Current situation 

DCMS outlined UK Government’s £5bn UK Gigabit Broadband Rollout strategy in December 2020 (published August 2021). The project aims to give hard-to-reach communities access to gigabit capable broadband through subsidised contracts to ensure that government targets are met by 2030.

Following Lot 24 procurement process, BDUK announced (January 2025) that Openreach had been awarded a contract to deliver gigabit capable broadband to an initial scope of c23.5k premises within all areas of Worcestershire via a subsidy of c£43 million. It has been indicated by BDUK that this is subject to change once detailed surveys are completed. The contract(s) are centrally run with WCC expected to provide support in terms of local intelligence, local priorities and liaison with planning and highways. 

Our Connectivity Team will work with BDUK and Openreach to ensure that as many Worcestershire premises are included as possible, and that subsidy is not inadvertently used to overbuild premises that have already been served commercially. There will also be an opportunity for a contract change control where we expect further premises to be brought into the contract. 

Openreach is now in a process of completing detailed planning that will confirm the premises that they plan to deliver to. This process is expected to take until the summer of 2025 with delivery then taking place continually until 2030.

Background

In 2012 the Council, with the support of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), started on an ambitious programme to implement a multi-million pound superfast broadband network for the county.

The original objectives were that everyone in the County would have access to broadband speeds of at least 2Mbps; and that superfast broadband would be available to 90% of the County both homes and businesses by 2016.

By improving the connectivity of residents, through the most appropriate technologies such as wireless, mobile and fibre, Worcestershire County Council will enable residents to improve their quality of life and provide economic opportunities and growth.

Understanding the range of communities within the County from rural areas to urban towns, meant that there were significant challenges to ensure digital inclusion for all and that rural areas were not left behind.

Over the years the programme has continued to keep pace with increasing reliance of residents and businesses on connectivity and services provided. Residents are increasingly using on-demand services and video streaming within the home, homeworking requiring access to cloud services as well as businesses setting up in rural areas. Connectivity requirements have also become more mobile as technology improves and services are provided in the wider community.

This has meant that the Council has continually reviewed and evaluated the current position. As the digital landscape has changed the council has invested further capital to the programme as well as gaining grants from BDUK to ensure that it meets its digital vision and that of government.

As part of the further investments, we ran several Open Market Reviews (OMRs). While not a specific requirement under the European Commission’s Broadband Guidelines or the National Broadband Scheme, an OMR enables early market engagement and assists the council with understanding the broadband infrastructure already in place across Worcestershire. An OMR also provides information around planned investment in the broadband infrastructure in the coming three years by broadband providers. 

This research provided us with a better understanding of the design of supplier intervention areas, the areas it can support the delivery of high-speed broadband. OMRs are run before the State Aid Public Consultation stage on the proposed intervention areas, ensuring the additional public funding is used to target areas of failure, with no planned provision.

Closed consultation(s)

• 2024 - Public Consultation: Lot 24 (nationally managed Project Gigabit)
• 2021 - Open Market Review – closed
• 2016 - Public Consultation: Connecting Worcestershire (contract 3)
• 2015 - Open Market Review – closed
• 2014 - Public Consultation: Connecting Worcestershire (contract 2)
• 2014 - Open Market Review – closed
• 2013 - Public Consultation: Superfast Worcestershire (contract 1)
• 2013 - Open Market review – closed
• 2012 - Worcestershire Local Broadband Plan: Connecting Worcestershire
• 2012 - Community Pathfinder Project with Airband