Consultation outcome

National Rolling Open Market Review September 2024 Request For Information

Updated 17 October 2024

Introduction

The government’s ambition is to deliver nationwide gigabit-capable broadband as soon as possible. We recognise that there is a need for government intervention in the parts of the country that are not commercially viable, this is why the government has committed £5 billion for the hardest to reach parts of the country, ensuring that all areas of the UK can benefit. This will be spent through a package of coordinated and mutually supportive interventions, collectively known as Project Gigabit.

As part of this, BDUK has developed a procurement approach for funding contracts to suppliers delivering gigabit-capable wholesale infrastructure. This procurement approach is a successor to the highly successful Superfast broadband Programme.

We wish to work collaboratively with industry to maximise efficiency, minimise market distortion and achieve our objectives within a tight time frame. To do this, we must first identify potential Intervention Areas (IAs) which are not currently commercially viable, where no infrastructure exists or is planned to be built within the next three years (however, we are also interested in plans beyond this period, if available).

As of January 2022, we have been asking suppliers delivering gigabit-capable infrastructure to submit national data returns on a 4-monthly basis (January, May and September) to provide detailed build plans at premises level. The purpose of this National Rolling Open Market Review (NR OMR) is to ensure that we have the most up to date information about suppliers’ existing and planned build - in particular commercial build - over the next three year period with supplier submissions being used to inform eligibility across Project Gigabit, (please see Project Gigabit for more information).

This will support better strategic planning and prioritisation of procurement IAs, streamline the previous local Open Market Review (OMR) process and minimise the risk of BDUK intervening in an area that would disrupt existing commercial plans. Data collected from the NR OMR is used to inform GigaHubs and UK Gigabit Voucher eligibility as well as support the development of other potential BDUK interventions.

Once the credibility of suppliers’ commercial build plans has been assessed through an NR OMR or OMR and validated through the subsequent Public Review (PR) stage, the premises identified by BDUK as eligible for subsidy will be grouped into appropriately sized IAs to ensure that the right areas are targeted for government investment.

We invite suppliers to provide us with information about their broadband infrastructure within the UK. We intend to review this data together with data available through Ofcom’s Connected Nations publication to allow us to carry out an assessment of existing and planned broadband connectivity.

For OMR, BDUK assesses gigabit-capable wholesale broadband infrastructure. BDUK has been working closely with Ofcom throughout the Gigabit scheme and has followed their distinction in the Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review (WFTMR). WFTMR Volume 1, paragraph 2.32 and Volume 2, paragraph 3.9 make clear that, despite a convergence of underlying infrastructure technologies, broadband and leased line products remain sufficiently distinct for differing treatments. BDUK subsidy goes to support residential and business broadband networks, not Leased Line connections.

Forming the IAs will include taking information learned from Ofcom’s Connected Nations data; publicly available supplier information about existing and planned build; feedback from potential suppliers about commercial attractiveness; information that we can gather through this NR OMR and any PRs that we may launch within the UK.

Through this NR OMR, working with suppliers, we hope to gradually build a comprehensive dataset across the UK. BDUK will use this information to inform the size and scale of the IAs. The IAs will be issued to the market so that suppliers can bid for funding to support delivery to those areas.

As part of the NR OMR we will ask participating suppliers to provide supporting evidence with their submission in the same way as they do for any other OMR, ie at the same time as their data submission via a Supporting Evidence Pack (which BDUK will provide the template for).

The NR OMR is used to update a PR Closure Notice where changes occur to the IAs. Where this is the case, we will publish an updated PR Closure Notice in line with the Open Market Review and Public Review Subsidy Control Classification Guidance document.

Why should suppliers participate in this National Rolling Open Market Review?

Our goal is to ensure we target the parts of the country that need government support first. By working together, we will help to maximise the use of public subsidy to help provide ever faster, better connectivity across all parts of the UK. This will help us to identify areas which will be left out because they are not commercially viable, thereby bringing significant benefits to the UK economy.

We actively encourage responses to this NR OMR with any existing broadband coverage, or planned broadband infrastructure build within the next three years. This means we can ensure we target the right areas for public subsidy, and avoid over-building viable, commercially planned broadband infrastructure.

Please provide us with your latest national dataset, and an update to your supporting evidence, every 4 months. We are aware that deployment plans change frequently and we require the latest data to evaluate your coverage accurately.

Unless an updated submission is received, BDUK will use your national submission for all subsequent discrete OMRs or PRs which are launched in the Lots that you cover. You will be issued with an outcome notification letter whenever your submission has been used which will confirm how your data has been treated across the relevant Lots in each release.

Where suppliers have only responded to discrete OMRs or PRs previously, but not to a NR OMR, your submission will not automatically be reused for subsequent NR OMRs.

Conversely where suppliers have responded to at least one NR OMR previously and do not provide an updated submission your previous NR OMR submission may be reused.

Suppliers should ensure their data coverage and Supporting Evidence Pack remain valid and up to date. These should be reviewed alongside each submission, ideally ensuring information is no more than 6 months old. By completing a regular refresh of your content this will mitigate against outdated information, potential data misalignment and ensure that evaluators are able to assess your submission accurately.

Further details on why we encourage all suppliers to participate in this NR OMR process include:

• Data gathered at the NR OMR is used to inform GigaHubs and UK Gigabit Voucher eligibility as well as support the development of other potential BDUK interventions

• Data may also be used to inform the latest Project Gigabit procurements, and changes to live contracts, and therefore it is crucial you respond to ensure that any coverage you have is taken into account, and the risk of overbuild is reduced

• For an example of this, see section 7 of the most recent Derbyshire (Lot 3) closure notice which references use of NR OMR data

• If BDUK receives new data for Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs) which have been the subject of a previous PR determination, if it meets the evidential requirements, BDUK may use this data to update the previous area by area PR determinations at our own discretion

• In short, supplier submissions will be used to inform eligibility across Project Gigabit, (please see Project Gigabit for more information)

• By responding to the NR OMR this enables us to understand your latest build plans and therefore best target public subsidy towards non-commercially viable areas

• As part of your NR OMR response you will also receive notification of your treatment, along with analysis of your data return. This analysis should be useful for you to see the extent of planned commercial overbuild in your deployment areas

• In addition, you will be provided the opportunity to obtain the lists of UPRNs which are classified as Gigabit White and Gigabit Under Review for your geographically relevant areas, so as you can understand the latest BDUK view of non-commercial areas

Where BDUK holds public intervention data for suppliers, this will be provided in advance of your submission, along with any feedback from previous submissions. This is being carried out in order to confirm that data held by BDUK is up to date and accurate and that supplier data is accurately reflected in your data coverage return.

Geographical scope

This Request for Information (RFI) will allow us to identify potential IAs for government subsidy. This NR OMR RFI is concerned with the following areas as shown below (and on the map):

• Central East England

• Central West England

• North East England

• North West England

• Northern Ireland

• Scotland

• South East England

• South West England

• Wales

Please note that although data and evidence is being collected for all areas above, the assessed outcome for the September 2024 NR OMR will be limited to England and Wales only; due to ongoing OMR/PR activity within Scotland and Northern Ireland.

BDUK will supply UPRN lists for the NR OMR (as outlined in Annex A), showing the UPRNs across the nation that we consider relevant to the NR OMR process. For convenience, these have been divided into ten separate files.

These UPRNs have been sourced from Address Base Premium Epoch 112, from Ordnance Survey published 15th August 2024.

To access this information, you will need to sign an Ordnance Survey Public Sector Contractor Licence. This is available as an attachment within the Project Gigabit supporting documents section.

In order to protect your data, we also require suppliers to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with BDUK, if this is not already in place, please email [email protected] to initiate this process.

For more information about current coverage in the above areas, please refer to the Ofcom Connected Nations report, which contains more information about connectivity, including speed data.

BDUK will endeavour to publish on a rolling basis the key findings and conclusions of our NR OMRs undertaken. Further information on the most recent NR OMR can be found within the Closure of the May 2024 National Rolling Open Market Review published 1st July 2024. This will be updated with outcomes at a later date.

Purpose of this National Rolling Open Market Review Request for Information

We are launching this NR OMR RFI to establish existing and planned coverage of broadband services within the aforementioned geographic areas over the next three years. We seek responses from broadband infrastructure suppliers that operate, or are planning to operate, within the geography over the next three years.

The results of the NR OMR will assist us with understanding the broadband infrastructure (whether next generation access, ultrafast or gigabit-capable) already in place and where there are plans for investment in such infrastructure in the forthcoming three years. This RFI will enable us to continue to design and make iterative updates to the areas to be targeted by BDUK interventions at BDUK’s discretion. This NR OMR process will be used by BDUK in any forthcoming formal PRs (known as the Public Consultation, under the Superfast Programme, a former broadband coverage subsidy intervention).

BDUK applies a best practice approach that includes an OMR (this NR OMR, and/or a ‘local’ OMR) and a PR. Supplier submissions will be used to inform eligibility across Project Gigabit, (please see Project Gigabit for more information.)

We will request and then evaluate the suppliers’ responses. During the evaluation exercise, we may engage with suppliers further to discuss and confirm their coverage claims.

Following this, we will be able to determine the eligibility of the premises for government subsidy. Below shows a summary of how the NR OMR process works.

National Rolling Open Market Review Process

1. BDUK issues an RFI.

2. Supplier prepares an NR OMR response.

3. BDUK responds to any process questions.

4. Supplier submits coverage data and supporting evidence.

5. BDUK evaluates supplier NR OMR response.

6. BDUK determines premises eligibility based on a technology and coverage assessment, potentially asking clarification questions of suppliers.

7. Assessment feedback is provided to all suppliers.

8. The NR OMR process concludes.

Where BDUK receives new data for UPRNs which have been the subject of a previous PR determination, if it meets the evidential requirements, BDUK may use this NR OMR data to update the previous area by area PR determinations at our own discretion. This will be supported by an updated PR Closure Notice.

Key eligibility requirements for subsidy

Read more guidance on the key eligibility requirements for the Project Gigabit subsidy.

The outcome of this NR OMR will be shown in terms of White, Grey, Black and Under Review premises. We will only subsidise build to premises which have been designated as White (at this point we may consolidate the outcome with any discrete/local OMRs and any PRs).

• White - indicates premises with no gigabit network infrastructure and none is likely to be developed within 3 years. Annex C provides information on the technology ‘qualifying’ as gigabit-capable

• Grey - indicates premises where a qualifying gigabit infrastructure from a single supplier is available, or is to be deployed within the coming 3 years

• Black - indicates premises with two or more qualifying gigabit infrastructures from different suppliers being available, or will be deployed within the coming 3 years

• Under Review - indicates premises 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.

Premises categorised as Under Review will be subject to continued monitoring and verification of supplier plans within the three-year period by BDUK. BDUK may request commitment from the supplier that significant progress is made within three years. In the event that these commercial plans fall away, these premises will be mapped as eligible and form part of the proposed IAs and so eligible for intervention via this aid measure. We request that suppliers inform us regarding all plans, including plans beyond the initial three-year period.

BDUK classifies premises on the basis of their existing or planned broadband infrastructure, as set out in Annex B and C. The NR OMR data analysis of suppliers’ broadband coverage claims is undertaken at UPRN level.

Treatment Of BDUK Vouchers Data

Coverage claims received from suppliers utilising Vouchers funding will be evaluated in accordance with the Subsidy Control evaluation process. This means that suppliers’ claims will be assessed against the technology solution being gigabit-capable for existing infrastructure.

Typically, Vouchers premises will be categorised as follows:

• Projects, or before Voucher is issued - White (BDUK data assessment indicates a very low chance that these UPRNs will be built to)

• Voucher issued - Under Review (around 4% chance UPRN will not be delivered)

• Voucher claimed - Grey (should be gigabit-connected)

Further information on the Subsidy Control evaluation process, including BDUK’s treatment of other BDUK intervention data can be found within the Open Market Review and Public Review Subsidy Control Classification Guidance.

BDUK intervention data includes, but is not limited to:

• Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS)

• Superfast (NBS 2012 or NBS 2016)

• Gigabit Infrastructure Subsidy (GIS)

• Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN)

• Rural Gigabit Connectivity (RGC)

• GigaHubs

• Other local body funded broadband infrastructure projects

Commercial process

BDUK will budget an appropriate amount of public funding from the Programme for each intervention, at the procurement stage. The budget will be specified within the relevant procurement documentation following the PR. Details of any restrictions on the use of public subsidy will be explained in the tender documentation. It is BDUK’s intention to procure gigabit-capable solutions – those capable of achieving a minimum of 1Gbps download speed - for the identified areas in scope for gigabit-capable deployment.

Suppliers have the opportunity, during the NR OMR and PR processes, to share with BDUK any firm and credible investment plans that may mean that public subsidy will not be warranted. It will be important for this NR OMR and the PR to establish these plans. Please see Annex B for guidance on how supporting evidence is used to assess coverage.

Please note that final IAs may be a subset of the premises classified as White in the subsidy assessment and will be subject to BDUK overlays, including other active/planned BDUK interventions (eg Superfast and GIS).

For further guidance on how BDUK determines our IAs for subsidy, please refer to Section 6 ‘Determining Intervention Areas’ of our Open Market Review (OMR) and Public Review (PR) - Subsidy Control Classification Guidance.

The role of local bodies

BDUK will work with the relevant local bodies (LBs) to answer questions, evaluate supplier responses, assess data accuracy, support the build phase and engage with the local community. Sharing the premises data set out within each location and IAs, during the NR OMR, will help us gain further confidence on eligibility for Project Gigabit interventions.

BDUK will maintain a central dataset and will work with authorities to assess and review the data in the areas relevant to the respective LB and IAs. BDUK will be responsible for the data and LBs are required to sign an NDA prior to gaining access to the data.

This RFI is being carried out independently of any activities that local bodies may be undertaking, for example, under the National Broadband Scheme 2016 known as the Superfast Programme.

Responses from residents, businesses and other stakeholders

For residents and businesses, responses should relate to whether you have, or expect to have gigabit-capable broadband service coverage in the next three years (and beyond). Any information provided in response to this National Rolling OMR should as a minimum include (but need not be limited to) the UPRN, or the area (ie Postcode) that the submission relates to and the nature of the concern.

For all submissions, BDUK would be grateful if you could confirm the following:

• Your organisation’s name (if applicable)

• Your organisation’s, or residential address and/or UPRN (if applicable)

• Your name

• Your email address

Members of the public and other respondents should follow the above format and email their submissions to [email protected]

Making a data response

To submit a data response, please follow the steps below, as well as referring to the guidance provided in Annex A:

• Sign the Public Sector Geospatial Agreement (PSGA) Contractor Licence, which will be required before downloading the data. Please return this, as soon as possible to [email protected]. If you have already signed a PSGA with BDUK through previous OMRs / PRs, there is no need to send this through again

• Once you have done this, we will provide you with login details to our portal where you will be able to download the UPRN files

• You may seek clarification, on making a data response, at any time from 17 September 2024 to 17 October 2024. Please send these questions to us at [email protected]

• You should make your data submission to us via the portal ensuring that the fields contained exactly match the name and order of those contained within the National UPRN files. Additional fields are permitted, however these should be included at the end of the data file submitted.

• Please do not assume that we will use a previous local OMR/PR submission for this NR OMR RFI. As referenced above, where suppliers have only responded to discrete OMRs or PRs previously but not to an NR OMR, your submission will not automatically be reused for this NR OMR RFI. If you have previously responded to an NR OMR RFI and wish for a previous NR OMR submission to be treated as your return for this RFI, please get in touch to confirm this in writing

• Please include all current and planned premises coverage, including premises that are outside of the premises base provided in the UPRN files in Annex A.

• Please provide any existing or planned infrastructure you have gained with assistance from government subsidy for example, Vouchers, Superfast (NBS 2012 or NBS 2016), GIS, LFFN, RGC and GigaHubs

Please note that the data you provide in your response will be treated as commercially confidential, albeit that it may be necessary to share some/all of your response data with our professional advisors and/or local bodies, Ofcom and Department for Business and Trade Subsidy Control Branch.

Please ensure that you engage with us as soon as possible to confirm whether you would require BDUK to put in place an NDA enabling us to share data (and where applicable and agreed, share supporting evidence with Devolved Administrations) between each other as part of this NR OMR process. If you already have a signed NDA in place with BDUK through previous processes, this is not required again.

It should also be noted that it is a requirement to use this information to produce maps to define White, Grey, Black and Under Review areas for gigabit-capable broadband. However, the published maps will show the aggregated White, Grey, Black and Under Review broadband areas, not the data provided on a per-operator basis. The final maps and UPRNs that will be used for procurement purposes will be published shortly after the conclusion of a PR and once approved by the National Competence Centre.

If you have any questions about any of the above, please contact [email protected].

Submission requirements

Responses to this NR OMR RFI must include the following:

1. A data submission that should cover your current and planned premises coverage (ie premises served by your network, or planned to be served by your network) at UPRN level as per the format outlined in Annex A:
   
   • please include all current and planned premises coverage, including premises that are outside of the geographic areas, and/or outside of the premises base provided in the UPRN files
   • please include any existing or planned infrastructure you have gained with assistance from government subsidy for example, Vouchers, Superfast (NBS 2012 or NBS 2016), GIS, LFFN, RGC and GigaHubs
   • additional guidance can be provided to suppliers if required, please contact [email protected] for support

2. An up to date Supporting Evidence Pack.
   
   Please note that the NR OMR process will involve ongoing resource commitments from respondents following initial data and evidence submissions at certain intervals in the process. Where additional clarification requests are raised, respondents should ensure adequate resources are in place to meet clarification deadlines. Responses received after these clarification deadlines may not be considered within the September 2024 NR OMR evaluation window.
   
   In addition, without refreshed evidence, there is no guarantee that the evaluators will return the same determination as they may have reached previously. As such, if you do not provide updates to your supporting evidence or data, or do not respond to CQs, this may affect the assessment outcome.
   

3. BDUK would also like to hear from operators their views as to the types of wholesale access products they would like to see offered on any newly created subsidised network infrastructure. This information may inform the intervention design. Please note that we are not obliged to include these products in the invitation to tender.

Please note that where your coverage claims are for gigabit-capable networks, then your response detailing your proposed network design and architecture must consider the technical definition as outlined in Annex C.

Evidence to demonstrate how planned investments are credible

There are three essential areas against which BDUK will evaluate your planned coverage claims to ensure the overall credibility of your planned investment. Our assessment will be based solely on the suite of evidence you provide in your Supporting Evidence Pack and will include:

• technology - whether the technology you have deployed and intend to deploy is gigabit-capable and meets the technical criteria as outlined in Annex C

• deliverability - whether your deployment plans are in line with the phases/premises passed outlined in your business plan, with the key build stages and processes outlined

• commercial/financial viability - whether you have credible commercial plans, such as sufficient access to capital and whether the drawdown of your funds aligns with your deployment plan and build programme

The information you provide should be consistent across these elements to support a joined-up evaluation of your responses.

In assessing whether planned investments are credible viable, BDUK may:

• review the business plans and calendar deployment plans to ensure these are consistent and in sufficient detail for each phase of the planned build

• require evidence to demonstrate credible and plausible character of the planned investment which as a minimum should include a business plan, a detailed calendar deployment plan, evidence of adequate financing, consideration of risk and proposed technical architecture

• ensure calendar deployment plans include the key build stages and when suppliers expect to undertake significant activities within their build programme such as design, surveying, acquisition, network build, network installation etc or the key processes involved in your build plan approach for design phase, survey phase, road notices/ wayleaves etc

• test that funding availability is sufficient for each phase of the planned build and that the capital allocated is sufficient and is consistent with the deployment plan

• review the terms of any financing arrangements and any dependencies and assumptions associated with the financing including repayment terms, KPIs, expected ROI, dependency on public subsidy such as Vouchers or regional subsidy schemes

• ensure that the network design and dimensioning information provided is in line with the projections made in the business plan regarding customer connections and growth expectations

Further information is included in Annex B and the Supporting Evidence Pack.

If your future network plans are entirely reliant on BDUK subsidy/interventions (eg Vouchers) it may not be necessary to provide a fully completed Supporting Evidence Pack alongside your data submission.

As set out within the Open Market Review and Public Review Subsidy Control Classification Guidance, planned Voucher build will be classified as White unless a Voucher has been ‘issued’ or ‘claimed’ in which case it will be classified as Under Review and Grey respectively. Classification of Voucher build will be based on BDUK held data of Voucher status.

In all cases please do provide us with a full data submission.

Please note that in line with the published guidance (Open Market Review and Public Review Classification guidance), we may be required to reclassify your coverage determinations previously determined as Gigabit Grey or Gigabit Under Review should the evidence no longer meet the requirements of a previous Subsidy Control Categorisation.

Date for return

Please submit responses to this NR OMR by the closing date of 17 October 2024.

Thank you.

BDUK Case Management Team

Annex A: Data submission format

Introduction

BDUK requires certain fields of data for each pertinent UK address as identified by the UPRN in order to monitor the current and future delivery of gigabit-capable services. This is done by requesting data on current and future connections from relevant suppliers. The below describes the format of the BDUK request file and how to format the data to return to us. If you require any additional support, guidance or clarification with this, please get in touch with us at [email protected].

UPRN list files

We have supplied ten UPRN files split by region showing the UPRNs across the nation that we consider relevant to the OMR/PR process. The purpose of providing this information to you is to present the UPRNs that we recognise and the format of the submission you should provide to us. Your response does not need to align with this baseline however any premises in your submission which do not align will be filtered out in analysis. If you are likely to re-use your submission for future OMR/PRs we would actively encourage you not to align with our baseline as it may change over time.

These UPRNs have been sourced from Address Base Premium Epoch 112, from Ordnance Survey published 15 August 2024 using the following high level logic:

• AddressBasePostalCode includes ‘D’, ‘C’ or’ L’ and therefore does not contain ‘N’ value ie not a postal address

• LanguageCode is set to ‘ENG’ ie English

• CountryCode is ‘E’, ‘W’, ‘S’ or ‘N’ ie within England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland

• Basic Land and Property Unit (BLPU) StateCode does not include ‘4’ ie do not include demolished premises

• LogicalStatusCode (found in the Local Property Identifier and BLPU table) is either to ‘1’ (approved) or ‘6’ (provisional)

• Sort by Logical Status Code (ascending) and remove UPRN duplicates (approved records are given a priority over the in-plan ‘provisional’ premises when duplicates are removed).

Further details can be obtained via the AddressBase Premium Technical Specification

Please do not pre-filter your data based on the UPRN files, instead please provide us with your entire UPRN dataset.

If you are using the UPRN files as the starting point for your return, please remove any UPRN rows which are not part of your current or planned network.

Please note that final UPRN datasets generated during IA design and issued as part of the invitation to tender (ITT) for procurements are further filtered, and deprioritised where necessary subject to factors such as UPRN proximity, type and location.

Explanation of Required Fields

The information that we provide against each property/premises is as follows:

Field Name	Description	Format
strUPRN	The UPRN (see below) prepended with “STR”, this is a mitigation against certain spreadsheet tools treating the UPRN as a large number and removing significant digits	Text
UPRN	The unique property reference number	Number
Single_Line_Address	Comma delimited single line address (eg 1, Acacia Avenue, Anytown)	Text
Postcode	Standard postcode	Text
Local_Authority_District	The local authority district	Text
Longitude	Longitude in the decimal degree format	Number
Latitude	Latitude in the decimal degree format	Number

The information that we ask for against each property/premises is as follows:

Field Name	Description	Format
Current_Technology	(Complete this field for UPRNs which are Ready for service (RFS) only) The technology you use for supplying that particular premises, examples of this could be ADSL, FTTP, FTTC etc This must be your broadband infrastructure only, we don’t require you to tell us about any other known technology serving the UPRN. RFS means a service can be ordered by a Communications Provider (CP) or end user for the premises and provisioned within industry standard timescales with no excess construction charges being applied to the CP or end user directly or indirectly (ie any end user would expect to pay only a published pre-agreed connection charge, if one was to be imposed, too), unless and to the extent that such excess construction charges are incurred due to a reason directly attributable to the private land of the end user, or of any landlord of the end user.	Text
Current_Max_Download_ Speed	(Complete this field for all UPRNs with ‘Current_Technology’) The maximum wholesale download speed in Mbit/s that you are able to supply to this property. This should be a positive number only. Please do not add any extra information. For example, if the current technology listed provides a download speed of 1 gigabit, please enter ‘1000’ not ‘1000Mbps’ or ‘1Gb’. This is the maximum download speed that the technology is capable of, rather than the actual speed that the UPRN is taking up at a given time.	Number
Current_Max_Upload_Speed	(Complete this field for all UPRNs with ‘Current_Technology’) The maximum wholesale upload speed in Mbit/s that you are able to supply to this property. This should be a positive number only. Please do not add any extra information. For example, if the current technology listed provides an upload speed of 1 gigabit, please enter ‘1000’ not ‘1000Mbps’ or ‘1Gb’. This is the maximum upload speed that the technology is capable of, rather than the actual speed that the UPRN is taking up at a given time.	Number
Future_Technology	(Complete this field for UPRNs that you plan to connect only) The technology you intend to use for supplying that particular premises, examples of this could be FTTC, FTTP etc This must be your broadband infrastructure only, we don’t require you to tell us about any other known technology serving the UPRN. If you are upgrading Current Coverage the technology type should not match Current_Technology.	Text
Future_Max_Download_Speed	(Complete this field for all UPRNs with ‘Future_Technology’) The maximum wholesale download speed in Mbit/s that you intend to be able to supply to this property. This should be a positive number only. Please do not add any extra information. For example, if the future technology listed provides a download speed of 1 gigabit, please enter ‘1000’ not ‘1000Mbps’ or ‘1Gb’. This is the maximum download speed that the technology is capable of, rather than the actual speed that the UPRN is taking up at a given time.	Number
Future_Max_Upload_Speed	(Complete this field for all UPRNs with ‘Future_Technology’) The maximum wholesale upload speed in Mbit/s that you intend to be able to supply to this property. This should be a positive number only. Please do not add any extra information. For example, if the future technology listed provides an upload speed of 1 gigabit, please enter ‘1000’ not ‘1000Mbps’ or ‘1Gb’. This is the maximum upload speed that the technology is capable of, rather than the actual speed that the UPRN is taking up at a given time.	Number
Date_of_Future_Rollout	(Complete this field for all UPRNs with ‘Future_Technology’) This should be the planned RFS date for the premises and should align to your Calendar Deployment Plan and should correlate and be consistent with the information contained in your Supporting Evidence Pack. This should not be the date that build commences. All Future Coverage premises must have an RFS date in the Date_of_Future_Rollout column. Please ensure that you check that the ‘Date_of_Future_Rollout’ column input contains a future date at the time of your submission. RFS means a service can be ordered by a Communications Provider (CP) or end user for the premises and provisioned within industry standard timescales with no excess construction charges being applied to the CP or end user directly or indirectly (ie any end user would expect to pay only a published pre-agreed connection charge, if one was to be imposed, too), unless and to the extent that such excess construction charges are incurred due to a reason directly attributable to the private land of the end user, or of any landlord of the end user.	DD/MM/YYYY
Delivery_Phase	(Complete this field for all UPRNs with ‘Future_Technology’) The planned phase for any future rollout which each UPRN shall form part of, eg Phase 1/Phase 2 etc, Tranche 1/Tranche 2 etc, Region 1/Region 2 etc These phases should align to your Calendar Deployment Plan and should correlate and be consistent with the information contained in your Supporting Evidence Pack. Please include context regarding each delivery phase in your Supporting Evidence Pack such as the risks and dependencies for the successful delivery of each phase and the mitigations/arrangements that you have in place to address these risks; a description regarding your resourcing plan for each phase; key milestones within each phase and the subsequent activities/timeframes to achieve RFS. RFS means a service can be ordered by a Communications Provider (CP) or end user for the premises and provisioned within industry standard timescales with no excess construction charges being applied to the CP or end user directly or indirectly (ie any end user would expect to pay only a published pre-agreed connection charge, if one was to be imposed, too), unless and to the extent that such excess construction charges are incurred due to a reason directly attributable to the private land of the end user, or of any landlord of the end user.	Text
Design_Stage	(Complete this field for all UPRNs with ‘Current_Technology’ or ‘Future_Technology’) Where an entry for both ‘Current_Technology’ and ‘Future_Technology’ is provided this entry will relate to the ‘Future_Technology’ The current phase of your coverage by using one of the following field entries: ‘1. Awaiting HLD’ - High Level Design (HLD) has not yet been completed. ‘2. HLD complete’ - HLD/area level plan has been completed. However, Low Level Design (LLD) work has not yet been completed or is in progress. ‘3. LLD complete’ - LLD and survey work has been completed, however, subcontractors/build partners, or in-house resources to complete the network build, are still to be appointed. ‘4. Build team appointed’ - Subcontractors / build partners or if applicable in-house civil resource has been appointed and commissioned to start the network build in accordance with the LLDs. All the necessary planning, acquisitions and wayleave agreements are finalised to allow the network to be constructed. ‘5. In build’ - Network build is in progress, however premises are not yet able to take up a service. ‘6. RFS’ - Network build and end-to-end testing is complete and premises are RFS RFS means a service can be ordered by a Communications Provider (CP) or end user for the premises and provisioned within industry standard timescales with no excess construction charges being applied to the CP or end user directly or indirectly (ie any end user would expect to pay only a published pre-agreed connection charge, if one was to be imposed, too), unless and to the extent that such excess construction charges are incurred due to a reason directly attributable to the private land of the end user, or of any landlord of the end user.	Text
Funding_Stage	(Complete this field for all UPRNs with ‘Future_Technology’) The current status of funding allocated to the UPRN. If your funding allocation is linked to your Delivery_Phase please reflect that in your data and explain that in your Supporting Evidence Pack. Please be aware that BDUK’s assessment of supplier returns will be based, in full, on the evidence requested in Annex B. As such, we cannot guarantee that we will accept how suppliers have categorised the status of their funding position. Field entries to use: ‘1. No funding planned or committed’ - While you may be planning to deliver to this UPRN, the funding is not yet in place to do so and/or you are seeking funding. ‘2. Funding planned, but not committed’ - You have in principle funding agreed to deliver to this UPRN, but the funding is not immediately available, requires further decisions such as Board approval, or is dependent on (for example) performance metrics. ‘3. Funding committed’ - Funding has been identified and has been allocated to delivery of this UPRN. There are no further conditions around drawing down or using funding and the funding is ring-fenced solely for the delivery of associated premises. This should be explained clearly in your financial plan, which should be provided as part of your Supporting Evidence Pack.	Text
Public_Intervention	(Complete this field for all UPRNs with ‘Current_Technology’ or ‘Future_Technology’) Where an entry for both ‘Current_Technology’ and ‘Future_Technology’ is provided this entry will relate to the ‘Future_Technology’ Please define if coverage has been or is planned to be connected using a public intervention. ‘Yes’ will be marked when a premises is dependent on funding from BDUK’s Vouchers, GigaHubs, Superfast, LFFN, RGC or GIS Programmes, or when an existing service was built with funding from one of those Programmes. Other public interventions (such as Local Authority schemes) should also be acknowledged and marked as a ‘Yes’ here. Further explanation should be provided in the ‘Public_Intervention_Type’, ‘GBVS_PRP_Reference’ and ‘Public_Intervention_Reference’ fields in addition to being referenced within your Supporting Evidence Pack. If this funding were to fall away, and the planned build would no longer be commercially viable, then an entry of ‘Yes’ should be used. If this funding were to fall away, but the planned build would still go ahead regardless, then ‘No’ should be used (see below). An entry of ‘No’ would indicate that the premises is planned to be built, or has already been built, entirely through commercial funding with no dependency on public intervention. Evidence of this funding should be provided in your Supporting Evidence Pack. Please also note that where you have indicated that a UPRN is dependent on public intervention by providing a ‘Yes’ in the ‘Public_Intervention’ column within your data coverage response; the approach by BDUK is to provide a default Gigabit White determination to any planned build and to supersede this determination with BDUK intervention data as described in the OMR/PR - Subsidy Control Classification Guidance. Any current build would not usually undergo this same approach. Please see the frequently asked questions section for further details.	Yes / No
Public_Intervention_Type	(Complete this field for all UPRNs with ‘Current_Technology’ or ‘Future_Technology’ where ‘Public_Intervention’ is ‘Yes’) Where an entry for both ‘Current_Technology’ and ‘Future_Technology’ is provided this entry will relate to the ‘Future_Technology’ This is the public intervention type, whereby the field entries to use are: GIS (pre contract award)’ - Gigabit Infrastructure Subsidy, pre contract award GIS (post contract award)’ - Gigabit Infrastructure Subsidy, post contract award for contracted and ‘Incidental Coverage’ premises, relevant only where you have secured a GIS contract. For a definition of Incidental Coverage premises, please refer to the instructions for completing the Financial Model in the ITT or contract. ‘Superfast’ ‘GBVS (pre request)’ - Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, before a Voucher has been requested ‘GBVS (post request)’ - Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, after a Voucher has been requested / issued ‘LFFN’ - Local Full Fibre Network ‘GigaHubs’ ‘RGC’ - Rural Gigabit Connectivity Additional public intervention types can also be provided, such as Local Authority schemes.	Text
Public_Intervention_Reference	(Complete this field for all UPRNs with ‘Current_Technology’ or ‘Future_Technology’ where ‘Public_Intervention’ is ‘Yes’) Where an entry for both ‘Current_Technology’ and ‘Future_Technology’ is provided this entry will relate to the ‘Future_Technology’ This is a public intervention reference, examples of field entries are as follows: GIS (pre contract award, where the ITT has launched for a GIS contract) - GIS Atamis ID e.g C0999 GIS (post contract award , relevant only where you have secured a GIS contract) - GIS Atamis ID e.g C0999 Superfast - Superfast Contract e.g LANC999 GBVS (pre request) - Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme ‘blank’ as no Voucher IDs available GBVS (post request) - Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme Voucher ID once requested/issued e.g GV3NITM6 LFFN - Project Name e.g North Yorkshire RGC - Project Name e.g English Primary Schools GigaHubs - Project Name e.g Oxfordshire Where BDUK holds public subsidy information for suppliers this will be provided shortly after the launch of the NR OMR process.	Text
GBVS_PRP_Reference	(Complete this field for all UPRNs with ‘Current_Technology’ or ‘Future_Technology’ where ‘Public_Intervention’ is ‘Yes’) Where an entry for both ‘Current_Technology’ and ‘Future_Technology’ is provided this entry will relate to the ‘Future_Technology’ This is a Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme voucher project reference, examples of field entries are as follows: AA1001 (Pre BDUK Voucher Funding Platform) AB10000001 (Post BDUK Voucher Funding Platform)	Text

Extra columns

Aside from the standard columns above, you may wish to add additional columns to provide additional information about your network. If this is the case, please add additional column(s) at the end of your data return and provide a clear explanation in your Supporting Evidence Pack of what these columns indicate.

Logic Table

The following logic table should be used as a reference when populating your data coverage submission. It demonstrates the typical data presentation that you should provide to BDUK and is consistent with the common data checks carried out. For reference this relates to Check ID 29 within the ‘Data Checklist’ provided to suppliers.

Cells that have been ‘greyed out’ should not be populated for the example scenarios provided. Download the logic table

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

To help with your submission the following FAQs have been provided for your reference.

1. I have a network build which requires additional work and costs to provide a gigabit service to the end user for which I would like to obtain Voucher funding for. How should this be represented in my data submission?
   
   1.1. If you do require public intervention funding to complete the connection to the end user and cannot support this work commercially, then show coverage in the Future_Technology field, Design_Stage = ‘5. In build’, Delivery_Phase = ‘Final Drop Connection Required’ and Public_Intervention = ‘Yes’. Please see scenario 7 within the logic table above for a data presentation example.
   
   1.2. If you do not require public intervention funding to complete the connection to the end user and can support this work commercially, then show coverage in the Current_Technology field, Design_Stage = ‘6. RFS’, Delivery_Phase = ‘Final Drop Connection Required’ and Public_Intervention = ‘No’. Please see scenario 8 within the logic table above for a data presentation example.

2. I am planning on delivering to an area, and would like to claim some Vouchers there. How should I reflect this in my NR OMR return, particularly if I am unsure on the specific UPRNs that I intend to claim Vouchers for?
   
   2.1. If you are able to indicate in your NR OMR return which specific UPRNs are commercially funded and which are wholly/partially dependent on Vouchers, then please use the Public_Intervention column to show this.
   
   2.2. If you are unable to identify the specific UPRNs at the time of your NR OMR return, you have two options:
   
   2.2.1. Mark all UPRNs as ‘No’ for Public_Intervention ie all UPRNs are to be delivered using commercial funding. This may result in these UPRNs being classified as Under Review, Grey or Black subject to the presence of other suppliers and therefore being ineligible for Voucher funding.
   
   2.2.2. Mark all UPRNs as ‘Yes’ for Public_Intervention ie all UPRNs are dependent on at least some public subsidy and without this subsidy you would not deliver there commercially. This is likely to result in these UPRNs being marked as White for your submission and therefore they could be eligible for Voucher funding subject to the presence of other suppliers.

3. Why should I respond to the NR OMR if I’m fully reliant on public subsidy funding? (ie Public_Intervention = Yes for all UPRNs)
   
   3.1. If your future network plans are entirely reliant on BDUK subsidy/interventions (e.g Vouchers) it may not be necessary for you to provide a complete set of supporting evidence alongside your data submission.
   
   3.2. Technical Evidence is still required, however, the requirements relating to Financial/Commercial details may not be required on your Supporting Evidence Pack. If you are providing a first time submission, we will advise if further information is required.
   
   3.3. By providing a submission, this also ensures that BDUK is able to represent your data correctly to encourage Voucher eligibility accuracy; and also allows us to complete a comparison exercise with public subsidy data that BDUK holds within our internal systems to ensure alignment with yourselves.

4. Why can’t BDUK use my Ofcom’s Connected Nations data submission?
   
   4.1. The Open Market Review (OMR) and Public Review (PR) - Subsidy Control Classification Guidance provides strict guidance for the assessment of supplier submissions in order to create a legal baseline for intervention.
   
   4.2. The Ofcom Connected Nations data is not collected for this purpose and is therefore not subject to the same assessment criteria.
   
   4.3. Discussions with Ofcom are taking place to increase alignment with the BDUK submission requirements and definition alignment. This is being done to reduce supplier burden.
   
   4.4. Timescales for the BDUK NR OMR and OfCom Connected Nations are already aligned (every four months) to help suppliers who may be pulling information together for both processes.

5. How often should I update my NR OMR data / Supporting Evidence Pack?
   
   5.1. Keep us updated - in a dynamic market, it’s difficult for us to assess information as valid if it’s more than 6 months old for example.
   
   5.2. Where your evidence no longer aligns with your data coverage submission and / or your evidence has timed out, evaluators will request additional information from you.
   
   5.3. For example, evidence and/or data that has not been updated for a long time by supplier X, who last provided evidence in December 2021. This would now likely be out of date and BDUK would assume you would like to update this to reflect the current position in your Supporting Evidence Pack.
   
   5.4. Suppliers are expected to sign off their Submission Information tab for every release of their Supporting Evidence Pack even if just to confirm that there is no change from the previous submission.

6. I have a GIS contract, how should I represent planned incidental build within my submission?
   
   6.1 Please see scenario 4 within the logic table which shows that this coverage should be represented with Public_Intervention = ‘Yes’ and Public_Intervention_Type = ‘GIS (post contract award)’
   
   6.2 If this GIS contract were to fall away for whatever reason, or this aspect of the coverage were to fall away within the contract, then these UPRNs should be updated in your next OMR and either removed from the planned coverage, or represented as commercial plans (i.e. Public_Intervention = ‘No’)
   
   6.3 As this build progresses to RFS then please ensure your OMR return is updated to reflect scenario 2 in the logic table

Annex B: Supporting evidence

In order to substantiate your existing and planned commercial coverage we require a complete and up to date Supporting Evidence Pack alongside your submission.

There are three essential areas against which BDUK will evaluate to ensure overall viability of your planned investment:

technology - whether the technology you have deployed and intend to deploy is gigabit-capable and meets the technical criteria as outlined in Annex C

deliverability - whether your deployment plans are in line with the phases/premises passed outlined in your business plan, with the key build stages and processes outlined

commercial/financial viability - whether you have credible commercial plans such as sufficient access to capital and whether the drawdown of your funds aligns with your deployment plan and build programme

Please note - we do not expect you to produce additional tailored material to support your response. We believe you should have sufficient documentation readily available that can enable us to make a determination of credibility.

Initial completion of a Supporting Evidence Pack

(Where a supplier is a first time NR OMR respondent and does not have an existing Supporting Evidence Pack)

First time respondents should provide supporting evidence in two ways:

1. A completed Supporting Evidence Pack (this template will be provided by BDUK) containing responses to each evidence request. Your responses may refer us directly to supplementary documentation (described below).

2. Supplementary documentation to substantiate your coverage claims such as network diagrams, business plan, deployment plans etc.

The supporting evidence you provide should correlate with your data coverage submission (Annex A).

An area to store supporting documentation, alongside your Supporting Evidence Pack, will be provided within the secure file portal set up by BDUK when making your submission. Please contact [email protected] to confirm your intent to respond to this NR OMR and we will provide you with access to the secure file portal.

Once evaluated, your Supporting Evidence Pack will be baselined and can be used for subsequent responses to NR OMRs and/or PRs.

For future submissions, suppliers should review and refresh the information provided in their Supporting Evidence Pack but do not need to submit a new document to support their claims. The document is a live document which can be updated for each submission in line with any changes to a supplier’s corresponding data submission (Annex A).

Updating of a Supporting Evidence Pack

(Where a supplier has previously responded to a NR OMR and already has an existing Supporting Evidence Pack in place)

Suppliers are the owners of their Supporting Evidence Packs and supporting information folders and as such responsible for ensuring that all the information remains valid and up to date each time a submission is made to an NR OMR and/or PR.

Suppliers should ensure their data coverage and Supporting Evidence Pack remain valid and up to date. These should be reviewed alongside each submission, ideally ensuring information is no more than 6 months old. By completing a regular refresh of your content this will mitigate against outdated information, potential data misalignment and ensure that evaluators are able to assess your submission accurately.

This may reduce the number of additional evidence CQs that you are issued with. Where a Supporting Evidence Pack has not been updated for a long time, for example the ‘Date of response/update’ was displayed as December 2021, this would likely be out of date and no longer reflect your organisation’s current position.

A common theme noted from recent NR OMR processes, which resulted in additional CQs being issued, referred to requests to see updated financial and deliverability information in line with build progress and future plans noted within data submissions. For example, supplier X indicated previously they had secured £10m of additional funding to increase their existing footprint by 20,000 premises. Alongside updates in terms of the Design_Stage and Funding_Stage within data submissions, updated implementation and financial evidence (ie a calendar deployment plan) and how much capex has been drawn down/spent and remains available would be expected to be revised.

In addition, it may also be appropriate for suppliers to update their technical supporting evidence to reflect such things as increases in capacity and/or any resulting changes in design associated with delivery of their planned build, take-up, etc in order to demonstrate continued gigabit capability.

Should suppliers require any additional support, in terms of updating, editing or archiving their Supporting Evidence Pack and/or their supporting information folders, please get in touch with us at [email protected].

We may be required to reclassify your coverage determinations previously determined as Gigabit Grey or Gigabit Under Review should the evidence no longer meet the requirements of a previous Subsidy Control Categorisation.

Please see below an outline of the process:

1. Supplier confirms intent to respond to NR OMR and/or PR and BDUK sets up a secure file portal.

2. Supplier uploads their data coverage file and updates their Supporting Evidence Pack and full suite of information.

3. BDUK Evaluators assess the evidence provided and raise CQs where necessary. Following the determination of supplier’s treatment, the Supporting Evidence Pack for that submission is ‘baselined’.

4. BDUK archives the baselined version of your supporting evidence.

5. When responding to a subsequent OMR and/or PR the supplier provides a new data coverage file and reviews the baselined evidence pack. The supplier will either:
   
   a. Verify that the Supporting Evidence Pack remains valid and no changes have been made to the information within; or
   
   b. Amend some or all of the responses in line with any updates to coverage plans and refresh supporting documentation which is no longer valid. Any changes to the Supporting Evidence Pack must be recorded accordingly.

Additional guidance on how to complete the Supporting Evidence Pack will be provided when setting up the secure file portal.

If you require any additional support, guidance or clarification with any of this, please get in touch with us at [email protected].

If your future network plans are entirely reliant on BDUK subsidy/interventions (eg Vouchers) it may not be necessary to provide a complete set of supporting evidence alongside your data submission. Please contact [email protected] if you are unsure.

Annex C: Technical definition

The technical definition is given in the Subsidy Control Guidance Section of the GOV.UK website:

The key areas are:

• Section 10.6 of the Detailed overview of the Gigabit Infrastructure Subsidy scheme:

• The Gigabit Infrastructure Subsidy Worked Example - Assessment Form for Gigabit Capable Solutions. Please note, this worked example shall be used principally for contracting purposes, but may be used for other purposes (ie NR OMR/ PR) and therefore may be of use when responding to this NR OMR.

Even if you are familiar with the definition, you should re-check it for each return, as it may change from time to time.