Gov Consults on Fees for New Digital UK Map of Underground Cables

The Government has today opened a new consultation on the sharing of information and fees payable by street works firms as part of operating the new National Underground Asset Register (NUAR), which is a digital map of underground UK pipes and cables (broadband, water etc.) that is partly designed to help reduce accidental damage.

The government currently sees huge potential for such maps to help improve the way that national infrastructure is planned, built and managed (e.g. future full fibre broadband and 5G mobile networks). The map could also cut the amount of accidental damage that occurs to existing infrastructure (one estimate suggested this costs up to £2.4bn each year) and boost economic growth by “at least £400m” per year due to increased efficiency, fewer asset strikes and reduced disruptions.

The NUAR – originally developed alongside Ordnance Survey (OS) and Atkins – is the solution they came up with, which is in the process of going through somewhat of a final public beta phase before full introduction. The service, once “fully operational by the end of 2025“, will pull together information from 600 underground asset owners, covering 3 million kilometres of buried pipes and cables.

As part of that the government are today launching a new consultation that covers the sharing of information with NUAR and the access to this information by those carrying out street works. It also provides some “initial thinking” on the fees payable by street works undertakers for the operation of the NUAR service.

Baroness Jones, UK Technology Minister, said:

“The National Underground Asset Register is a gamechanger for the entire economy, because all of us depend in one way or another on infrastructure that’s underground. We waste time and money dealing with the disruption caused when pipes and cables are damaged, and the Register will help people work smarter, so more of those accidents can be avoided.

For this to all work, it is critical that the information in NUAR is kept accurate and up-to-date. We want to work with industry and asset owners to ensure that happens – and listening to them, through this consultation, is an important step on the road forwards.”

The collection of these fees will not generate a profit for Government, and it is envisaged that no charges will be imposed before there is comprehensive information in the platform. A subsequent consultation will be carried out before this fees structure is introduced, and on current timelines, such fees are apparently “unlikely” to be introduced before 2028.

The UK Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) has previously warned the government against putting the NUAR on a statutory footing before it’s truly “fit for purpose, proportionate and can fully deliver on expectations“.