TalkTalk Government launches Project Speed

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has launched Project Speed, which he claimed would "scythe through red tape and get things done", potentially benefiting the broadband sector. Firms including CityFibre welcomed Johnson's comments but noted the lack of specifics, and called for the implementation of "policy and regulatory conditions" to support the UK's digital infrastructure.

Tuesday, Jun 30th, 2020 (1:27 pm) - Score 8,962

The UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has today pledged to accelerate new infrastructure projects by establishing something called Project Speed to “scythe through red tape and get things done,” although unfortunately the announcement was rather short on specifics (or anything truly new) for broadband and mobile.

Prior to today’s speech in Dudley there had been some newspaper reports, which suggested that broadband might be one of the areas to benefit from the Prime Minister’s announcement (i.e. some limited talk of new investment). But so far as we could tell the Prime Minister didn’t actually announce anything new on that front.

The best we got today were a few fleeting mentions of broadband and a pledge of £900m for a range of “shovel ready” local growth projects in England over the course of this year and next (we’ve already reported on a few of those), as well as £96m to accelerate investment in town centres and high streets through the Towns Fund this year (old news). Both are existing announcements and include some aspect of broadband delivery.

Lest we forget Boris Johnson’s existing commitment to invest £5bn in order to get “gigabit broadband sprouting in every home” by the end of 2025 – focused on the final 20% of premises (here). Curiously there wasn’t any specific mention of that target today, which is a little surprising since almost everything else seemed to be a re-announcement of existing plans. But there was one interesting bit below.

Boris Johnson said: “Delays in our system are a massive drag on the productivity and the prosperity of this country and so we will build better and build greener but we will also build faster. And that is why the Chancellor and I have set up Project Speed to scythe through red tape and get things done. And with every home we make, every mile of full fibre broadband that we lay, with every flood-defending culvert that we dig, with every railway station, hospital or school that we build. We will of course be tackling the next wave of this crisis, by helping to create thousands of high-paid high-skilled jobs. Because we know in our hearts that the furloughing cannot go on forever. … And in those towns that feel left behind we have plans to invest in their centres. And with new academy schools, new green buses, new broadband. And we want to make them places where people have the confidence to stay, to raise their families and to start businesses.”

Project Speed sounds interestingly, although at this stage we’re not entirely sure how (if at all) it will differ, in terms of aiding broadband delivery, from the good work that DCMS’s existing Barrier Busting Task Force has already been doing for the past few years.

Greg Mesch, CEO of CityFibre, said: “Project Speed will not find a faster technology than full fibre infrastructure to support the country’s recovery. Our multi-billion pound shovel-ready build programme is already well underway which will allow CityFibre to create up to 10,000 jobs up and down the country. From Bradford to Southend, Doncaster to Ipswich and beyond, the opportunity is there for full fibre to create a new agile, green and balanced economy where nobody is left behind. What the U.K. needs now is the Government to put in place the right policy and regulatory conditions to level up our digital infrastructure and unlock a new platform for success.”

Lloyd Felton, CEO County Broadband, said: “We welcome today’s announcement of a multi-billion pound investment in the UK’s infrastructure to turbo charge economic growth, but note that there was no firm commitment to re-fuelling the pledge towards providing full-fibre connectivity to the whole of the UK by 2025. The COVID-19 lockdown has transformed almost every aspect of modern life and, creating an unexpected mass trial of working from home, video calling family and friends, virtual education for our children, online consultations and the move away from traditional TV to online streaming… The golden thread running through this is broadband and whilst the UK’s digital infrastructure has, by in large, been holding steady, the creaking at the seams is becoming noticeably louder. For too long we have relied on outdated copper cables to deliver this essential utility and the UK continues to lag behind our European neighbours. We must turbocharge the rollout of future-ready full-fibre broadband so businesses have the digital capacity for growth and households can keep connected to the ever-growing number of devices and services in the home. Nowhere is this more important than in rural parts of the country which have historically been left behind. We are continuing to drive forward the rollout of our Hyperfast full-fibre service to ‘often-forgotten’ rural communities across Essex, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire following a multi-million private investment. A collaborative approach of private and public investment will mean the UK can stand tall in the digital sphere and compete on an international scale. Any failure to do so will ripple through generations to come. We must not delay.”

Daren Baythorpe, CEO of Full Fibre Network ITS, said: “Connectivity has been vital for businesses to continue to operate during lockdown and will play a critical role in the country’s economic recovery as we navigate the new normal. As a business, we focus on building networks reusing existing ducts where we can – quick to build, clean, green and sustainable. We are committed to continuing to play our role in the government’s ambitions and supporting Project Speed, rolling out full fibre networks as part of our Faster Britain programme, working with our partner community to deliver connectivity and broadband where it is needed most.”

Hopefully we’ll get a better idea of what the Government intends once the next Spending Review comes around. Not to mention the long awaited National Infrastructure Strategy (NIS), which is apparently due later this year (we’ve heard that one before). Meanwhile some might be forgiven for responding to the “build, build, build” call with a quote from the 1996 film Jerry Maguire – “show.. me.. the.. money..” (replace “money” with “policy” or “framework” as required).