UK Gigabit Programme: Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and East of Berkshire Public Review

Following an Open Market Review launched on 12th August 2021 and running until 13th September 2021, Building Digital UK (BDUK) is seeking views from the public and other stakeholders with regard to existing or planned gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure in the areas of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and East of Berkshire.

Background

The government’s ambition is to deliver nationwide gigabit-capable broadband as soon as possible. The market is making great progress in delivering this ambition but there is a need for government intervention in the parts of the country that are not commercially viable. This is why the Budget in 2020 committed £5bn for the hardest to reach parts of the country, ensuring that all areas of the UK can benefit equally.

The £5bn will be spent through a package of co-ordinated and mutually supportive interventions, collectively known as Project Gigabit. As part of this, Building Digital UK is developing a procurement approach for funding contracts to suppliers delivering gigabit-capable wholesale infrastructure.

Gigabit-capable broadband is important for all communities providing faster, more reliable connectivity for homes and businesses everywhere.

Information required

BDUK requests information and supporting evidence about gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure within the Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and East Of Berkshire intervention area. We wish to hear from all relevant stakeholders - including the public, businesses, internet service providers and broadband infrastructure operators - in relation to the target intervention area found in the below detailed Request For Information (RFI) document.

For the avoidance of doubt, please only respond to this public review if you have a meaningful contribution to make.

Please tell us about your:

• Broadband infrastructure - existing
• Plans for developing / improving broadband infrastructure
• Suppliers should include in their response any existing infrastructure or planned infrastructure - Please include in your submission, any existing or planned infrastructure you have gained with assistance from Government subsidy; for example, Vouchers, Superfast (NBS 2012 or NBS 2016) and Hubs
• Interest in bidding for projects and capability to scale;

A description of the response format can be found in the Public Review RFI document.

How to respond

For all submissions, BDUK would be grateful if you could confirm in your submission the following:

• Your organisation’s name (if applicable)
• Your organisation’s, or residential address (if applicable)
• Your name
• Position
• Contact telephone number
• Email Address

Members of the public and other respondents should follow the above format and email their submissions to ukgigabit@bduk.zendesk.com.

If you are a broadband infrastructure operator please contact us at ukgigabit@bduk.zendesk.com to access our secure file transfer portal.

This consultation closes on Friday 4th March 2022 at 5pm.

Further information

Read more about Building Digital UK