Research and analysis

North Wales PSBU case study

Published 10 September 2026

1. Overview of the North Wales project

The North Wales project was a Public Sector Building Upgrade(PSBU) project with a total value of £6.3 million, fully funded through the Local Full Fibre Network(LFFN) programme. The project was delivered through a partnership approach led by Ambition North Wales, the economic partnership responsible for overseeing the North Wales Growth Deal. The partnership involved the six local authorities in North Wales, alongside other public sector organisations including the regional health board, fire service, ambulance service and housing associations.

The project aimed to address significant connectivity challenges across a predominantly rural region where full fibre deployment had been well behind the UK trend. At the time, many public sector sites relied on slow copper connections or expensive leased lines, which limited the delivery of modern digital services and constrained operational efficiency.

The contract was awarded to BT, with Openreach delivering the infrastructure build. Delivery took place between 2020 and 2022, connecting 315 public sector sites across North Wales. The sites connected included a diverse range of public sector facilities: over 100 GP surgeries (managed through Digital Healthcare Wales), 19 community hospitals, council offices, libraries, fire stations, ambulance stations, leisure facilities and youth services.

2. Focus of the case study

This case study examines both strategic and site-level benefits associated with the North Wales LFFN project. The case study focuses on four main areas:

• Strategic benefits – including the project’s role in facilitating regional collaboration, influencing regional digital strategies and enabling follow-on investments.

• Benefits for healthcare sites  – examining the impact for GP surgeries and community hospitals.

• Benefits for outdoor education centres  – exploring the impact on residential outdoor education facilities serving schools across North Wales.

• Benefits for youth services  – examining how upgraded connectivity has supported youth service delivery across the region.

Interviews were conducted with six stakeholders: representatives from Ambition North Wales (two interviews), an economic development officer at Cyngor Gwynedd (Gwynedd Council), an officer from Flintshire Youth Service, an ICT manager at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB), and the head of two outdoor education centres. Evidence is also drawn from secondary sources, including case studies produced by Ambition North Wales and publicly available information from local authority and health sector sources.

3. Evidence limitations

The evidence base for this case study has important limitations and should be interpreted with caution. Significant challenges were encountered in identifying and engaging stakeholders at sites connected through the project. In many cases, contact information was not available for relevant individuals, and the length of time since project delivery meant that some staff had moved on or had limited recollection of the project and pre-upgrade conditions.

It was not possible to secure interviews with representatives from GP surgeries or community hospitals directly. While an interview was conducted with the organisation responsible for managing connectivity at community hospitals (BCUHB), their role meant they were primarily able to comment on the provision and management of connectivity infrastructure, rather than on how this translated into changes in patient care or service delivery.  As a result, the sections on healthcare benefits draw primarily on secondary evidence, supplemented by insights from interviews with Ambition North Wales, Gwynedd Council and BCUHB.

4. Strategic benefits

4.1 Catalysing regional collaboration

The North Wales LFFN project played an important role in facilitating collaboration between public sector organisations across the region. According to the interviewee from Ambition North Wales, the project provided a focal point for regional working at a time when such collaboration was relatively underdeveloped:

“It was one of the first projects where we’d actually worked together as six local authorities… it was a really good example of regional collaboration, which we hadn’t really done much of before.”

The interviewee explained that the project created opportunities for dialogue and knowledge sharing between organisations that had previously operated largely independently. This included bringing together representatives from local authorities, health boards, emergency services and other public sector bodies to discuss shared connectivity challenges and potential solutions. The collaborative approach extended beyond simply coordinating procurement, encompassing shared learning about digital infrastructure requirements and the potential for joint approaches to digital service delivery.

The project also helped to establish relationships and working practices that have subsequently supported other regional initiatives. The interviewee noted that the experience of delivering the LFFN project “laid the groundwork” for subsequent regional digital programmes, including the North Wales Growth Deal’s digital connectivity strand. The collaborative structures and stakeholder relationships developed through the LFFN project provided a foundation for these later interventions, reducing the time and effort required to establish effective partnership working.

However, the interviewee acknowledged that sustaining this collaborative momentum beyond project delivery presented challenges, particularly given the scale and diversity of organisations involved and the limited resources available for ongoing coordination.

4.2 Enabling follow-on investment and other uses

The evidence from North Wales suggests that the project has enabled significant follow-on investment, both through direct replication of the LFFN model and by creating infrastructure that supports further digital initiatives.

Following completion of the LFFN project, Ambition North Wales secured additional Welsh Government funding to address remaining connectivity gaps across the region. The interviewee explained that they used “exactly the same model” as LFFN, working with the same supplier through the same procurement framework. This second phase connected additional public sector sites that had either emerged as priorities after the original project or had not been included in the initial scope. This is explored in more detail in the Work Package 2 report, Scalability and Learning.

Beyond fixed connectivity, the LFFN delivery model has been applied to secure investment for other digital infrastructure initiatives. The region has since launched projects to deploy Long Range Wide Area Network(LoRaWAN) gateways and upgrade street lighting columns to host 4G small cell infrastructure. In both cases, the approach involves similar deployment planning, claims processes and framework procurement to LFFN, demonstrating that the model can be adapted to different technologies and applications.

5. Healthcare benefits

Healthcare facilities represented a significant proportion of sites connected through the North Wales LFFN project. Over 100 GP surgeries, managed through Digital Healthcare Wales, and 19 community hospitals operated by BCUHB were upgraded to full fibre connectivity.

5.1 GP surgeries

It was not possible to interview representatives from GP surgeries directly as part of this evaluation. However, multiple secondary sources provide consistent evidence on the benefits of the LFFN upgrade for primary care practices in North Wales.

Over 100 GP surgeries, managed through Digital Healthcare Wales, received fibre upgrades through the LFFN project. According to the Ambition North Wales interviewee, many practices had previously relied on slow copper connections with speeds of around 10 Mbps or less. The Gwynedd Council interviewee similarly noted that GP surgeries operated on “sub 30 megabit copper connections” that were inadequate for supporting modern digital health services. In rural areas, upload speeds were particularly poor, making it difficult to share large medical files or access cloud-based systems reliably.

The transition to full fibre provided contractually guaranteed speeds of 80 Mbps or higher. Secondary sources identified three main areas of benefit:

Improved file sharing and coordination between healthcare providers

The Ambition North Wales interviewee reported that one of the key operational improvements was the end of reliance on fax machines for sharing patient information between practices and hospitals. Fax technology is widely regarded as outdated and poorly suited to the speed, reliability, and data handling requirements of modern healthcare. The improved connectivity enabled faster and more reliable digital file transfers, supporting better coordination between healthcare providers.

Adoption of new digital services for patients

The Gwynedd Council interviewee noted that surgeries could now offer online prescription ordering, which had not been viable previously. A practice manager quoted in online news articles described how poor connectivity had created “issues with software, a poor browsing experience and other problems that wasted clinical and administrative time,” but noted that “following the installation of faster broadband, we saw a huge improvement - there were immediate benefits.”

Support for telehealth and remote working

Multiple sources highlighted the role of improved connectivity in supporting telehealth and remote consultations. The Ambition North Wales interviewee reported that practices could now conduct remote consultations and access specialist advice more easily. A GP practice representative quoted in articles stated that

“we have been able to add services such as video conferencing to help patients remotely, which has made a huge difference to many of our patients, especially those who are most vulnerable.”

Another practice in a rural area noted the importance of reliable connectivity during the pandemic: “we depended so much on our IT and digital services.”

While these accounts provide a consistent picture of benefits, it is important to acknowledge their limitations. The evidence is largely qualitative and anecdotal, drawn from project delivery staff, local authority representatives, and quotes from practice staff in news articles rather than direct interviews. However, these findings are consistent with benefits reported in other case studies and in the Hubs evaluation. Taken together, this wider body of evidence, alongside the convergence of testimony across multiple sources suggests that the LFFN upgrade made a meaningful difference to how GP surgeries in North Wales could operate, particularly in supporting the digitisation of primary care services and enabling remote consultations.

5.2 Hospitals

The LFFN project also supported connectivity upgrades at 22 acute and community hospitals managed by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

Prior to the project, community hospitals relied on Fibre-to-the-Cabinet connections (copper to the premises) and analogue telephony systems. According to the Ambition North Wales interviewee, this meant that hospitals could not adopt Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony because they needed analogue phone networks to provide a basic level of connectivity in emergencies.

The LFFN project addressed this by installing diverse fibre routes to community hospitals - two separate fibre connections providing failover  capability. BCUHB’s Data Communications Manager explained that this meant the connections were routed via separate BT exchanges, so that if one link failed, connectivity would be maintained through the other. The key benefits are described below

Cost savings from VoIP migration

The installation of resilient fibre connections enabled the health board to transition from around 140 separate analogue telephone systems to an IP-based telephony system across all sites. The Ambition North Wales interviewee reported that this delivered significant cost savings for the health board, both through reduced expenditure on analogue telephony services and through lower costs for the principal fibre connection. These savings were presented as part of the initial business case for the project. 

Improved service resilience

The diverse fibre routes provided critical redundancy for hospital operations. The Data Communications Manager described a major fire at the Bangor telephone exchange in 2023:

“Had we not built in the resilience using [diverse routes] and had the second link to Caernarfon, the fire would have taken down digital and telephony connections to the hospital… This could have resulted in the hospital being closed. The systems switched over automatically to the Caernarfon exchange and hospital operations were unaffected.”

Connectivity as an enabler of digital healthcare

The Ambition North Wales interviewee suggested that the upgrade had improved the quality and reliability of telephony between hospitals, which they described as “in many cases… life saving.” The improved connectivity was also reported to have supported better communication between hospitals and other healthcare providers, strengthening coordination across the health system.

The ICT Manager noted that it can be difficult to directly articulate how improvements in wide area network infrastructure translate into benefits for patients. However, this reflects the underlying role that connectivity plays in enabling a wide range of digitally-enabled services across hospital settings. Modern healthcare delivery increasingly relies on systems such as electronic patient records, diagnostic imaging, remote consultations, and real-time data sharing between sites. These applications depend on a network that is reliable, high-capacity, and able to perform consistently under pressure.

From this perspective, the value of a robust WAN is not in delivering standalone benefits, but in ensuring that these digital systems function as intended, without disruption, delay, or loss of access. As part of a wider Digital Innovation Strategy, the ICT Manager emphasised that high-quality connectivity infrastructure is a critical enabler, providing the foundation on which service improvements can be delivered. In practice, this reduces the risk of system downtime, supports more efficient clinical workflows, and helps ensure that staff can access and share information when needed, all of which contribute indirectly to the quality and timeliness of patient care.

“there is such a range of hospital facilities that are now digitally-enabled… there is a need to ensure that the infrastructure that delivers those applications is robust and performs as it is required.”

6. Outdoor Education Centres

Conwy Council operates two residential outdoor education centres in North Wales that provide three-day programmes for school groups, offering activities such as climbing, canoeing, hill walking, and mountain biking. The centres serve approximately 2,000 to 2,500 young people and their teachers each year. Both centres received a connectivity upgrade through the LFFN project.

6.1 Connectivity before the upgrade

Prior to the upgrade, the centre relied on copper cable phone lines with no dedicated broadband connection. The area also had no mobile reception. Connection speeds were very slow and unreliable, with particular problems arising from the need for data to travel down the hill to Conwy Council’s server and back up again for every task.

The Head of Centres described the extent of the delays:

“Previously, we’d have to come in, log on to the computer, and we’d go across to the other building, make a cup of tea, come back, and then it would just about be connecting… it really can take 5 to 10 minutes just for the system to connect. And then every time you pull a file up, it’s delayed.”

The poor connectivity prevented the centre from offering services that visitors expected. Schools used waterproof cameras during activities, but couldn’t upload photos back to their schools over the connection; staff had to use DVD drives or USB pens instead. Streaming any audio or video content was impossible. Teams meetings with schools often didn’t work, making communication difficult.

6.2 Improvements and benefits enabled by the LFFN project

The interviewee reported a significant improvement in the quality and reliability of their internet connection since the LFFN upgrade. They identified four main areas of benefit for their service:

Improved visitor experience

The upgrade enabled the centres to meet visitor expectations for connectivity. Teachers can now upload photos directly to their school’s social media or communication platforms during visits. Large screens in classrooms can stream films for evening entertainment. The Head of Centres noted:

“People just expect to be connected these days. And when you say, no, we’ve got no mobile connection, that still shocks them. So when there was very poor internet as well, you could see some of them would get a bit twitchy going, well, how am I going to connect if I need to do X, Y or Z. So… people don’t think about it. It just works for them now.”

Administrative efficiency

Staff can now work at normal speeds rather than waiting for systems to connect and files to load. The interviewee described this as a significant time saving: “Just being able to work at a normal speed has to mean that we’re being more efficient”. Teams meetings with schools and partners now work reliably, making it easier to discuss programmes and coordinate with other council services such as social care and education when bringing vulnerable young people to the centres.

IT infrastructure improvements

The upgrade allowed Conwy Council’s IT department to move the centres’ storage to the cloud rather than server-based systems, keeping the centres aligned with council-wide IT systems and improving security.

Future service development

The centre is now planning to commission a promotional video, which the interviewee felt was worthwhile now that they could view and share it realistically at the centre: “I think probably just the fact that we can see things more realistically, when we’re connected at the centre, we’ve sort of gone, oh, that would be a really good way to show what we do.”

6.3 Enabling factors

The centres were able to maximise benefits from the connectivity upgrade through complementary investment in new equipment. The centres installed new smart TVs with large screens in classrooms, enabling streaming services for visiting groups. Staff received training on how to use the new equipment and developed simple instruction cards so that visiting teachers could easily connect to services like films.

The interviewee also noted that Conwy Council’s IT department had been moving storage to cloud-based systems, which was facilitated by the improved connectivity and helped keep the centres aligned with council-wide IT infrastructure.

The centres acknowledged they probably do not use the full available bandwidth, but this reflects a deliberate strategic choice rather than a constraint. The centres had considered whether to bring more IT usage into their educational programmes but decided against it:

“The kids connect to IT loads of the time. They use them at home, they’re using them in schools. Our specialism is getting them out, doing adventurous activities. So that’s what we’re going to stick to.”

The connectivity upgrade was therefore valuable primarily for administrative functions and meeting basic visitor service expectations, rather than for expanding digital service delivery.

6.4 Counterfactual: What would have happened without the LFFN project

Without the LFFN upgrade, the interviewee indicated they would likely have had to pursue satellite connectivity, which they understood to be very expensive. This would have impacted their budget, potentially preventing them from replacing activity equipment or making other building upgrades.

The overall impact was summarised by the Head of Centres:

“I know everybody in the team is really sort of grateful that they can finally connect properly… 99% of the population can easily connect and just don’t realise how much we rely on it. And yeah, we were forever finding ways around things at work and now we can just work normally.”

7. Other site level benefits

This section summarises benefits reported for other types of sites connected through the LFFN project in North Wales. The findings are based on secondary evidence from programme-level interviews with Ambition North Wales and an officer from Gwynedd Council, rather than direct accounts from sites themselves.

7.1 Libraries

Libraries were identified as a key beneficiary category of the LFFN project. The main benefit reported was the introduction of public Wi-Fi and improved public internet access for the first time. Before the upgrade, libraries had “really bad internet connections” which limited their usefulness to the public. The improved connectivity enabled multiple customers to use public access PCs simultaneously, which was not possible on the previous sub-30 megabit copper connections.

Libraries also became “information hubs” for council services, with staff able to participate in Teams meetings and collaborate more effectively with other council departments. This represented a significant improvement in both customer service delivery and internal operations.

7.2 Council Offices

Council offices represented the largest category of sites connected under the project. The primary benefit was cost savings, as expensive copper circuits and leased lines were replaced with more cost-effective fibre-to-the-premises connections.

Staff satisfaction improved due to reduced frustration with slow systems. Feedback consistently reported that staff were no longer “slowed down by slow systems,” with faster access to files enabling them to work at normal speeds. The upgrade also enabled council sites to migrate IT systems and storage to cloud-based services, which would not have been viable on the previous connections.

The improved connectivity made it viable for staff to work from remote council sites and enabled effective use of Teams for meetings and collaboration, which has become routine practice.

7.3 Community Councils

Community councils benefited from connectivity upgrades to support their democratic operations, including council meetings and clerk administration. The project brought “gold standard connectivity” to what was described as the “foundation level of local democracy,” particularly impacting very rural village halls.

8. Conclusions

8.1 Benefits for GP surgeries

The evidence on GP surgeries reinforces findings from previous BDUK‑commissioned evaluations and the Shetland case study, which have already demonstrated how improved connectivity supports digitally enabled primary care. In this case, the available evidence—drawn primarily from secondary sources—indicates that the upgrade enabled improvements in data sharing, adoption of online services such as prescriptions and remote consultations, and greater use of telehealth. However, the case study provides limited new insight, reflecting both the reliance on secondary evidence and the absence of direct input from GP practices.

Taken together, the findings suggest that the North Wales project broadly delivered the expected benefits for GP surgeries, but do not provide sufficient detail to understand how these were realised in practice or how they varied across sites. As a result, the conclusions for GP surgeries should be interpreted primarily as reinforcing existing evidence rather than extending it.

8.2 Benefits for hospitals

The evidence on hospitals provides some new insight, as this type of site has not been a major focus of previous BDUK evaluations. The findings highlight two specific benefits in North Wales: the transition from analogue to Internet Protocol‑based telephony, which delivered cost savings and improved communications, and the introduction of diverse fibre routes, which significantly strengthened service resilience. The latter was evidenced through a major network outage where failover connections ensured that hospital operations were unaffected. 

The case study also indicates that improved connectivity has played an important role in supporting the modernisation of healthcare delivery within BCUHB. Enhanced network capacity and reliability provide the foundation for the adoption and effective operation of a range of digital systems across hospital settings, including electronic patient records, diagnostic systems, and tools that support data sharing and remote working. While the evidence base remains relatively limited and draws on a small number of sources, it is reasonable to conclude that these findings are likely to be generalisable to other hospital sites connected through LFFN. This reflects the widespread adoption of digital technologies and applications across the NHS, which are similarly dependent on robust and reliable connectivity infrastructure.

8.3 Benefits for outdoor education centres

The outdoor education centre evidence provides new insight into a type of site not previously examined in BDUK evaluations. The upgrade enabled a shift from very poor and unreliable connectivity to a stable service that supports day‑to‑day operations. Key benefits included improved administrative efficiency, the ability to communicate reliably with schools and partners, and a better visitor experience through access to basic digital services and streaming.

However, only a small number of sites of this type were connected through the LFFN programme, and the way in which connectivity is used reflects the specific priorities of these centres. In this case, digital connectivity supported operational delivery and visitor expectations rather than transforming the core educational offer, which remains focused on outdoor activities. This suggests that while similar benefits may be realised elsewhere, their nature and extent will depend on how services choose to use the infrastructure.

8.4 Strategic benefits

The North Wales case study highlights the role of the LFFN project in strengthening regional collaboration and enabling further digital infrastructure investment. The project brought together multiple public sector organisations and provided a mechanism for joint working, helping to establish relationships and delivery approaches that have been used in subsequent initiatives.

The project also provided a model that has been used to extend connectivity and support additional infrastructure development. This includes further phases of network expansion using the same delivery approach and the rollout of new infrastructure, such as LoRaWAN networks and other digital connectivity projects. These findings show how the LFFN project contributed to both the development of a regional partnership and the creation of a platform for continued investment and innovation beyond the initial set of connected sites.