Rural ISP Gigaclear Partners with Atkins for Future Broadband Expansion

Rural broadband ISP Gigaclear has signed a £250,000 partnership deal with the design, engineering and project management consultancy Atkins, which will see the firm become their procurement partner for future fibre optic (FTTP/H) network expansion contracts around the United Kingdom.

Apparently the “initial focus” of Atkins’ work will be to support Gigaclear in the South West of England, such as on their recent £62.25 million contract win (£43.75m of that will come from the ISP’s own private investment) as part of the wider Connecting Devon and Somerset project (here).

The CDS deal requires Gigaclear to extend their 1Gbps FTTP broadband network to 35,225 of the hardest to reach rural premises in the region by 2019. As part of that Atkins will be responsible for negotiating the framework agreements with contractors (sub-contractors) needed to deliver the new network, which will require some 5,300kms of pure fibre cables to be installed.

Brett Shepherd, Gigaclear’s Chief Operating Officer, said:

“Having a procurement partner in place is an important step forward for us and is a clear signal to the industry that we are now a significant player in both scale and stature. As we continue to grow, it is essential that our procurement process is managed in an efficient and streamlined way and Atkins’ experience and expertise in this area will ensure we achieve this.”

Martyn Lass, Head of Development Infrastructure at Atkins, said:

“This is an exciting and hugely important project for rural communities and economies in the South West and we look forward to working with Gigaclear to roll out new broadband networks that connect businesses and people.”

The partnership with Atkins, which will manage the work from its Bristol office, is also likely to be extended to other future contract wins. Meanwhile the first Pre-Qualification Questionnaires (PQQs) for contracts relating to the Phase 2 CDS project mentioned earlier will be issued on Monday 16th January 2017.