Consultation outcome

Closure Of The First Release Of Phase 3 (Part 2) and Second Release of Phase 3 Areas Public Reviews

Updated 8 September 2023

1. Summary

The Public Review (PR) process for Project Gigabit in the first release of Phase 3 (Part 2) and second release of Phase 3 areas concluded on 4 November 20022 at 5pm.

Building Digital UK (BDUK) requested evidence from all stakeholders - including the public, businesses, internet service providers and broadband infrastructure providers in relation to the proposed mapped eligible areas and associated postcode list, which has now closed to responses.

The PRs covered the following geographical areas and began on 4 October 2022:

First Release of Phase 3 (Part 2)

  • Devon and Somerset (Lot 6)
  • Dorset (Lot 14)
  • Cornwall and Isles of Scilly (Lot 32)

Second Release of Phase 3

  • Essex (Lot 21)
  • Northern North Yorkshire (Lot 31)
  • Birmingham and the Black Country (Lot 35)
  • Merseyside and Greater Manchester (Lot 36)
  • Greater London (Lot 37)
  • Newcastle and North Tyneside (Lot 38)

These PRs aimed to validate the outcome of the recent May National Rolling Open Market Review (NR OMR) and BDUK’s mapping to ensure that they correctly represented the information provided by suppliers over the course of the May NR OMR and to ensure that the right areas are targeted for government investment.

The May NR OMR was publicised on 3 May 2022 and ran until 14 June 2022.

Following the completion of the evaluation of all responses received through these PRs, BDUK will then proceed to finalise the Intervention Areas within the first release of Phase 3 (Part 2) and second release of Phase 3 areas, along with publishing finalised reports highlighting our findings which will be made available on GOV.UK.

Once this has been completed, BDUK will begin formal procurement activities. This will involve BDUK proceeding to issue an Invitation to Tender via a procurement portal, for suppliers to bid for the opportunity to deliver extended gigabit-capable broadband coverage within the the first release of Phase 3 (Part 2) and second release of Phase 3 areas.

If you are a supplier, and would like to know more specifically about the forthcoming procurement process for either the first release of Phase 3 (Part 2) or second release of Phase 3 areas, please contact the BDUK Supplier Relationship Management team via bduksuppliers@dcms.gov.uk.

If you have any other questions, please contact ukgigabit@bduk.zendesk.com for assistance.