UK signs another £289 million worth of Project Gigabit contracts

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) – which administers the programme – has awarded another £289 million worth of contracts to BT's networks arm, Openreach.

North Wales – specifically the Isle of Anglesey and nearby Dee Valley near Wrexham – are two of the big beneficiaries, along with the neighbouring Shropshire Hills. Other locations set to benefit from this latest raft of contracts include areas of Herefordshire, Devon, Somerset, Essex, North East England and Worcestershire.

These new contracts form part of the £800 million of Project Gigabit funding earmarked by DSIT in August specifically to connect 312,400 of the UK's hardest-to-reach homes and businesses. At the time, Openreach won a £280 million contract to deliver connectivity to 96,000 of these premises.

This new award to Openreach is in addition to this initial figure.

"Our new full fibre broadband network now reaches more than half of all properties in the UK, and we're confident we can reach as many as 30 million premises by the end of the decade, assuming the right regulatory and investment conditions exist," said Openreach CEO Clive Selley.

"This is a British infrastructure success story which experts say will boost productivity by £73 billion and bring a raft of social and environmental benefits for the country. We believe that everyone deserves access to fast and reliable broadband, and we're proud that this partnership will help extend our ultrafast, ultra-reliable network to areas that would otherwise be left behind by the private sector."

DSIT said Project Gigabit contracts weighing in at more than £2.2 billion have now been signed with 10 different suppliers.

"We are determined to deliver the infrastructure this country needs to thrive, and I am thrilled to see so many homes and businesses in all areas of the country getting access to the fastest broadband speeds on the market through Project Gigabit," said technology secretary Peter Kyle.

"With today's £289 million investment, we are not only boosting connectivity, but making it easier to access remote healthcare, online education, [and] shopping online."

However, as previously reported, there is more than a slight difference between signing a contract and breaking ground. Indeed, Telecoms.com found that this time last year, just 4,500 homes had been passed by Project Gigabit-funded networks, despite millions of pounds worth of contracts having been awarded.

Ergo, it is too early to predict with any degree of certainty when this new crop of communities will actually be hooked up to fibre.

DSIT says Project Gigabit is now delivering connectivity to more than 1.1 million premises. That's a significant improvement on 4,500, but it's still not entirely clear whether these are live, commercial networks, or deployments that are currently being carried out.

Either way, while progress might be a bit slow for some, it is still progress.