Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment

Tender description

The Better Broadband for Norfolk (BBfN) Programme is working to extend access to superfast broadband across Norfolk, beyond the reach of commercially funded deployments. Coverage across is expected to reach 95% of Norfolk properties by the completion of the current rollout at the end March 2020. This contract is seeking to provide further Next Generation Access infrastructure to provide access for as many of the remaining 5% of properties as possible. Bids must meet the requirements of the State Aid “umbrella scheme” approved by the European Commission which sets out the criteria for compatible projects: http://ec.europa.eu/competition/state_aid/cases/263954/263954_1760328_135_4.pdf This procurement is to further extend coverage of Next Generation Access (NGA) Broadband across Norfolk. Better Broadband for Norfolk (tranche 3) aims to provide access for as near to 100% of properties as possible. The intention is to procure further coverage of NGA broadband infrastructure (capable of delivering download speeds of at least 30 Mbps) in areas within its Programme Area where such broadband will be unavailable. Geographically, Norfolk covers a very large rural county with a land area of 549 751 hectares. Approximately 45 per cent of the population reside in just 4 large urban areas, the city of Norwich and the three large towns of Great Yarmouth, King’s Lynn and Thetford. Better Broadband for Norfolk is now looking to provide NGA access to further premises across its area. Rural Norfolk is relatively sparsely populated and that population is also dispersed across the whole county (i.e. there are no natural features, mountains, major lakes, or moorland that tend to concentrate people into confined settlements). The county’s population density in 2011 was 1,61 persons per hectare, which is the 6th lowest of the 27 shire counties — though with 537 066 hectares, Norfolk is the fifth largest in land area. Better Broadband for Norfolk conducted its first Open Market Review (OMR) in June 2012. The OMR indicated that planned commercial coverage for NGA broadband would reach approximately 42% of premises within the next 3 years, and would therefore leave the remaining 58% of premises without access to NGA broadband. In December 2012, a contract was awarded to deliver NGA broadband to these premises. In the 2013 Spending Review, the Government announced a further allocation of funding under the Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) Superfast Programme, with the aim of increasing NGA coverage across the UK to at least 95% by the end of 2017. Following an open procurement, a contract for Better Broadband for Norfolk Superfast Extension Programme was awarded. Better Broadband for Norfolk now intends to conduct a further open procurement in respect of the remaining area without NGA broadband infrastructure (known as “white NGA”), which comprises around 46 000 premises. It should be noted that the number of properties in Norfolk has increased by approximately 10% since the previous Better Broadband for Norfolk procurement. BDUK received approval on 26.5.2016 from the European Commission on its new National Broadband Scheme for the United Kingdom (referred to hereafter as the 2016 NBS). Better Broadband for Norfolk intends to conduct this further procurement under the 2016 NBS.