Government Allocate First £95m for UK Full Fibre Local Networks UPDATE

The Chancellor, Philip Hammond, has given his 2018 Spring Statement and confirmed the first £95m allocation from the government’s £190m Local Full Fibre Network (LFFN) challenge fund, which was setup to stimulate commercial investment in “gigabit capable” broadband (rural and urban).

Readers might recall that the same fund has already been used to fuel a £10m pilot of 1Gbps capable “full fibre” (FTTP/H) broadband connectivity across six areas of the United Kingdom (here). The initial pilots reflected a variety of different approaches, such as connection vouchers for businesses (i.e. up to £3,000 to help get the service installed), aggregated demand schemes and opening access to existing public sector infrastructure etc.

At the time the government said that its wider aim was to spread such connections to “key public buildings and businesses, with the expectation that this leads to broadband providers creating additional connections to local homes and businesses.” Despite the spin this LFFN programme is technically also open to “gigabit capable” fixed wireless networks, although we don’t expect to see too many of those.

Since then the government has been busy encouraging a broad range of local bodies (councils, LEPs etc.) – as well as health, education or transport bodies – to apply for the fund. This programme comes as part of the government’s expanded £31 billion National Productivity Investment Fund.

Today the Spring Statement 2018 allocated its first wave of funding for the Local Full Fibre Network (LFFN) scheme, providing over £95 million for 13 areas across the UK. Please note that the figures below reflect the amounts of funding bid for, not the final amount that will be awarded (all successful bids will be subject to due diligence before their final funding amount is confirmed).

Unfortunately we don’t get much of a breakdown to summarise the details of each project, although DCMS have provided a rough overall summary of what the bids cover.

The successful projects include:

* Using hospitals, health centres and GP surgeries as “anchor tenants” – providing a full-fibre “hub” which surrounding homes and businesses can then also be connected to.

* Upgrading schools, libraries and emergency response buildings to gigabit-capable full fibre connections.

* Strategic re-purposing of existing infrastructure, allowing full fibre to be rolled out at a fraction of what it would otherwise cost.

* Creating “fibre spines” along major transport routes and public building networks. These extend a supplier’s fibre footprint, making full fibre connections more available to surrounding homes and businesses.

The government also anticipates that the next wave of the Challenge Fund will open in Summer 2018.

UPDATE 2:55pm

The UK Internet Service Providers Association has sent in a comment.

Andrew Glover, ISPA Chairman, said:

“ISPA welcomes the announcement of the next stage of the Local Full Fibre Networks Challenge Fund, with half of the £190m fund to be allocated to help roll out full-fibre to local areas. ISPA has been working with members and Government to maximise the impact of the fund and we look forward to receiving a further update. We further welcome the £25m allocated for the first six 5G testbeds.

Long term investment in the UK’s telecoms networks, including through the LFFN Challenge Fund, remains a key priority in delivering reliable and leading edge communication services. In addition to targeted support, Government must also continue to reform and remove barriers to broadband rollout to ensure the UK remains well connected and able to compete in a global digital economy.”

UPDATE 3:34pm

The boss of rural fibre optic ISP Gigaclear has also sent in a comment.

Matthew Hare, Gigaclear CEO, said:

“It’s encouraging to see the Government pledge to improve the UK’s digital connectivity in the Spring Budget, with full fibre front and centre. We are finally seeing the Government and the wider telecoms industry prioritising investment to roll out the necessary infrastructure.

However, I urge the Government to progress at pace. The additional funding is a step in the right direction, but I would like to see a plan to connect every property in the UK to future-proofed, full fibre broadband in the not-to-distant future. This is the only way we can guarantee the future of the UK’s digital economy.”