Guidance

Case studies

Updated 29 July 2019

Listed below are case studies of successful community-led schemes to improve local broadband. The case studies are listed in order of models, from model 2 (buy into existing commercial rollout) to model 6 (community owned and operated).

A number of communities have already benefited from partnerships with BT. Examples can be found at the following link:

communityfibre.bt.com/case-studies

Table of case studies

Case Study	Case Study Name	Model Type	Project overview
1	Preston Village	Model 2: Buy into existing commercial rollout	BT and local community joint funded a cabinet upgrade to deliver Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) to 130 premises
2	Coleorton Hall Estate	Model 2: Buy into existing commercial rollout	BT and local community joint funded a new fibre cabinet as previously residents were connected by ‘exchange only’ lines
3	Fell End	Model 2: Buy into existing commercial rollout	A community built - with some public funding support - 15km FTTP broadband network connecting 58 deeply rural premises, adopted by BT and incorporated into their network
4	Cotwalton Community Broadband	Model 3: Buy into publicly funded rollout	The Staffordshire village of Cotwalton used BT’s Community Fibre Partnership to join the existing publicly funded rollout to aim to serve up to 14 premises using Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) technology
5	Cybermoor, South Tyne Valley	Model 4: Bespoke solution, supplier owned and operated	The South Tyne Valley is a remote area and this Pilot project aimed to assess the suitability of social investment and loans for broadband deployment
6	Herefordshire Community Networks	Model 5: Community owned, supplier operated	Community Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) scheme covering an initial 28 properties, mixed residential and small business, financing 50/50 from community shares and connection vouchers
7	Kelston Community Broadband	Model 5: Community owned, supplier operated	Rural parish of mixed residential/business properties, adjacent to Bath city boundary and three miles from the city centre
8	Perseverance Works	Model 5: Community owned, supplier operated	Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) network in a privately owned area of east London, a stone’s throw from the Old Street Silicon Roundabout
9	Tove Valley Broadband	Model 6: Community owned and operated	A community group in Northumberland run since 2003 to improve local broadband
10	Broadband for the Rural North (B4RN)	Model 6: Community owned and operated	B4RN is a Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) network run by a dedicated local team with the support of landowners and volunteers in North West England

Model 2 – Buy into existing commercial rollout

Preston village case study

Name	Preston village, Hertfordshire
Overview	BT and local community joint funded a cabinet upgrade to deliver FTTC to 130 premises: the whole village
Location	Preston, Hertfordshire
Technology employed	Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC)
Number of premises covered – initial estimate	130
Cost (project total) – initial estimate	£38,000
Cost (per premises passed) – initial estimate	£292
Number of premises covered – finalised scheme	130
Cost (project total) – finalised scheme	£38,000
Cost (per premises passed) – finalised scheme	£292
Time taken from initial concept to successful fund raising	Several weeks
Time taken from successful fund raising to first live customers	Around 12 months
Type of ownership model(s) (1-6)	2
Funding source(s)	Gap funding model: Openreach covered the cost according to their commercial model & the community raised £38,000 to cover the cost of their share of the deal
Arrangements/costs for wayleaves	N/A
Legal structure of community group	The community set up a legal entity so as to contract with Openreach
Feasibility work undertaken by	Openreach
Website	www.communityfibre.bt.com
Contact	community.fibre@bt.com
Major lesson(s) learnt	Fundraising was straightforward in the community as everyone realised the clear benefits. Chose BT as it enabled choice of any service provider from the new infrastructure

Coleorton Hall Estate case study

Name	Coleorton Hall Estate
Overview	BT and local community joint funded a new fibre cabinet as previously residents were connected by ‘exchange only’ lines
Location	Coleorton, Leicestershire
Technology employed	Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC)
Number of premises covered – initial estimate	150
Cost (project total) – initial estimate	Not disclosed
Cost (per premises passed) – initial estimate	Not disclosed
Number of premises covered – finalised scheme	150
Cost (project total) – finalised scheme	Not disclosed
Cost (per premises passed) – finalised scheme	Not disclosed
Time taken from initial concept to successful fund raising	Around 3 months
Time taken from successful fund raising to first live customers	12 months
Type of ownership model(s) (1-6)	2
Funding source(s)	Gap funding model: Openreach covered the cost according to their commercial model & the benefitting community raised the remainder, that was residents of the Coleorton Hall estate, Church Town and Farm Town
Arrangements/costs for wayleaves	N/A
Legal structure of community group	Via a residents association
Feasibility work undertaken by	Openreach
Website	www.communityfibre.bt.com
Contact	community.fibre@bt.com
Major lesson(s) learnt	‘Some providers were reluctant to engage with us or offered unsuitable solutions. In addition, some of the solutions had ongoing maintenance and communal equipment costs associated. We felt connecting to the Openreach network offered the best option and value for money, as it was a future proof solution, as well as giving the community access to multiple service providers.’ Quote from Jon Wohlters, Coleorton Hall resident

Fell End case study

Name	Fell End broadband
Overview	A community ‘build and benefit’ 15km FTTP broadband network connecting 58 deeply rural premises
Location	Ravenstonedale, South East Cumbria
Technology employed	Fibre to the premises (FTTP)
Number of premises covered – initial estimate	58
Cost (project total) – initial estimate	£88,000
Cost (per premises passed) – initial estimate	1500.00
Number of premises covered – finalised scheme	58
Cost (project total) – finalised scheme	£88,000
Cost (per premises passed) – finalised scheme	£1,517
Time taken from initial concept to successful fund raising	2 years
Time taken from successful fund raising to first live customers	Feasibility work began 2010, and the first connection went live July 2014. The build phase took just less than one year
Type of ownership model(s) (1-6)	2 – BT own and operate the network, which was deployed at no charge with in trenching and a duct network provided by the community. The civil engineering to create the trench was partly as a result of civils procured with BDUK funding (in addition to the funding sources listed below) as well as additional build activity provided as a benefit in kind by the community
Funding source(s)	£88,000 in total: £26,000 Princes Countryside Fund; £53,000 Rural Community Broadband Fund (RCBF) (now closed); £2,000 Holhird Trust; £1,000 Talktalk Digital Heroes; £6,000 community contributions; Free wayleaves also supplied by local landowners
Arrangements/costs for wayleaves	£1,500 – many landowners signed wayleaves at negligible cost to receive services
Legal structure of community group	Project led and managed by the community with assistance from Ravenstonedale Parish Council as the accountable body
Feasibility work undertaken by	The local community, who met in the local pub in 2010 to map out the fibre route
Website	www.ravenstonedale.org
Contact	ravenstonedale.org/contact

Model 3 – Buy in to existing publicly funded rollout

Cotwalton Community broadband case study

Photograph by Brian Scott

Name	Cotwalton Community Broadband Project
Overview	The Staffordshire village of Cotwalton used BT’s Community Fibre Partnership to join the existing publicly funded rollout to aim to serve up to 14 premises using FTTP technology
Location	Cotwalton, near Stone, Staffordshire
Technology employed	Fibre to the premises (FTTP)
Number of premises covered - initial estimate	12-14
Cost (project total) - initial estimate	Openreach CFP quotation £29,154
Cost (per premises passed) - initial estimate	Assuming 14 premises £2,081
Number of premises covered - finalised scheme	Subject to detailed survey
Cost (project total) - finalised scheme	Managed in line with current BDUK framework contract
Cost (per premises passed) - finalised scheme	Managed in line with current BDUK framework contract
Time taken from initial concept to successful fund raising	3-4 months
Time taken from successful fund raising to first live customers	Estimated 12 months
Type of ownership model(s) (1-6)	Model 3 - Community bought in, via BT’s Community Fibre Partnership, to an existing public rollout being run by Superfast Staffordshire. BT will own and maintain the asset.
Funding source(s)	50% Community gap funding - £14.5k; 50% Superfast Staffordshire gap funding - £14.5k + BT contribution
Arrangements/costs for wayleaves	Yet to be established
Legal structure of community group	None. Each resident provided a cheque to the County Council for their contribution. Doing away with the need to form a legal entity, this was seen as a real benefit for the community.
Feasibility work undertaken by	Openreach
Website	www.superfaststaffordshire.co.uk
Contact	Project: Paul Chatwin (paul.chatwin@staffordshire.gov.uk); Community: Brian Scott (brianscotty@me.com)
Major lesson(s) learned	The Local Authority had developed an approach, where Superfast Staffordshire could make a financial contribution to the Community Fibre Partnerships project, as long as the community contracted it via Superfast Staffordshire’s project. This served to ensure state aid compliance, reduced the community contribution by 50% and avoided having to set up a legal entity to contract with BT. This approach also avoided the need for the community to pay £2,500 plus VAT upfront for a detailed FTTP survey

Model 4 – Supplier owned and operated

Cybermoor, South Tyne Valley case study

Name	Cybermoor, South Tyne Valley
Overview	The South Tyne Valley is a sparse, remote area and the project aimed to assess the suitability of social investment and loans for broadband plus the ability to lower deployment costs by using local contractors
Location	West Northumberland
Technology employed	Fibre to the Home, Fixed Wireless
Number of premises covered – initial estimate	300
Cost (project total) – initial estimate	£551,656
Cost (per premises passed) – initial estimate	£1,839
Number of premises covered – finalised scheme	297
Cost (project total) – finalised scheme	£551,656
Cost (per premises passed) – finalised scheme	£1,922
Time taken from initial concept to successful fund raising	12 months
Time taken from successful fund raising to first live customers	1 month
Type of ownership model(s) (1-6)	4 – Cybermoor provided a broadband service for the local community, and continue to own and operate the network
Funding source(s)	Total funding £551,656; £375,126 BDUK grant as part of Market Test Pilot programme (68%); £110,331 Private funding – Cybermoor and Eurona (20%); £27,583 Social Investment Business funding (5%); £22,066 Local donations (4%); £11,033 Community shares (2%)
Arrangements/costs for wayleaves	Most landowners provided free wayleaves as they recognised the benefits for themselves and the wider community
Legal structure of community group	Co-operative
Feasibility work undertaken by	Cybermoor Services
Website	www.cybermoorenetworks.org.uk
Contact	Daniel Heery
Major lesson(s) learnt	Social investment and loans were difficult to obtain. Local contractors worked efficiently and flexibly to keep the costs of network build low in one of the most sparsely populated areas of England. State aid approval process was complex and challenging

Model 5 – Community owned; supplier operated

Herefordshire Community Networks case study

Jesse Norman, MP for South Herefordshire and Chair DCMS Select Committee, awards certificate to Mike Price, local farmer, for his working in digging the community network

Name	Herefordshire Community Networks CIC
Overview	Community FTTP scheme covering an initial 28 properties, mixed residential and small business, financing 50/50 from community shares and connection vouchers
Location	Sparsely rural hamlets of Dewsall and Callow, 5 miles from centre of Hereford city, covering 500 hectares
Technology employed	100% underground FTTP
Number of premises covered – initial estimate	28 connected, 44 passed – 65% take-up at start
Cost (project total) – initial estimate	£1,950 per premise connected
Cost (per premises passed) – initial estimate	£1,275
Number of premises covered – finalised scheme	Expected to be 44
Cost (project total) – finalised scheme	£66,000
Cost (per premises passed) – finalised scheme	£1,500, all connected
Time taken from initial concept to successful fund raising	12 months
Time taken from successful fund raising to first live customers	3 months
Type of ownership model(s) (1-6)	5 – The infrastructure is owned by the community, but operated by the supplier due to a requirement of the connection voucher scheme, where build can only be undertaken by a supplier who operates the network for minimum 6 months. The community interest company has the option to take over the operation of the network once this period is over
Funding source(s)	£66,000 funding total. £27,000 SMEs in scheme awarded nine BDUK connection vouchers from Digital Birmingham. £39,000 Balance raised by 39 community shareholders (£1,000 each), which are SEIS eligible (see funding option page)
Arrangements/costs for wayleaves	Led by Duchy of Cornwall as major landowner, all wayleaves were granted for the community scheme for payment of a peppercorn rent if demanded
Legal structure of community group	Community Interest Company
Feasibility work undertaken by	Wansdyke Ltd
Website	www.hereford-cic.net
Contact	David Bland, Company Secretary, 01432 617017
Major lesson(s) learnt	Backhaul (BT) was a major problem. Initial installation dates were missed, then pushed back by up to four months. Major petitioning required on BT Openreach who responded positively, and final delay was under two months

Kelston Community Broadband case study

Kelston Park, Palladian Mansion now used a multi-tenanted office accommodation

Name	Kelston Community Broadband
Overview	Parish led FTTP scheme in implementation
Location	Rural parish of mixed residential/business properties, adjacent to Bath city boundary and 3 miles from city centre
Technology employed	100% underground FTTP
Number of premises covered – initial estimate	75 residential properties and 25 businesses
Cost (project total) – initial estimate	£120,000
Cost (per premises passed) – initial estimate	£1,200
Number of premises covered – finalised scheme	100
Cost (project total) – finalised scheme	£120,000
Cost (per premises passed) – finalised scheme	£1,200
Time taken from initial concept to successful fund raising	12 months to date
Time taken from successful fund raising to first live customers	Not yet implemented
Type of ownership model(s) (1-6)	5 – community owned but not operated. Parish will own the network, CIC will provide management and operations via subcontractors
Funding source(s)	£120,000 funding total
Current expectation is that the split will be:	Roughly £48,000 from Connecting Devon and Somerset USC vouchers (see funding options); Roughly £72,000 from Public Works Loan Board loan (see funding options)
Arrangements/costs for wayleaves	Local landowners, granted for peppercorn rent
Legal structure of community group	Community Interest Company
Feasibility work undertaken by	Wansdyke Ltd
Website	www.kelston-community.net
Contact	David Bland, Company Secretary, 01225 945052
Major lesson(s) learnt	Difficulties getting good information from local authority. MP support invaluable

Perseverance Works case study

Name	Perseverance Works
Overview	FTTP network in a privately owned area of east London, a stone’s throw from the Old Street Silicon Roundabout
Location	London, close to Old Street
Technology employed	Fibre to the Premises - FTTP
Number of premises covered – initial estimate	62 businesses
Cost (project total) – initial estimate	£90,000
Cost (per premises passed) – initial estimate	£1,452
Number of premises covered – finalised scheme	62 businesses – with considerable room for expansion
Cost (project total) – finalised scheme	£90,000
Cost (per premises passed) – finalised scheme	£1,452
Time taken from initial concept to successful fund raising	Two and a half years taken from initial idea to successfully having a team install first lines
Time taken from successful fund raising to first live customers	Four months from funding to first adopters going online
Type of ownership model(s) (1-6)	5 – Perseverance Works build and own the infrastructure, while a supplier – Fibre Options – is given access to the infrastructure in return for operating the network
Funding source(s)	Super Connected Cities voucher scheme
Arrangements/costs for wayleaves	No cost or need for wayleaves – owned by the Perseverance Works Freeholders Ltd
Legal structure of community group	The project was run through the board of Perseverance Works Freeholders Ltd
Feasibility work undertaken by	Mike Kiely & Perseverance Works Freeholders Ltd – Tender document released can be viewed here
Website	www.perserveranceworks.co.uk
Contact	pk@perseveranceworks.co.uk
Major lesson(s) learnt	Wayleaves arrangements can be a major barrier when dealing with absent landlords for many neighbouring tenants

Model 6 – Community owned and operated

Tove Valley case study

Name	Tove Valley Broadband
Overview	A community group in Northamptonshire run since 2003 to improve local broadband
Location	Upper Tove Valley, Northamptonshire
Technology employed	Primarily fixed wireless (FWA), although a Fibre to the premises (FTTP) is also available on request
Number of premises covered – initial estimate	450
Cost (project total) – initial estimate	£250,000
Cost (per premises passed) – initial estimate	£555
Number of premises covered – finalised scheme	650
Cost (project total) – finalised scheme	£270,000
Cost (per premises passed) – finalised scheme	£385
Time taken from initial concept to successful fund raising	2 years
Time taken from successful fund raising to first live customers	4 months
Type of ownership model(s) (1-6)	6 – Community owned and operated
Funding source(s)	£278,000 approximate total funding; £170k loans raised from the communities; £108k grant from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and BDUK via the Rural Community Broadband Fund (RCBF) (now closed)
Arrangements/costs for wayleaves	£1400 and £140/year covering 12.5km
Legal structure of community group	Abthorpe Broadband Association Limited (ABbA) is a not-for-profit limited by guarantee community company
Feasibility work undertaken by	Abthorpe Broadband Association Limited
Website	www.tovevalley.com
Contact	Via website
Major lesson(s) learnt	Limitation of number of frequencies available. Level of expertise and perseverance required for project submission and execution

B4RN case study

Name	Broadband for the Rural North (B4RN)
Overview	B4RN is a professional fibre to the premises broadband network, registered as a non-profit community benefit society, and run by a dedicated local team with the support of landowners and volunteers. Basic offer is 1,000Mbps symmetrical FTTP broadband to every property in our coverage area within North West England, cost £150 connect and £30 per month. 10Gbps is also available to all properties
Location	North West England
Technology employed	Fibre to the premises (FTTP)
Number of premises covered – initial estimate	3,500
Cost (project total) – initial estimate	£3.5m
Cost (per premises passed) – initial estimate	£1,000
Number of premises covered – finalised scheme	13,000
Cost (project total) – finalised scheme	£7.8m
Cost (per premises passed) – finalised scheme	£600
Time taken from initial concept to successful fund raising	~1 year to build start. Project ongoing as parishes added and each is self-funded
Time taken from successful fund raising to first live customers	B4RN were set up in December 2011; build started in March 2012, first connections October 2012, as at 1/7/16 ~2,000 properties had been connected
Type of ownership model(s) (1-6)	6 – community owned and operated
Funding source(s)	Funding raised from benefiting communities, either through community shares or community loans. £4.24m raised up to 31/6/16. Also benefitted from free wayleaves from landowners in the communities and from free trenching done by local volunteers (who are then rewarded in shares)