RGC Programme Key Information
This document provides further information about the RGC programme, including its aims and objectives, and how it will be delivered.
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Rural Gigabit Connectivity Programme Key Information Update - August 2020
Summary
The Rural Gigabit Connectivity (RGC) programme aims to assist Building Digital UK (BDUK) which is part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and partner organisations, in delivering nationwide gigabit-capable connections in locations that are unlikely to benefit from commercial investment. This ambition was set out in Government’s 2018 Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review - FTIR.
The FTIR identified that approximately 10% of UK premises would be unlikely to receive commercial access to gigabit-capable broadband, and that these premises would be located primarily in rural and remote areas.
An “Outside In” intervention was proposed in the FTIR, to ensure that these final 10% premises can be addressed in parallel with the rest of the UK.
The government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit-capable coverage as soon as possible, subject to industry appetite and capacity. The Chancellor announced a £5 billion commitment to fund gigabit-capable deployment in the hardest to reach 20% of the UK through this “Outside-In” approach. There are circa 30 million premises in the UK and therefore, the 20% is expected to represent up to 6 million households. However, not all of these households could end up needing to receive a subsidised gigabit-capable connection.
The RGC programme is testing a Hub model approach. This involves identifying eligible public sector buildings which meet qualifying criteria set by BDUK to receive gigabit-capable connectivity. The benefit of this approach is two-fold:
- Providing a gigabit-capable connection to a public building enhances a public service; and
- The surrounding area may also become increasingly viable for commercial intervention, stimulating the market to build more networks in these areas.
Alongside the Hub model, a rural voucher is offered as part of the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme to encourage greater take-up of gigabit-capable connectivity to residents and businesses in rural areas. Further information about the Scheme can be found here.
BDUK has been working with a number of strategic partners, including the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as well as Devolved Administrations and Local Authorities. These partners have identified a number of eligible rural public sector buildings to act as Hubs.
As of August 2020, good progress continues to be made on the RGC Schools project. Over 1,000 primary schools have been engaged and the RGC team is working with multiple suppliers to deliver this project.
The intervention has already had a demonstrable impact on the types of services available on the market due in part to the work around ongoing benchmarking costs. Furthermore, many communications providers are offering products that they have not considered selling before.
Programme Aims and Objectives
The programme anticipates that upgrading Hubs should provide:
- Improved public services and socio-economic outcomes as a result of gigabit-capable infrastructure;
- Improved access to infrastructure for homes and businesses in the final 20% to enable gigabit-capable connectivity;
- Wider adoption of best practice policies (e.g. making use of DCMS Streetworks Toolkit, and collaborative working practices with highways and planning); and
- Aggregation of local requirements to increase efficiencies.
RGC is complementing other BDUK programmes, such as Superfast Broadband and Local Full Fibre Networks. However, the RGC programme will not overlap with areas where a gigabit-capable solution will be delivered through these existing or commercial interventions.
How the Programme is being delivered
Entering into the later phases of the programme, the RGC team continues to review and test the current selection criteria against site lists. Recent contracts include interventions in Dumfries and Galloway and the Highlands.
The RGC team continue to encourage Hub site lists. However given the time remaining, these sites are now likely to be considered in future demand side interventions. Local Authorities and Other Government Departments should continue to do this via the RGC Hub Site Submission Sheet, which can be found above, which can be downloaded and completed. Completed sheets should then be sent to the rgc@dcms.gov.uk mailbox.
Although the completion of this Hub Site Submission Sheet is not a guarantee that BDUK will be able to invest in a particular scheme, it is a mandatory part of the selection process. If an expression of interest looks to be in alignment with the aims and objectives of the programme, BDUK may contact the Local Authority or public sector organisation for future demand side interventions.
How the selection process works
Once potential Hub sites have been identified from the Hub Site Submission Sheet, the sites will be filtered against the programme’s eligibility criteria to confirm which sites are eligible for funding.
The eligibility criteria will take into account a number of factors, including:
- Rurality;
- Speed threshold - sites must have a current download speed below 100Mbps (sites below 50Mbps will be prioritised);
- Funding considerations;
- State aid compliance;
- Existing interventions (commercial or otherwise);
- Value for money; and
- Deliverability within the timescales of the programme.
When eligible Hub Sites have been confirmed, the strategic partner will then proceed to work through the programme’s assurance process where further analysis of their initial sites (and any further sites submitted) will take place.
This will include completing a Business Case template, which includes a step-by-step assessment of the above eligibility criteria and explores how the strategic partner intends to deliver and manage the project.
If the Business Case is approved, this will result in BDUK committing funding, and the strategic partner entering into an agreement with a supplier to deliver the Hub connections.
What is required from a strategic partner?
During delivery, the strategic partner will be responsible for:
- Procurement;
- Monitoring progress;
- Ensuring management information requirements are met; and
- Contract management to ensure milestones are achieved.
When the connections have been delivered, the strategic partner and the supplier will be committed to provide management information which evidences the impact on services from the increased connectivity.
The strategic partner will also be required to undertake demand stimulation activities in the local area in order to increase take-up within the community (through newsletters, social media or leaflet distribution).
Moreover, the strategic partner will be responsible for reporting against agreed measures of benefit resulting from the new gigabit-capable connections at their Hub sites.
Dynamic Purchasing System
In January 2020, the Crown Commercial Services worked with DCMS (BDUK) to launch a procurement route for the public sector to purchase a range of broadband connectivity, fibre access and infrastructure build services. These services can be procured using a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS): RM6095 Gigabit-Capable connectivity (GCC). This offers pre-agreed technical and commercial documentation to underpin the procurement of services for eligible Hubs under the RGC programme.
What is a Dynamic Purchasing System?
A DPS is a public sector sourcing tool for common goods and services under Regulation 34 (Dynamic Purchasing Systems) of the Public Contracts Regulation 2015. More information regarding the DPS can be found here.
Future webinar information sessions around the DPS will also be taking place in the coming weeks and months with BDUK and CCS representatives for suppliers. You can register your interest by emailing rgc@dcms.gov.uk.
Funding process and State aid considerations
The RGC programme provides a one-off capital payment for individual, eligible Hub connections. A site must have an internal business justification for the upgrade, take-up a service from the new provision, and pay ongoing costs.
The programme follows the Public Sector Building Upgrade mechanism based on the Local Full Fibre Networks model, with each procuring body responsible for ensuring that there is no State aid present.
Following the European Commission Notion of aid document, the DCMS assessment is that the purchase of gigabit-capable internet connections by public bodies for non-economic purposes, either as an aggregated, regional approach or for individual sites is ‘no aid’ on the basis that it is not market distorting, as long as the public bodies only buy what they need. This will need to be considered for each individual proposal.
Various options for making payments via a number of platforms are available. For example, one option is that BDUK could make a budget transfer to the strategic partner, who then transfers funding to the relevant party (e.g. a supplier).
As with other BDUK programmes, the RGC team will ensure that their assurance process is applied thoroughly, prior to BDUK committing any funding, and to validate the eligibility of expenditure before payment.
As RGC is a research, development and learning programme, BDUK may find it necessary in the future to modify our current approach for future projects.
Should any further modifications to the programme be made, BDUK will communicate these changes in the first instance. BDUK ask that suppliers and consumers, in return, inform us of any changes to their situation, plans or strategies accordingly.
Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme
BDUK successfully closed the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme to new applications on 28 May 2020. However, rural vouchers remains open to continue to support the RGC programme objectives of increasing gigabit-capable connectivity in rural areas.
The Scheme enables small grants to be made to individual beneficiaries, which are paid directly to suppliers for administrative simplicity.
Beneficiaries use a postcode checker to identify providers operating in their area. They select a supplier who then requests a voucher from BDUK. Upon the completion of eligibility checks, a voucher is issued to the beneficiary and the supplier delivers the requested service. When a supplier notifies BDUK that delivery is complete and, subject to assurance checks (including beneficiary validation, cost audits and site visits) payment is made.
The current eligibility criteria for this new category of voucher includes:
- The postcode must be in an area defined as ‘rural’ by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for England and Wales in the 2011 Definitions, or the relevant pre-agreed classifications in Scotland and Northern Ireland;
- The location cannot be in plan to receive State aid funded gigabit-capable connectivity, or already have received gigabit-capable connectivity (commercially or otherwise);
- The new connection must provide a step change (double current speed, at least 30Mbps), and be gigabit-capable;
- Any premise that is capable of receiving a speed of greater than 100Mbps is not eligible to benefit from this new category of voucher under the Scheme, whether or not that connection is currently in use; and
- Residential vouchers can only be used when part of a group project (two or more premises).
For premises which meet this criteria, vouchers values will increase up to £3,500 for SME beneficiaries, and up to £1,500 for residents. Top-up amounts may be available depending on where you are located.
As of August 2020, over 12,000 rural vouchers have been issued with a value of £23.3 million.
Further questions
If you have any questions about the RGC programme, please direct them to rgc@dcms.gov.uk where a member of the team will be able to provide you with assistance.
Legal notices
Confidentiality
Subject to the disclosure rights below DCMS will not disclose any information which has been provided in connection with the RGC programme and expressly designated as confidential.
DCMS may disclose any information which has been provided in connection with the RGC programme to (i) any member, director, officer, employee or agent of DCMS or BDUK; (ii) any person acting as an adviser or consultant to DCMS or BDUK; and (iii) any other part of the UK government.
Publicity
Publicity activities with any section of the media concerning any aspect of the RGC programme may not be taken without the prior written agreement of DCMS (including as to the content of any such publicity). In this paragraph ‘media’ includes (without limit) radio, television, print, newspapers, trade and specialist press, the internet and email or mobile content accessible by the public.
Disclaimer
Whilst the content of this document has been prepared in good faith, it does not purport to be comprehensive nor has it been independently verified. Neither DCMS nor its advisers and their respective directors, officers, members, partners, employees, other staff or agents (i) makes any representation or warranty (express or implied) as to the accuracy, reasonableness or completeness of the information provided; (ii) accepts any responsibility for the information provided or for its fairness, accuracy or completeness; and (iii) will be liable for any loss or damage of any kind (other than in respect of fraudulent misrepresentation) arising as a result of reliance on such information or any subsequent information.
Personal data
It is acknowledged that in completing the hub site submission sheet and participating in the RGC programme, limited personal data will be provided to, and collected by, DCMS, who for the purpose of data protection law acts as the controller of such data. Further information relating to personal data can be found on the Hub Site Submission sheet, the document in which information should be submitted.
Last updated 8 June 2022 + show all updates
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Content moved to BDUK organisation page
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Updated voucher and schools figures for August 2020.
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Updates to the published information have been made.
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Narrative updated to reflect programme progress
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Narrative updated to reflect the Chancellor's recent rural funding announcement
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Hub Site Submission Sheet added.
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First published.