Norfolk County Council looks to the skies to provide ultra-fast broadband

Norfolk County Council (NCC) has announced the successful delivery of ultra-fast rural broadband connectivity to selected sites across the county along with a free-to-use public wireless service.

Introduced in 2021 to accelerate the country’s recovery from Covid-19, the UK government’s flagship £5bn Project Gigabit programme was launched to fire-up high-growth sectors such as tech and the creative industries, and level-up the country, spreading wealth and creating jobs across Britain.

On its launch, the government said it would prioritise areas with slow connections that would otherwise be left behind in broadband companies’ plans, and give rural communities access to the fastest internet on the market, helping to grow the economy.

Data published by the UK government in April 2024 showed £1.3bn had been invested in Project Gigabit deployment contracts, leading to nearly 82% of properties across the UK being able to access gigabit broadband, up from just 7% at the same time five years ago.

The data also showed that since the start of 2024, access to fast and reliable broadband connectivity was increasing at an unprecedented speed, putting nearly 380,000 rural premises in line to access a better broadband connection with what it claimed is a record £714m invested in the broadband roll-out so far this year.

Yet with the Project Gigabit deadlines imminent and many isolated areas not expected to benefit from fibre access until 2026 or later, a more immediate solution to meet demand at a lower cost is being sought.

With local governments needing support to provide long-lasting, robust networks to remote and disconnected areas, NCC is working with independent IT and business consulting services firm CGI to expedite the delivery of ultrafast connectivity to rural areas much earlier than otherwise possible through satellite-based solutions, and also streamline delivery on a condensed scale.

In collaboration with specialist suppliers Ingen and Onwave, CGI said its hybrid offering – using existing Starlink infrastructure to successfully accelerate delivery across several industrial sites – provides high reliability, low latency and secure connectivity across sites in rural regions.

“Digital connectivity is central to the prosperity of Norfolk as we look forward to the future, but also to the quality of life of most of our residents,” said councillor Jane James, cabinet member for corporate services and innovation at Norfolk County Council.

“CGI has partnered with us to develop a well thought out, innovative approach to ensuring improved connectivity across our county, particularly in those communities that have previously proved hard to reach.”

Ian Dunbar, CGI UK senior vice-president of consulting services, media and communications, added: “This project supports NCC’s programme for connecting rural communities, enhancing everyday life through digital connectivity. Having fast, stable and reliable connectivity is also necessary for NCC to deliver key critical services to rural communities, and CGI’s solution also significantly benefits industries located in remote areas, from agriculture and utilities to manufacturing.”