WSCC - TH - Very Hard to Reach Premises / Alternative Technologies Proposal

Tender description

West Sussex County Council (working in partnership with all seven of the County's District & Borough Councils) is hosting individual market engagement sessions to inform its response to the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport's (DCMS) Call for Evidence on "Improving Connectivity for Very Hard to Reach Premises". West Sussex County Council (WSCC) is continually exploring new opportunities to work with both suppliers and the UK Government to further leverage its investments by extending gigabit-capable coverage across the county and in particular its underserved areas. DCMS have stated that their programme of initiatives, whilst substantially supporting and accelerating the delivery of gigabit-capable broadband, is not guaranteed to deliver gigabit broadband to all premises. With this in mind, West Sussex fully anticipates the need to understand better the alternative technologies available in the market. This PIN is for market pre-engagement only and is not a call for competition. West Sussex Councils are keen to engage with the market to understand approaches to connecting "very hard to reach premises" and barriers to investment. This will be an opportunity to assess appetite and the conditions required to stimulate commercial investment at the same time as aiding the formulation our own investment plans, and informing our response to DCMS Call for Evidence. In addition, we would be happy to share with you at the one to one market engagement sessions some exciting council initiatives relating to the digital infrastructure agenda. For those market players interested in participating, there will be the opportunity to attend a virtual supplier engagement session during late May 2021 at County Hall, West Street, Chichester PO19 1RQ.