8 Pilot UK Superfast Broadband Projects Ready to Begin Deployment

The Government’s pick of eight pilot projects for their £10m Innovation Fund, which was setup last year to “test innovative solutions” for delivering superfast broadband (24Mbps+) services to the final 5% of the United Kingdom (i.e. the most difficult to reach rural areas), will officially begin deployment during early 2015.

The news, which stems from a tiny press release on the Government’s website, doesn’t actually add much to what was first announced during June of last year (full details). In fact we know that a couple of the pilots are already appear to be moving into their deployment phases.

Originally the 8 pilots, which include everything from Satellite solutions to hybrid fibre optic and fixed wireless broadband networks, were shortlisted to progress to the “feasibility stage” and this was intended to come ahead of deployments that would start by the end of 2014. Today’s update states that the feasibility stage was completed in September 2014, yet officially the deployments appear to have slipped into early 2015.

DCMS Statement

Current plans will deliver superfast broadband to 95% of the UK by 2017.

However, the Government wants to extend coverage as far beyond this as possible. To support this, a £10 million market test fund is investing in a number of projects to pilot different technologies and funding models.

Eight pilot projects completed a feasibility phase in September 2014. Pilot projects that prove to be technically and financially viable will begin deployment in early 2015. These pilots will test how to expand coverage in areas where the commercial investment case is weakest; the final 5%.

Technology options include fixed wireless and satellite technologies, fixed and wireless hybrid fibre solutions, and a social investment financial model. The results of these pilots and other work being undertaken by the major suppliers will help inform proposals for further investment to extend superfast broadband.

The Government’s Broadband Delivery UK office has long said that the 8 pilots will help them to assess how much funding will be required to reach 100% coverage of superfast broadband before 2020 (i.e. Phase 3 Funding). Meanwhile the political pressures of a forthcoming General Election will almost certainly encourage an announcement to surface ahead of May 2015.

The big question is whether or not the bulk of any Phase 3 funding will go towards an expansion of the pilots or merely an extension of the existing BT contracts.