The government anticipates that up to 20% of homes and businesses in the UK may not get upgraded by commercial investment by 2030 and to upgrade these will require some public subsidy funding support. They have therefore set up the £5 Billion Project Gigabit Programme which includes procurements and voucher schemes and is being managed by Building Digital UK (BDUK), part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
For more information on Project Gigabit, please visit the government's Project Gigabit (GOV.UK) page.
Procurements
BDUK have divided the UK into different procurement areas known as 'Lots.' Most Surrey homes and businesses are included in Lot 22 (Surrey) although about 24,000 Surrey premises are included in other Lots including Lot 1 (West Sussex), Lot 26 (Bucks, Herts and East of Berkshire), Lot 27 (Hampshire), Lot 29 (Kent) and Lot 37 (Greater London).
Whilst most of the Lots across the country are progressing to procurement, the timeframes and scope for eligible Lot 22 homes and businesses have changed.
Those located in mid and west Surrey are now being considered for inclusion as part of a large cross-regional supplier framework with the estimated contract award date between April and June 2024.
Eligible homes and businesses located in eastern parts of Surrey are currently able to apply for voucher funding (see below) as the area is not included in a procurement. If these premises are not included in any fibre rollout plans, they will be re-assessed with a view to integrating them into the cross-regional contract covering west and mid Surrey, once this contract is in place.
Gigabit Voucher Scheme
The Gigabit Voucher Scheme enables eligible homes and businesses in east Surrey to work together as a community with a supplier and apply for voucher funding of up to £4,500 each towards the cost of getting full fibre infrastructure to their homes. To check eligibility and for more information, visit the government's Gigabit Voucher page and enter a postcode.
Note: the voucher scheme is not yet open to homes and businesses in mid and west Surrey due to the procurement activities that are currently underway.
