Last updated - 29/08/23
The government is on a mission to deliver lightning-fast, reliable broadband to everyone in the UK and is investing £5 billion in Project Gigabit to ensure that hard-to-reach communities are not left out.
Addresses in Essex are in one of two Project Gigabit lots, either Lot 21 (Essex) or Lot 5 (Cambridgeshire and surrounding areas). While most addresses in Essex are in Lot 21, some addresses in the Uttlesford district are in Lot 5. Check your postcode in this list to see if your address is in either the Essex or Cambridgeshire lots. Please then read the information below for your selected lot.
The majority of premises in Essex are in Lot 21 of Project Gigabit. Essex County Council is the primary local body collaborating with the government agency Building Digital UK (BDUK) on this lot. You can find a link to BDUK's consultation outcome for Lot 21 here.
BDUK released a full list of postcodes within this lot and their Project Gigabit status eligibility. Only addresses with the status of 'White' will be eligible to be included in Project Gigabit. See 'Further information' below to find out more about why addresses are given a 'White' status.
BDUK have informed us that the Project Gigabit procurement in Lot 21 is currently on pause. Their market engagement activity has revealed significant planned commercial activity, leaving only a limited number of premises eligible for subsidy. The market has shown limited interest in bidding for what would be smaller-sized procurements in these areas, and so BDUK are currently considering alternative interventions.
Connecting Cambridgeshire is the primary local body collaborating with BDUK on Lot 5. You can find a link to BDUK's closure notice for Lot 5 here.
Cityfibre has been awarded the contract for Lot 5. They are currently in the process of completing initial surveys and selecting which addresses will be included in the rollout. We are expecting the planned list of addresses to be included in Lot 5 to be released in Winter 2023.
You can find a full list of postcodes within this lot and their Project Gigabit status eligibility. Only addresses with the status of 'White' will be eligible to be included in Project Gigabit.
During the Public Review, BDUK categorised premises as gigabit White, Grey, Black or Under Review. These classifications are set out below:
White - indicates addresses with no gigabit network infrastructure and none is likely to be developed within three years.
Grey - indicates addresses where a single qualifying gigabit infrastructure from a single supplier is available, or is to be deployed within the coming three years.
Black - indicates addresses with two or more qualifying gigabit infrastructures from different suppliers being available, or will be deployed within the coming three years.
Under Review - indicates addresses where suppliers have reported current or planned commercial broadband coverage, but where claimed current gigabit coverage has not been verified, or, in respect of planned build, where evaluators are confident that gigabit infrastructure will be delivered, but some risks to delivery remain, or there are some gaps in evidence.
BDUK will only provide subsidy to target addresses that have been designated as White. Addresses that have a status of Under Review may be included within the deferred scope of procurement. Where this is the case, a further review will be completed to confirm the classification of those addresses.
For the latest information on the nationwide Project Gigabit programme, please visit projectgigabit.campaign.gov.uk. We will also update this page with more information once it is available.