivity Portal.
How can councillors help support Project Gigabit locally?
Councillors have a unique position in the centre of their local communities and can undertake an important role supporting the delivery of Project Gigabit in their area. This includes:
Acting on behalf of residents and businesses
- work to understand any local support that businesses and residents can access to improve their digital skills and realise the benefits of faster and more reliable broadband
Busting local barriers to deployment
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in cases where local deployment is causing friction in the community - for example disruptive roadworks, or the location of infrastructure - support discussions between suppliers and residents to resolve issues and facilitate solutions
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where necessary, work with council officers and broadband suppliers to identify landowners and help secure wayleaves for infrastructure to pass through private land
Championing Project Gigabit and encouraging take up
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support broadband suppliers to make residents and businesses aware of voucher funding available in their areas
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ask your local broadband/digital programme leads how you can help support what they are doing locally
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keep up to date with Project Gigabit Quarterly Updates to understand the latest progress of the programme
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act as an advocate for Project Gigabit, calming local anxieties on local deployment activity and explaining the longer-term benefit of faster more reliable broadband. You can find out more information on the Project Gigabit website over the coming months
More information around the leading role which councillors can play in supporting broadband deployment can be found in the Local Government Association’s A councillor’s guide to digital connectivity..
Broadband speeds explained
Different types of broadband provide different speeds enabling households and businesses to undertake a range of activities as outlined by Ofcom.
| Type of broadband | Speed | User cases |
|---|---|---|
| Decent | 10 Mbps download | Making a high definition video call using applications like Zoom, Teams, WhatsApp or Facetime |
| 1 Mbps upload | Download a 1 hour HD TV episode (1GB) in almost a quarter of an hour | |
| Superfast | At least 30 Mbps download | One person streaming 4K video Downloading 1 hour HD TV episode in under 4 and half minutes Several devices working simultaneously |
| Gigabit | 1 Gbps and above download | It is feasible to download a full 4K film (100GB) in under 15mins May be delivered over technologies that give greater reliability and that are future proofed as more high demand services are developed |
Last updated 5 December 2022 + show all updates
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Updated to reflect new Gigabit Voucher Scheme subsidy amounts and research into Very Hard to Reach premises.
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First published.