Project Gigabit
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that all premises previously covered by the cancelled Airband Community Internet Ltd contract, are included in an extended Openreach contract under Project Gigabit; and whether Building Digital UK will publish a connection schedule for those premises before the end of 2025.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan
Last year, Airband took the decision to descope approximately 28,000 premises from its Superfast contracts with Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS), some of which are now expected to be connected via the commercial markets.
The remaining descoped premises were made available for other suppliers to submit voucher project proposals under the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme. A number of projects have been approved and are already in build, with more projects currently under review.
The remaining premises are being considered for inclusion in the Project Gigabit contract with Openreach. We currently expect to finalise the amended scope of the Openreach contract in early 2026. Building Digital UK (BDUK) will continue to publish data highlighting premises included in its plans and will work closely with the supplier to ensure updates are shared with local communities as the Project Gigabit contract progresses.
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