Cambridgeshire UK Highlights Progress of Dig Once Fibre Build

The Connecting Cambridgeshire project in England, which is being led by the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, has today highlighted the progress they’re making in helping to accelerate the roll-out of gigabit-capable broadband across the county, with 21km of new fibre ducting already installed or soon to be deployed.

The programme’s “Dig Once” policy was one of the first to include fibre ducting in new transport infrastructure schemes, and they now claim to be seeing the first “measurable benefits for the economy, local communities, and the environment” from this work – part of their Digital Connectivity Infrastructure Strategy 2021-2025.

So far over 21km of new fibre ducting is in the process of being made available, or is planned during the construction of new road and cycleway schemes by 2025. The infrastructure can be accessed, on a commercial basis, via Light Blue Fibre, a Joint Venture (JV) between Cambridgeshire County Council and the University of Cambridge – making it quicker and easier for operators to extend gigabit networks and avoid costly, disruptive retrofitting.

Network operator CityFibre is one of the first national commercial telecoms providers to use the fibre ducting to overcome barriers to its roll-out of Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) technology in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough:

In Whittlesey, fibre ducting installed under the new Ralph Butcher Causeway – built to replace Kings Dyke level crossing – is being used to bring gigabit connectivity to over 5,000 homes and businesses that would have been challenging to reach across busy rail lines.

In Cambridge, integrating fibre ducting in a major re-working of the Robin Hood Road junction has allowed gigabit broadband to be rolled out to more premises on the outskirts of the city.

Cllr Lorna Dupré, Overseeing the Connecting Cambridgeshire programme, said:

“Fast, reliable digital connectivity is essential for modern life and it’s vital that our businesses and communities do not miss out because of the cost and complexity of connecting harder to reach places. The ‘Dig Once’ policy is an innovative approach which not only saves time and money but also brings measurable carbon savings helping towards our Net Zero targets.

The Connecting Cambridgeshire programme is working with Government and network providers to fill remaining gaps in coverage across Cambridgeshire & Peterborough and ensure that as many homes and businesses as possible can access gigabit-capable broadband offering future proof speeds up to 1000Mbps.”

Charles Kitchin, Partnership Director at CityFibre, said:

“Connecting Cambridgeshire’s Dig Once policy has proved invaluable in speeding up the rollout of gigabit broadband. Having accessible duct already in place saves time, cost, and is better both for the environment and the community as it avoids unnecessary repeated construction works in the same area.”

Using the Highways England calculator, the policy is also estimated to have brought carbon savings of over 20 tonnes CO2e emissions over the last two-years by using less materials – equivalent to the carbon emissions of close to half a million miles driven by an average car.