Connexin Win Gigabit Broadband Rollout for Nottinghamshire and West Lincolnshire

Network operator and UK ISP Connexin has today announced that they’ve secured a contract under the Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout programme, which will see them extend their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to 34,320 hard to reach premises in parts of Nottinghamshire and West Lincolnshire (Lot 10).

The provider, which has until now focused more on commercial builds and aims to cover 500,000 UK premises with their new fibre infrastructure (no timescale has been given), currently expects to complete its initial build (c.150,000 homes) around the city of Hull by the end of this financial year. But today marks the first time they’ve secured a contract under the Project Gigabit programme.

The new contract is said to be worth £58.609m in public subsidy, and the first premises under this deal are anticipated to have access to gigabit-capable broadband in early 2025. Connexin has also committed support to community initiatives, such as volunteering charitable hours, and will provide career mentoring and apprenticeship programmes to a diverse range of candidates in the local communities they target.

The deals will support Project Gigabit’s wider aim of extending 1Gbps (download) capable networks to reach at least 85% of UK premises by the end of 2025, before hopefully achieving “nationwide” coverage (c. 99%) by around 2030 (here). At present over 80% of premises can already access such a network (up from 6% in 2019) and the Government’s subsidy is more focused on helping to upgrade those in the final 10-20% of hardest to reach premises.

Furqan Alamgir, CEO of Connexin, said:

“Through the award of this contract, we are delighted to be able to play our part in the UK government’s mission to level up and bring gigabit connectivity to our rural communities.

At Connexin our mission is not just about connecting people but also about how such connectivity can improve lives. We believe that everyone has the right to the same opportunities, and we firmly believe in digital inclusion and what it can unlock.

We look forward to working with BDUK to future proof the infrastructure and bring hyperfast broadband to the region.”

Julia Lopez, Data and Digital Infrastructure Minister, said:

“Thousands of people across Nottinghamshire and West Lincolnshire are set to benefit from connectivity fit for the future, thanks to Project Gigabit. We’re making strides in connecting communities in hard-to-reach areas across the country, and this latest announcement will bring us one step closer to our digital transformation, opening up vast opportunities in rural areas.”

According to the announcement, some of the first locations to benefit from this build will include Kirkby in Ashfield, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Annesley, Wragby and Market Rasen. Residential customers of the provider’s unlimited FTTP service tend to pay from £37.50 per month for a speed of 125Mbps (symmetric) on an 18-month term, which rises to £49.99 for their top 1000Mbps tier on a 24-month term. But various discounts are also currently running on these packages.

Connexin was advised by law firm Brodies LLP, and Analysys Mason provided specialist bid support.

Project Gigabit GIS Contract Awards History
➤ Wessex Internet for North Dorset (Lot 14.01) in August 2022 (here)
➤ GoFibre for Teesdale (Lot 4.01) in September 2022 (here)
➤ GoFibre for North Northumberland (Lot 34.01) in October 2022 (here)
➤ Fibrus for Cumbria (Lot 28) in November 2022 (here)
➤ Wildanet for Central Cornwall (Lot 32.03) and South West Cornwall (Lot 32.02) in January 2023 (here)
➤ CityFibre for Cambridgeshire (Lot 5) in March 2023 (here)
➤ Wessex Internet for the New Forest (Lot 27.01) in April 2023 (here)
➤ Freedom Fibre for North Shropshire (Lot 25.02) in May 2023 (here)
➤ CityFibre for Norfolk (Lot 7), Suffolk (Lot 2) and Hampshire (Lot 27) in July 2023 (here)
➤ Gigaclear for South Oxfordshire (Lot 13.01) and North Oxfordshire (Lot 13.02) in Nov 2023 (here)
➤ Connect Fibre for North East Staffordshire (Lot 19.01) in Nov 2023 (here)
➤ Connect Fibre for Derbyshire (Lot 3) in Dec 2023 (here)
➤ CityFibre for Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire & East Berkshire (Lot 26), Leicestershire & Warwickshire (Lot 11), West & East Sussex (Lot 16 & 1), Kent (Lot 29) and Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire & Milton Keynes (Lot 12) in Feb 2024 (here)
➤ Connexin for Nottinghamshire & West Lincolnshire (Lot 10) in Feb 2024