Cambridgeshire UK Updates on Progress of Dig Once Fibre Build

The Connecting Cambridgeshire project, which is led by the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, has today issued a progress update on their “Dig Once” policy and efforts to accelerate the roll-out of gigabit broadband across the county, with 21.6km of new fibre ducting already installed or soon to be deployed. Both Cityfibre and Gigaclear have now harnessed this.

Just to recap. The programme’s “Dig Once” policy was one of the first to include fibre ducting in new transport infrastructure schemes, which formed part of their Digital Connectivity Infrastructure Strategy 2021-2025. So far 21.6km 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 (largely unchanged from last year’s update).

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.

Last year we reported that CityFibre were one of the first network operators to harness this for their deployment of FTTP to 5,000 premises in Whittlesey, while integrating fibre ducting in a major re-working of the Robin Hood Road junction also helped their roll-out in Cambridge.

Since then, rural focused ISP Gigaclear has also harnessed the pre-installed fibre ducting to avoid disruptive engineering works and provide full-fibre broadband to over 2,000 properties in Linton and the surrounding communities. The overall policy is also estimated to have prevented the release of more than 20 tonnes of CO2 (unchanged from last year), while reducing the need for costly, disruptive roadworks.

Cllr Ros Hathorn, Chair of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Assets and Procurement Committee, said:

“The Light Blue Fibre venture showcases the value of long-term collaboration and the importance of strategic planning to deliver greener and smarter infrastructure.

Connecting Cambridgeshire’s Dig Once policy demonstrates how we can work together to improve connectivity while reducing carbon emissions and disruption in our communities. By integrating digital infrastructure into our transport planning, we’re not only delivering short-term benefits but also laying the groundwork for a sustainable, connected future for the region.

So far, this policy has resulted in a huge CO2 reduction and significantly less disruption to road users, thanks to the proactive installation of ducting as part of new road projects.”

Light Blue Fibre is now said to be “in discussions” with a global cloud services provider to further extend the reach of its infrastructure, although they haven’t provided any further details on that.