Author: Jan Miszalowski, Principal Consultant at FarrPoint
The UK digital connectivity market has developed significantly since 2010, when the UK Government first initiated the Superfast Broadband programme to extend faster connectivity to areas that had been missed by commercial rollouts. Fibre deployments from Openreach, VMO2, and a significant number of Alt Nets have seen rapid increases in the availability of Gigabit-capable connectivity to households and businesses across the country.
Alongside this, the mobile market is focused on extending 4G and 5G, with 3G services already well on the way to being switched off and plans under development to switch off the 2G networks by 2033.
Centrally managed Government-funded programmes, including the current Project Gigabit and the Shared Rural Networks programme, recognise that the market will only do so much. Public intervention is still required to enable digital connectivity beyond where the market is expected to deliver.
Local bodies have, and continue to, play a vital role in this by encouraging and facilitating commercial rollout while bringing local knowledge to help overcome barriers to delivery. Even with these efforts and the progress made, some premises will still be left behind. So what should local bodies do?
Commercial rollouts and existing UK Government public interventions are set to continue for a number of years yet, with Project Gigabit having a national target of connecting 99% of UK premises to gigabit-capable broadband by 2032.
However, broadband delivery in the UK is now entering a more complex phase. The reason these premises haven’t been done yet could be due to their rural nature or, conversely, because they’re in an urban environment, which comes with its own challenges. There are also wider challenges in today’s market, e.g. increased costs, access to finance, competition, etc, which are also having an impact and slowing down deployment.
The increased coverage delivered by commercial operators and national programmes will naturally bring economic benefits, both nationally and locally. However, these programmes do not always ensure that a local area has the digital assets needed to support the economic growth ambitions set out in its own strategic plans, or that all local residents and businesses can fully benefit from the improved connectivity.
Therefore, local bodies have an important choice to make: either wait to see what’s left behind and potentially miss out on all the benefits in the interim or take a more proactive approach to finding ways to complement the existing activity.
Some local bodies are acting now to monitor and assess the impact of ongoing programmes and understand where gaps are likely to remain, so that they can consider how to address these.
Examples of some of the proactive regions we’ve worked with recently include Gloucestershire County Council which used the Digital Connectivity Readiness Index (DCRI) framework to identify strengths and gaps in infrastructure and digital adoption together, and produce actionable recommendations to drive improvements in digital connectivity, economic growth, and social wellbeing.
Cheshire West and Chester Council had experienced issues with long-term mobile connectivity challenges in Chester’s historic city centre and wanted to take a more proactive approach to improving mobile connectivity. They enlisted the help of FarrPoint to tackle the underlying reasons behind the lack of mobile network infrastructure deployment and find pragmatic solutions that worked for both the council and mobile operators.
Other examples include the Swansea Bay City Deal, which recently awarded a contract to connect some of the premises within the region which aren’t currently in existing operator rollouts or public intervention programmes, taking positive action now so that those residents and businesses aren’t left waiting for gigabit-capable connectivity that might not materialise.
More recently, Tees Valley Combined Authority commenced a comprehensive market assessment, alongside a cost and options analysis to identify potential opportunities to improve full fibre infrastructure in the region in support of the Tees Valley Digital Strategy aims and objectives.
The above examples each demonstrate proactive local bodies that are looking for outcomes now rather than waiting to see what the market or national initiatives will achieve for their respective regions.
The choice for local bodies is clear: wait and risk leaving residents and businesses behind, or take proactive steps now to secure the digital infrastructure needed for growth, inclusion, and better public services.
We would be delighted to speak with you to share our industry-leading experience and discuss opportunities for supporting your digital ambitions in your area. Contact us today.
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