R100 and R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) programme: FOI release

Information requested

1. As of 24 November 2021, precisely how many properties are eligible for being covered under LOT 1 of R100 within the Highland Council region?

2. As of 24 November 2021, how many properties within the Highland Council region have been connected via fibre to the premises (FTTP) through the R100 programme?

3. As of 24 November 2021, how many properties within the Highland Council region are still awaiting to be connected via fibre to the premises (FTTP) through the R100 programme?

4. As of 24 November 2021, precisely how many properties are eligible for being covered under LOT 1 of R100?

5. As of 24 November 2021, how many properties covered under LOT 1 have been connected via fibre to the premises (FTTP) through the R100 programme?

6. As of 24 November 2021, how many properties covered under LOT 1 are still awaiting to be connected via fibre to the premises (FTTP) through the R100 programme?

7. Please provide a timeline which sets out when the following milestones are expected to be met in the delivery of FTTP in LOT 1:

• 10%
• 20%
• 30%
• 40%
• 50%
• 60%
• 70%
• 80%
• 90%
• 100%

8. Please confirm which milestones have been met?

9. Within LOT 1, how many properties:

• Are eligible to apply for the voucher worth up to £400?
• Have applied for the one-off voucher worth up to £400?

10. As of 24 November 2021, what is the total sum the Scottish Government has paid out to provide vouchers worth up to £400 to properties within LOT 1?

11. Within LOT 1, how many properties:

• Are eligible to apply for the voucher worth up to £5,000?
• Have applied for the one-off voucher worth up to £5,000?

12. As of 24 November 2021, what is the total sum the Scottish Government has paid out to provide vouchers worth up to £5,000 to properties within LOT 1?

Response

For the purposes of this request, where you have requested information pertaining to “R100 via fibre to the premises (FTTP)” or “connected via FTTP”, we have taken these to refer to the R100 programme contracts as differentiated from R100 SBVS in Question 1. It may, however, be helpful to be aware that the R100 programme is comprised of three strands of activity; R100 contracts, R100 SBVS and continued commercial deployment. From the outset, the R100 programme has been technology neutral specifying only that the connection provided must be capable of delivering a superfast service (at least 30 megabits per second download speed).

1. As of 24 November 2021, we expect the R100 North Lot Contract to build to 12,773 premises across the Highland Council region with a further 10,606 premises eligible for the SBVS Main Voucher (MVS) worth up to £5,000 per premises.

As of 24 November 2021, 15,024 premises in the Highland Council region were eligible for the SBVS Interim Voucher Scheme (IVS) offering up to £400 per premises with an additional £250 available for those in the most challenging areas.

2. As of the 24 November no premises have been connected via FTTP through the R100 North contract in the Highland Council region.

However Openreach, BT plc’s delivery partner for the R100 contracts, has undertaken substantial survey work through which specific engineering requirements are identified as well as any access agreements for private land or properties that may be needed. Crucially, supporting infrastructure has been deployed which is required to enable the connections to individual premises. Many miles of cabling to connect communities to the core network must be installed before the final connections to homes and businesses are made.

3. As of 24 November 2021 there are 12,773 premises still to be connected to FTTP in the Highland Council region via the R100 North contract.

4. As of 24 November 2021, we expect the R100 North Lot Contract to build to 59,276 premises across the north of Scotland (Lot 1) with a further 36,903 premises eligible for the SBVS Main Voucher (MVS) worth up to £5,000 per premises.

As of 24 November 2021, 68,571 premises were eligible for the SBVS Interim Voucher Scheme (IVS) across the north of Scotland (Lot 1) offering up to £400 per premises with an additional £250 available for those in the most challenging areas.

5. Openreach, BT plc’s delivery partner for the R100 contracts, advise that 109 premises have been connected through the R100 North contract. These figures are subject to appropriate programme assurance.

Openreach has also undertaken substantial survey work through which specific engineering requirements are identified as well as any access agreements for private land or properties that may be needed. For the R100 North Lot, in particular, this includes the completion of the surveys for subsea cabling which is a complex and significant undertaken. This is, however, currently subject to appropriate programme assurance.

Crucially, supporting infrastructure has been deployed which is required to enable the connections to individual premises. Many miles of cabling to connect communities to the core network must be installed before the final connections to homes and businesses are made.

6. As of 24 November 2021 there are 59,276 premises still to be connected to FTTP via the R100 North contract with appropriate programme assurance checks still to be completed.

7. Deployment through the R100 contracts is not managed according to the percentage milestones set out in the question. We have provided an indicative timeline below, however, these do not constitute contractual milestones and are not measures on which we report.

• 10% - Quarter 2, 2022-23
• 20% - Quarter 4, 2022-23
• 30% - Quarter 3, 2023-24
• 40% - Quarter 1, 2024-25
• 50% - Quarter 3, 2024-25
• 60% - Quarter 1, 2025-26
• 70% - Quarter 3, 2025-26
• 80% - Quarter 4, 2025-26
• 90% - Quarter 2, 2026-27
• 100% - Quarter 4, 2026-27

All of the R100 North lot contract build will be delivered utilising fibre-to-the-premises or FTTP technology, capable of providing gigabit speeds – over 30 times faster than our superfast commitment. It will involve the laying of 16 new subsea cables, ensuring there are subsea connections in all of our island local authorities providing resilient, future proofed, gigabit-capable connectivity. The fact that much of the technology delivered will go beyond our original commitment means that the civil works will take time.

8. None of the milestones outlined above are yet due however, a number of contractual milestones have been delivered, specifically the survey and detailed design completion for several build phases, and subsea contract coming into force. Openreach has confirmed that subsea surveys have been completed. As highlight above, this latter milestone is subject to programme assurance.

The North Lot contract was subject to a legal challenge, and contract award was placed on hold until the matter was resolved. The North lot contract was subsequently signed with BT on 11 December 2020, resulting in a delay to contract delivery in the North Lot.

We remain committed to providing support to ensure that everyone can access superfast broadband services through the R100 SBVS, with around 70 suppliers currently registered to deliver services.

In addition, the interim portion of the SBVS has been extended by three months providing more time for people to access a temporary superfast broadband connection while contract build progresses.

Homes and businesses in Scotland that are unable to access fast internet speeds now have until 31 March 2022 to apply for funding worth up to £400 under the Reaching 100% (R100) Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme. An additional £250 is available for those in the hardest-to-reach areas.

9. As of 24 November 2021, a total of 68,571 premises in the north of Scotland (Lot 1) are eligible for the SBVS interim voucher (IVS).

The IVS is a demand led scheme and, as of 06 December 2021 when the information search was conducted, 290 requests have been received from applicants residing in the north of Scotland (Lot 1).

10. As of 23 November 2021 £18,669.62 has been paid for IVS in the north of Scotland (Lot 1). This is the closest date to that requested that our systems allow for.

11. As of 24 November 2021, a total of 36,903 premises in the north of Scotland (Lot 1) are eligible to apply for the SBVS Main Voucher (MVS) which offers up to £5,000 to secure a permanent superfast broadband connection.

The MVS is a demand-led scheme and, as of 06 December 2021 when the information search was conducted, a total of 1,525 requests have been received from applicants in the north of Scotland (Lot 1) for the MVS. No date has currently been set for the closure of MVS.

12. As of 23 November 2021, £673,120.67 has been paid for MVS in the north of Scotland (Lot 1). This is the closest date to that requested that our systems allow for.

Please note that these costs are not reflective of build to date as suppliers may not yet have submitted their invoices for completed installations or invoices may be undergoing assurance checks before approval. The above figures are actual spend as of the 23 November 2021.

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