Perth and Kinross Council Award £2m Local Full Fibre Contract

The Perth & Kinross Council in Scotland has awarded SSE Enterprise Telecoms (SSEET) the £2m contract to deploy a new 19km long gigabit-capable “full fibre” network in the area, which will help to “boost economic activity” and connect 31 locations (public sector sites) across the city region.

The new Dark Fibre network contract, which is the first to be secured by SSEET via the Government’s RM6095 agreement (this aims to better provide UK public sector bodies with fibre optic infrastructure), is being supported by £1m from the UK Government’s Local Full Fibre Network (LFFN) programme and £1m from the Tay Cities Deal.

SSEET will build on its established regional network infrastructure using 5.4km of Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) ducts, as well as 3.9km of existing Perth & Kinross Council assets. The economical use of existing and new fibre pathways will enable SSEET and the council to reach more locations than would have been possible versus a traditional network build project.

Apparently, some of the sites to benefit from this will include public buildings near to the new 3,000-site West Perth housing development.

Martin Samuel, Public Sector Director at SSEET, said:

“Providing the Perth community with the digital infrastructure it needs to thrive is a cause that we feel strongly about, with SSE plc being a major employer in the area and SSE Enterprise Telecoms having an office and a dark Network Operations Centre located in Perth. As such, it’s poignant that Perth & Kinross should be the first region we deliver gigabit-capable connectivity to via the RM6095 agreement.

Once the network is fully operational in the second half of 2021, the deal will see us serve the local community for the next 20 years, helping to future-proof the region against the ever-growing demands of the digital economy. Our collaboration with the local authority will help to enable Perth’s smart city ambitions, with a very well-connected public sector and digitally empowered businesses that drive prosperity in the region and remove any connectivity related barriers to success.”

Councillor Angus Forbes said:

“Our vision is for Perth to becomes Europe’s most sustainable small city, outlined in the Perth City Plan. The population of our city is growing, and we are actively promoting city-wide smart design through the provision of digital platforms and infrastructure to make the city smarter and to cope with rising demands for more capacity.

The gigabit-capable connectivity provided by SSE Enterprise Telecoms is a key part of future-proofing not only our city but also the wider Perth and Kinross rural area. SSE Enterprise Telecoms’ technical expertise in enabling smarter cities, combined with its ability to undertake this project as economically as possible with minimal disruption, means that we’ll be getting great value for our investment alongside our ongoing collaboration over the next 20 years.”

Aside from connecting public sector sites, the new network could also provide a useful foundation for future commercial investment by broadband ISPs (e.g. Broadway Partners, Openreach, Cityfibre etc.), which may be seeking to extend their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) networks. Assuming all goes to plan then the new network should be fully completed come the second half of 2021.