Superfast Berkshire Project Update September 2015

Transcription

1 Superfast Berkshire Project Update September 2015 We are pleased to provide an update to Digital Champions on the Superfast Berkshire project. We appreciate that these updates have not been as frequent as you, or we, would like, but we have a very small project team, just 2 full time resources, whose main focus is maximising broadband coverage and expediting its delivery. We encourage the cascading of these updates within your communities to increase awareness. Recap of the project objectives for Phase 1 The project aims to provide superfast broadband (24 Mbit/sec) to 90% of business and residential premises across the county and a basic broadband (2Mbit/sec or more) to all premises. This will be funded through a Government grant, matched local authority funding and a contribution from the chosen supplier, BT Group. The contract with BT was signed in September 2013 and the rollout scheduled to be completed by the end of September Where are we now? Although it has been a while since I provided a detailed update, you may have been following implementation progress on the project website over the last 2 years. The contract has 5 quarterly milestone dates running from September 2014 September 2015 setting out the number of premises that are due to be connected via upgraded cabinets (FTTC) and the cost of deployment. The contract does not prescribe which cabinets are upgraded, or in what order, which allows BT the option to switch between target areas when delivery is held up for any reason. At the time of writing, BT has completed the upgrade of 100 Berkshire cabinets serving over 19,500 premises and is still expecting to hit its contractual target by the end of September Superfast Berkshire is a complex engineering project and BT has faced a number of delivery challenges that have prevented them from adhering to their contractual delivery target. These challenges include; agreement of cabinet locations due to highways permissions/regulations, planning regulations, access to power, private wayleave, local resident objections, etc. blocked or damaged ducts that need to be repaired / replaced access to carry out work on the highway alongside other utilities and agreement on the quality of reinstatement faulty equipment from suppliers engagement and management of BT s subcontractors However, following escalations, discussions and on occasions withholding of stage payments we have managed to work through these issues and BT is now expecting to complete the upgrade of 124 Berkshire cabinets to FTTC by the end of September 2015 and to hit their contractual target. Changes to the list of target cabinets The full/detailed list of cabinets due to be upgraded to FTTC by BT and the areas that they served was not made available to the Superfast Berkshire project team until mid Once this information was provide the team reviewed it, to ensure Berkshire was getting best value for money and the expected level of broadband coverage. This review and other difficulties, or opportunities, resulted in some changes to the original scope, including; The removal of some cabinets from scope where the % of connected premises that would receive superfast speeds after upgrade was lower than anticipated. (Generally an FTTC upgrade will provide superfast broadband to around 85% of connected premises, whereas some of the original cabinets modelled by BT were investigated and shown to underperformed against this target. For example, Hermitage cabinet P4 was removed from scope as its upgrade would have provide superfast broadband to fewer than 20% of connected premises) Over 20 areas with premises connected direct to the local exchange, also known as Exchange Only (EO) premises, were targeted to be replaced with a FTTC solution. Each EO area requires the installation of both a new copper cabinet and a fibre cabinet. Six of these areas were deemed to provide poor value for money and the project team sought to agree alternative upgrades with BT. These 1 September 2015

2 changes proved difficult to agree resulting in some cabinets on the upgrade list jumping between survey / postponed over the last 6 months. A review of the Hermitage exchange area enabled an additional 300 properties to be included but came at the expense of a 3 month delay for all in this area Two cabinets (one in Reading and one in Newbury) have been dropped due to technical difficulties We were able to add in 2 additional cabinets in Burghfield Common directly building on to BT s commercial programme deployment Additional funding was secured from BDUK (to address Rural communities in West Berkshire) adding 15 cabinets and bringing a further 3,200 premises into scope Pangbourne P10 has remained in the survey column for the longest time. The installation of this cabinet has had to overcome many technical issues and local approvals. This cabinet has finally got the green light and we remain hopeful that it will be upgraded before the end of September 2015 Notwithstanding the challenges listed above we have endeavoured to keep the website as up-to-date as possible with the latest position on the list of cabinets for upgrade and the corresponding deployment map. With over 120 cabinets, it has not been possible to maintain a running commentary on each and every cabinet via the project website, but we have always tried to provide the latest position when responding to enquiries. The most recent cabinet upgrade table is shown below. Superfast Berkshire - Cabinets scheduled for survey / delivery Updated 10th September 2015 Berkshire District BT Exchange Areas Live cabinets Survey & discussion 30th September 2015 still ongoing Postponed Bracknell Bracknell P35, P100, P109, P117 Bracknell Crowthorne P29 RBWM / Bracknell Ascot P1, P15, P27, P28, P31, P33, P35, P38 P29 RBWM Littlewick Green P11, P12 RBWM Maidenhead P25, P61, P73, P80, P91 RBWM Windsor P32 EO P59 RBWM Bourne End P33 RBWM Wraysbury P1, P2, P3 RBWM / Slough Colnbrook P40, P46 Slough Slough P98, P132, P156 EO P87 Slough Langley P35 Reading / West Berkshire Reading Central P66, P67 EO P114, P123 Reading / Wokingham Reading South P63, P65, P70 P67 West Berkshire Burghfield Common P1, P4, P6, P8, P9 West Berkshire Chaddleworth P1, P4 West Berkshire Chieveley P2, P4 EO, P3 West Berkshire Compton P2, P4 West Berkshire East Ilsley P1,P2 West Berkshire Goring P1 West Berkshire Great Shefford P3, P601 P1 West Berkshire Hermitage P2, P6, P7 P1, P3, P5, P10, EO(11), EO(12) P4 West Berkshire Inkpen P1 West Berkshire Kintbury P1, P2, P3, P6 EO(14) West Berkshire Lambourn P3, P4, P9, P10 West Berkshire Mortimer P1, P2, P6, P7 West Berkshire Newbury P27, P31, P32, P33, P64, P65, P78, P80, P83 P72 P88 West Berkshire Pangbourne P2, P4, P5, P7, P8 P10 West Berkshire Silchester P1 West Berkshire Tadley P16, P17 West Berkshire Thatcham P13, P27 West Berkshire Theale P3, P6, P8, P9 West Berkshire Tilehurst P55 P56 West Berkshire Woolhampton P2, P8, P12 P3, P4 P1, P6 West Berkshire / Wokingham Spencers Wood P4, P19 Wokingham Arborfield Cross P1, P4, P7 Wokingham Eversley P13 Wokingham Twyford P12 Wokingham Wargrave P4, P5 EO(10) P7, P9 Wokingham Wokingham P2, P76 P88 Wokingham Woodley P17 Notes Check which BT Openreach cabinet you are connected to and its broadband status using The list of cabinets are those that have been scheduled for survey - this does not guarantee an upgrade in coverage as it is subject to the outcome of the survey Surveys / discussions could be incomplete for a cabinet location due to agreement on technical requirements, highways/planning regulations, local issues or wayleave Where cabinet locations have been agreed, delivery is based on our current best view (this may change - earlier or later) as issues are encountered / resolved The upgrade of a cabinet is dependent on the delivery of the fibre spine, installation of the cabinet, access to power, connections to and testing of fibre and copper EO - Exchange Only lines that are more complex involving a new installation of both copper and fibre cabinets (new cabinet number in brackets where known) Broadband speed is dependent on a number of factor and can't be confirmed until cabinets are connected To access superfast broadband, you will probably need to subscribe to a new 'broadband package' once the cabinet has been upgraded - it will not happen automatically 2 September 2015

3 Communication when cabinets are upgraded When a cabinet is upgraded to FTTC Superfast Berkshire provides the following communication; An update of the target cabinets table and deployment maps on the project website An to local councillors, Parish councils and Digital Champions in areas that are affected An to individuals who have registered on project website with an address in affected areas Responding to any queries raised, arising from the from the above The area affected is based upon data provided to us by BT Openreach and includes every postcode that is served by the upgraded cabinet. We only know what speeds can be obtained at individual premises within each postcode after each cabinet goes live. Unfortunately not all of these will be able to achieve superfast speeds, as this depends on the distance, using the copper wires, between the cabinet and premise. We do not promote individual broadband providers (they send out enough literature themselves) nor do we set out the advantages of superfast broadband over basic broadband as this is also an individual choice. Individuals are encouraged to check the broadband speed they can achieve (using the BT Checker and then contact their Internet Service Provider (ISP), or use a broadband comparison website, to check on packages offered by the market. It is important to note that broadband speeds will not increase automatically following an FTTC upgrade and individuals need to switch to an FTTC based broadband package if they wish to take advantage of the higher speeds. Implementation of Basic Broadband Under EU State Aid rules we can only apply a public sector broadband subsidy in any area once, irrespective of whether this subsidy has provided basic or superfast connectivity. Our obvious preference is to achieve as many superfast upgrades as possible from our state-aid subsidised project. To this end we have deferred all basic upgrades under phase 1 of the project to the end of this phase so that if any opportunity emerges to upgrade to superfast broadband instead, these opportunities can be taken. We are currently going through some detailed analysis to work out which areas will still be without access to basic or superfast broadband following the completion of private sector commercial programmes, SFB phase 1 and the SFB phase 2. Phase 1 contract potential release of further funding Under our Phase 1 contract with BT, funding can be released from the contract in three ways 1. Project underspend - There are many complex rules in our phase 1 contract which define the eligible costs that can be claimed by BT. We rigorously review each of BT s milestone claims before approving payment. Any under-spend against the scheduled contractual costs will be retained by Superfast Berkshire and used to further expand superfast broadband solutions across the county. Whilst we still need to complete a full reconciliation of costs / claims after delivery is completed in September 2015, we are currently expecting to have delivered this phase of the project under budget. 2. Broadband take up clawback Our public subsidised or gap funded model made the assumption that take up of superfast broadband services after upgrade would be 20% (BT s experience from their Commercial programme). Wherever take up exceeds this contractual benchmark, Superfast Berkshire is entitled to a gain share or clawback of subsidy and we are able to apply this to further superfast broadband coverage across the county. Take up numbers vary from cabinet to cabinet but overall Superfast Berkshire is significantly exceeding the average take up figures achieved by BT s Commercial programme in Berkshire and the average of all BDUK project across the UK. 3. Re-allocation of basic broadband funding - Funding was set aside in the phase 1 project to upgrade areas to basic broadband 2Mbit/s where superfast broadband was unachievable. Since additional funding was secured for further upgrades and Phase 2 of the project was announced we have been able to cancel some of these basic upgrades and will spend this money instead on superfast broadband upgrades elsewhere across the county where this is still a gap in broadband provision. 3 September 2015

4 Superfast Berkshire Phase 2 Four Berkshire Districts Reading, Windsor & Maidenhead, Wokingham and West Berkshire decided to participate in the Government s phase 2 broadband programme aimed at increasing superfast broadband coverage to 95% by the end of Bracknell Forest and Slough did not participate because they had already reached 95%. Collectively an additional 5.15m of public subsidy will be applied under phase 2 in Berkshire with the contributions arising from each district providing benefits in that same district. Details of what each district will provide under phase 2 are detailed on the Superfast Berkshire website It was decided to procure phase 2 solutions on the open market using an OJEU procurement rather than use the BDUK framework, which is limited to a single supplier (BT). During this procurement we actively engaged with a number of different suppliers (including BT), discussing our requirements, potential solutions and opportunities prior to running the procurement to warm up the market. It was anticipated that different suppliers would be interested in different geographical areas and so our tender was split up into 7 lot areas allowing suppliers to bid for one or more lots depending on the natural fit of their solutions. Whilst this provided us with flexibility, it also meant extra work for the bid evaluation team. We had a mixture of 6 suppliers who expressed interest in tendering, offering a range of solutions (FTTC, FTTP and Fixed wireless were the principal components) and 3 that actually submitted bids across all 4 districts. BT decided not to submit a bid (similar to all other OJEU phase 2 procurements across the UK). Following a comprehensive evaluation process, Gigaclear were the clear winners in West Berkshire and Call Flow Solutions offered the best option for Reading, RBWM and Wokingham. Contracts were awarded to Gigaclear (West Berkshire) and Call Flow Solutions (RBWM), but it was not possible to secure State Aid approval for Reading and Wokingham from BDUK by 30 th June (when their authorisation from the EU expired). Call Flow Solutions are still working on their detailed plan for these areas and it is expected that contracts will be awarded later this year when BDUK s State Aid authorisation has been renewed. Gigaclear in West Berkshire Gigaclear provides a FTTP solution over their own fibre network, principally focused on providing solutions to rural communities. They have existing networks in Oxfordshire, Kent, Northamptonshire, and Cambridgeshire and won 2 other BDUK phase 2 contracts in Essex and the Cotswolds. They are a growing company with a good track record that will provide a future proofed solution for more than 11, 700 premises across parts of West Berkshire. You can find out about Gigaclear on their website at The installation of a new fibre broadband network will involve a considerable amount of work and some local disruption as it is brought to each area. While this activity will involve a fair amount of digging on roads, pavements and verges, Gigaclear and their subcontractors will minimise any inconvenience and try to complete this phase as soon as possible. It is expected that this short term pain will be rewarded with long term gain once the new network has been installed and is fully operational. The network will be an Open access network and allow any ISP to provide broadband services that chose to do so. It is also asymmetrical so that it provides the same upload and download speeds. There are a range of options on speed packages starting at 50 Mbps and running up to 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps) depending on what each customer requires. Gigaclear and the Superfast Berkshire team are analysing data to confirm exactly which West Berkshire premise are eligible for phase 2 state aid funding and therefore within the scope of phase 2. Once we have an agreed list of properties, Gigaclear will provide us with a high level roll out schedule before the end of September 2015, detailing which communities will be completed in what timescale. We will publish this schedule and the list of properties on the SFB project website. Various communication material is currently being developed to support engagement with West Berkshire communities during Autumn 2015 via local meetings and direct mailings. Gigaclear and Superfast Berkshire will provide further information and answers to your questions. The approach adopted by Gigaclear will seek to keep you fully informed and up to date with progress certainly much better than we were able to do under Phase 1. 4 September 2015

5 Call Flow Solutions in RBWM (Reading and Wokingham) Call Flow Solutions are a hybrid supplier in that they offer a solution that mixes FTTC, fixed wireless and FTTP to best fit the community that they serve. They have existing networks in Kent and Hampshire with plans for further expansion across the South East using their own fibre and utilising BT Openreach ducts and poles where possible. The network will be an Open access network and allow any ISP to provide broadband services that chose to do so. Speeds are initially expected to start at 30Mbps but increase once the network has been fully embedded. We are working on the detailed analysis of premises covered within Call Flow s phase 2 scope. This will enable a more accurate assessment of any remaining gaps in superfast coverage that can be addressed with any future funding. The solutions proposed in the 3 districts where we are expecting to sign contracts are slightly different, as detailed below; RBWM - 11 cabinets have been identified that will be upgraded to FTTC in areas around Windsor, Wraysbury, Burchett s Green and Horton. This will be similar to the BT deployment under phase 1 but will look to extend coverage as far from the cabinet as possible. Work will start in Autumn 2015 and is expected to be completed around mid 2016, providing an upgrade to more than 1,750 premises. Reading and Wokingham - Assuming contracts can be awarded, there will be solutions providing a combination of FTTC, fixed wireless and a small amount of FTTP. If BDUK s EU State Aid authorisation can be completed later this year, then implementation is still expected to be completed before the end of The Call Flow proposals provide coverage for 1,550 premises in Reading and 3,250 premises in Wokingham. Further details on the areas benefiting will be published once we can confirm the award of contracts. Other Opportunities Superfast Berkshire continues to have discussions with other broadband suppliers who operate across the county on their current and future implementations plans, adding to the overall mix of broadband solutions. This includes but is not limited to Hyperoptic Virgin Media UK Broadband Warwicknet. Colin Batchelor Superfast Berkshire - Project manager 5 September 2015