Extending high speed broadband project: integrated impact assessment

The Extending High Speed Broadband project will provide fast and reliable broadband with superfast download speeds of at least 30Mbps, but with an ambition to deliver 1Gbps, to homes and businesses in Wales that cannot receive a superfast service and are not in any commercial or publicly funded broadband roll-out plans in the next three years. 

The project supports the Programme for Government, published in June 2022, that states that the Welsh Government will: Deliver the Digital Strategy for Wales and upgrade our digital and communications infrastructure.

The Digital Strategy for Wales describes how the Welsh Government will use digital, data and technology to improve the lives of people in Wales. The strategy identifies a series of priorities under six missions. Mission 5 sets out how the Welsh Government will improve digital connectivity across Wales.

Access to usable digital infrastructure contributes to Well-Being of Future Generations Act goals, for example, it provides people with access to online learning opportunities and online health services and information. It will help tackle geographic digital exclusion, social isolation and help access online culture and information about sporting opportunities.

Long term

The way people access services and buy goods is increasingly online, a continuation of a trend from the previous two decades. Access to fast and reliable broadband is now considered essential. This project will address premises that do not yet have access and are not in the plans of telecommunications companies or publicly funded broadband roll-outs in the next three years. 

Prevention and integration

As stated above fast and reliable broadband provides people with access to a range of goods and services including online learning opportunities and online health services and information. It can help tackle geographic digital exclusion, social isolation and help access online culture and heritage. 

There are a range of other interventions in place to improve broadband connectivity from telecommunications providers and other public sector bodies. A process known as an open market review identifies which premises cannot receive a superfast service and are not in any roll-out plans for the next three years. Coordination with other public sector interventions will be vital and the Welsh Government already works closely with the UK Government through Building Digital UK, local authorities and city and growth deals in Wales.

Collaboration and involvement

The proposal has been developed following engagement with the telecommunications industry and through research carried out by Cwmpas on behalf of the Welsh Government. This research gathered feedback from households, businesses, and premises throughout Wales that are encountering difficulties in accessing satisfactory broadband speeds. 

The household data was gathered from across a range of ages from 16 to 75+ (the largest percentage were in the 54 – 63 at 31.4% and the smallest in 16-25 bracket at 1.45%) with circa 57% male and 43% female. Respondents were from across Wales, however as the research was targeted at areas without access to fast and reliable broadband more respondents were from predominantly rural counties.

The UK Government, local authorities and city and growth deals in Wales have also been engaged. 

The Cwmpas research found that the lack of reliable broadband has significant implications for daily activities and business operations. It affects various aspects, including accessing critical services, remote working, educational opportunities, and engaging with customers in the tourism sector. The research found a high level of general awareness and digital competence and residents expressed a strong preference for a stable and functional internet service that effectively utilises available technology. While Fibre To The Premises (FTTP) was considered the ultimate solution, there was a recognition of the need for bridging solutions until FTTP is delivered and a determination to explore and find ways to access the internet and meet their online needs. The key priority identified by respondents was getting an improved solution promptly.

In addition, the proposal also relied on other evidence including the UK Government call for evidence on improving broadband for very hard to reach premises: Improving broadband for Very Hard to Reach Premises: Government response. It found across all rural areas respondents overwhelmingly agreed that better broadband would improve their ability to keep in touch with family and friends, use online entertainment, access support services, work from home whilst caring for someone, and improve their welfare and wellbeing. All business respondents said that improved connectivity would improve the productivity of businesses and would mean that online applications can be used more extensively and efficiently.

Further analysis from Scotland highlighted the role that digital connectivity can play in tackling social isolation, particularly in rural areas. It found that digital technology is an important and widely used tool for facilitating social connection, but for those without access, it can contribute to social isolation and loneliness. Individuals and organisations agree on the usefulness of digital technology in connecting and bringing people together, particularly where it is used to advertise in-person activities or services.

Impact

The main arguments for the proposal to improve broadband connectivity are set out in the benefits identified in the proposal which include:

• businesses can attract and retain customers globally
• businesses can make use of cloud technologies to support their business
• businesses can seek and make efficiencies through broadband enabled technologies
• residents can access lifelong learning opportunities online
• residents can take part in civic life
• connectivity can help to tackle social isolation by enabling friends and family to stay in contact
• residents can access public services online
• residents can access lower cost goods and services online
• the ability to access online goods and services can help prevent migration from rural areas
• third sector organisations can access the online services they need to support the work of their organisation. 

A number of dis-benefits have also been identified. These centre around digital exclusion, economic impact, impact on users and disruption during deployment. For example, social groups where digital literacy is low, such as amongst older people and low-income groups, may feel more isolated as greater dependency is put upon communicating and conducting transactions over the internet.  The proliferation of high-speed broadband take-up has increased consumer online spend away from traditional high street businesses, which can adversely affect the local economy. People can be at risk from e-crimes, such as online fraud, virus attacks, identity theft etc. Civil works to lay fibre and associated infrastructure can take several weeks and can lead to short term disruption locally.

As described above, research was carried out by Cwmpas on behalf of the Welsh Government to gather feedback from households, businesses, and premises throughout Wales that are encountering difficulties in accessing satisfactory broadband speeds. As highlighted above the business case also relied on other evidence including the UK Government call for evidence on improving broadband for very hard to reach premises.

Costs and savings

The project will be funded using monies returned to the Welsh Government through a clawback mechanism in the Superfast Cymru project grant agreement. The cost of the project will be determined via the grant award process.

The project is focused on those premises without access to a superfast broadband service and that aren’t in the plans of a commercial or publicly funded broadband deployment in the next three years. The project will share data and use the data from the UK Government led national open market review process to ensure that the project only addresses those premises not in other roll-outs. 

There are no identified savings, but best value will be sought through the grant award process.

Mechanism

The project will target up to 84,000 premises in Wales premises that cannot receive a superfast service and are not in any roll-out plans in the next three years. It will grant fund one or more telecommunications providers to build a network over three years.  The project is technology neutral. There is no legislation proposed.

How have people most likely to be affected by the proposal been involved in developing it?

The project proposal has been developed following engagement carried out by Cwmpas on behalf of the Welsh Government to gather feedback from households, businesses, and premises throughout Wales that are encountering difficulties in accessing satisfactory broadband speeds. Cwmpas directly consulted with communities acting on mapping data and their existing intelligence on, geographical locations with historic known issues identified through their existing channels such as, Local Councillors, Local Authority Broadband officers, Rural representative bodies and Community Leaders. Consultations were held across Wales with a mix of digital consumers, including a wide age demographic. These included, students, older people, micro business owners, home workers and parents and guardians.

UK Government officials, local authorities and city and growth deals in Wales have also been engaged to ensure that the project plans would be complementary to other planned and potential public sector roll-outs. This engagement is ongoing as this and other projects are developed.

In addition, the project proposal also relied on other evidence including the UK Government call for evidence on improving broadband for very hard to reach premises. Respondents were asked whether they believed better broadband would improve their ability to keep in touch with family and friends, use online entertainment, access support services, work from home whilst caring for someone, and improve their welfare and wellbeing.

Finally, market engagement activity was undertaken with the telecommunications industry across the development of the project to understand their current and future roll-out plans, their appetite to participate in the project and their preferred approach.

What are the most significant impacts, positive and negative?

The most significant impacts of the extending high speed broadband project will not be the infrastructure that is deployed under the project but what the access to fast and reliable broadband enables people, businesses and third sector organisations to do. The main benefits are:

• businesses can attract and retain customers globally
• businesses can make use of cloud technologies to support their business
• businesses can seek and make efficiencies through broadband enabled technologies
• besidents can access lifelong learning opportunities online
• residents can take part in civic life
• connectivity can help to tackle social isolation by enabling friends and family to stay in contact
• residents can access public services online
• residents can access lower cost goods and services online
• the ability to access online goods and services can help prevent migration from rural areas
• third sector organisations can access the online services they need to support the work of their organisation. 

It will also support the public sector to provide digital services that are built around the needs of the service user, improving access and exploiting efficiencies.

As highlighted in the introduction to this assessment, a number of dis-benefits have also been identified. These centre around digital exclusion, economic impact, impact on users and disruption during deployment. For example, social groups where ICT literacy is low, such as amongst older people and low-income groups, who may feel more isolated as greater dependency is put upon communicating and conducting transactions over the Internet. The proliferation of high-speed broadband take-up has increased consumer online spend away from traditional high street businesses, which can affect the local economy adversely. People can be at risk from e-crimes, such as online fraud, virus attacks, identity theft etc. Civil works to lay fibre and associated infrastructure can take several weeks and can lead to short term disruption locally.

Good connectivity underpins well-being goals outlined under the Well-Being of Future generations Act. It supports a prosperous Wales by bringing benefits to businesses including the ability of businesses to attract and retain customers globally and make use of cloud technologies to support their business. Also it can help children and young people learn through online educational resources and others with lifelong learning opportunities. Decent broadband also provides access to lower cost goods and services online.

Access to fast and reliable broadband supports the creation and helps to sustain another well-being goal of cohesive communities. It does this by tackling social isolation, enabling friends and family, including children and young people, to stay in contact, and provide access to public services. Good digital connectivity will also help third sector organisations access, create and support the online services they need to deliver the work of their organisation.

Although the Extending High Speed Broadband project is involved purely with building broadband infrastructure, arguably access to high-speed broadband is a tool to enhance equality and could be seen as a social and economic leveller. The project will help to ensure that infrastructure will be available for all Welsh residents and businesses in the geographical areas where it is built, all groups of people will be impacted including those with protected characteristics. In doing so it supports the more equal well-being goal.

The extending high speed broadband project could have a positive impact on Welsh language, culture, and heritage, helping to support the vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language well-being goal, through better connectivity for businesses and organisations involved in culture, heritage, arts, sports and recreation. The project also supports ‘Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh Speakers’ by providing access to online learning opportunities and resources to support learners. For example it will allow leaners to access the e-sgol platform. It will also provide access more generally to Welsh online content including entertainment, information and fora. 

Access to high-speed broadband can support the health and well-being of people in Wales by helping them gain access to a wide variety of online resources and services including the NHS Wales app. 

Providing access to fast and reliable broadband supports the Programme for Government aim to ‘Deliver the Digital Strategy for Wales and upgrade our digital and communications infrastructure’ and delivers against Mission 5 in the Digital Strategy for Wales. This project will build on Welsh Government action to date to improve access to fast and reliable broadband, for example, the Superfast Cymru project and the successor full fibre deployment, the Access Broadband Cymru grant scheme and the Local Broadband Fund.

In light of the impacts identified, how will the proposal maximise contribution to our well-being objectives and the seven well-being goals; and/or, avoid, reduce or mitigate any negative impacts?

The impact of the project will, by and large, be positive.  Access to fast and reliable broadband is a pre-requisite in a modern society. The most significant positive impacts will be on those residents and businesses, predominantly but not exclusively in rural and remote areas that do not have access to fast and reliable broadband and are not in any commercial or publicly funded roll-out plans in the next three years. 

This is an infrastructure build project which facilitates a range of benefits through better connectivity and as highlighted above underpins well-being goals. There are, however, some goals that the project can influence directly, for example around biodiversity. The need for the telecommunications provider to have due regard conserving biodiversity has been outlined in previous grant agreements to build digital infrastructure. The new grant agreement will reflect this. The project team will review how the need to protect and enhance biodiversity can be included both in the grant agreement and the procurement specification.

The majority of the disbenefits outlined above are downstream of the infrastructure build and are outside of the scope of the project.  However, there are a number of mitigations that could be envisaged to address them. This could include ensuring the telecommunications company building the infrastructure communicates in an open and transparent way ahead of the deployment of the infrastructure to help to minimise any disruption to local residents and businesses. 

How will the impact of the proposal be monitored and evaluated as it progresses and when it concludes? 

This impact assessment will be monitored as the project develops and enters the delivery phase of the project and will be updated as necessary.  As part of the project management process there will be regular reviews of the project including post project evaluation.