High-speed broadband rollout creates opportunities for contractors

The programme to rollout high-speed broadband is creating a major source of new work for contractors connecting households and premises with fibre optic cable, particularly in more remote rural areas.

The government has a target to achieve national full-fibre broadband coverage by 2030. But a recent study from Ofcom, The Connected Nations report underlines the medium-term potential for new work in the sector.

It shows that whilst slightly more than half of premises in the country (52%) have access to full-fibre, the remainder – around 62,000 premises – do not yet have so-called ‘decent’ broadband (download speeds of at least 10 Mbps and upload of above 1 Mbps).

Pointer to potential work

The Ofcom report also highlights wide variations in full-fibre connections between and within regions, giving a pointer to areas where new work potential in the sector may be strongest. In Cambridge, for example, full-fibre is available to 75% of premises, whereas further east in Colchester, just 28% of premises enjoy full-fibre access.

The rollout programme has acquired new urgency with the growth in remote working, which requires households to have good broadband speeds. One authority in the sector, Professor Nick Bloom, an economist at Stanford University in the US, said in a recent BBC broadcast that the growth of remote working will require ‘a total rewiring’ of the country.

He points to a reduction in the number of miles being driven – currently 7% below pre-pandemic levels – and notes that on average, people in Britain are working from home on 25% of days, compared to just 5% before the pandemic.

Glenigan data highlights the wide scope for new contracts on significant broadband rollout programmes which will address these challenges.

Major new contracts

A series of major new contracts which are government-funded have involved rollout contracts to improve rural connectivity.

Work on the £104 million Project Gigabit Hampshire will start early next year after a contract was recently let for the delivery of ultra-fast broadband connections to around 76,000 rural homes and businesses in the county (Project ID: 23209697).

Similar Project Gigabit broadband rollout framework contracts have recently been let in other rural areas. These include Suffolk, worth £174 million and due to start early next year and run for 63 months (Project ID: 23209715) and Norfolk worth £157 million and connecting 62,000 rural homes and businesses (Project ID: 23209714).

Meanwhile, in the West Country, the £86 million Project Gigabit Cornwall is due to get underway under a construction management contract early in the new year where Liskeard-based Wildanet is the civil contractor (Project ID: 22410166).

Privately funded high-speed broadband rollout programmes are also generating new contracts.

One provider, County Broadband is building new full-fibre broadband networks in over 250 villages across the East of England, backed by a £146 million investment from Aviva Investors.

Meanwhile, Glenigan data also details numerous broadband rollout projects across the country – most valued at under £250,000 – which are being commissioned by major providers such as Openreach and IX Wireless, which are at the pre-tender stage.