UK ISP B4RN (Broadband for the Rural North), which is deploying a 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) network to rural premises in several counties across England, has furnished us with a progress update and revealed that they aim to reach 40,000 properties passed by 31st March 2022 and possibly c.70,000 by 2025/26.
The provider, which has been busy building “full fibre” to homes since 2012, is registered as a Community Benefit Society (i.e. it can’t be bought by a commercial operator and profits are distributed back into the community) and can reach into some very remote parts of Lancashire, Cheshire, Cumbria, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Yorkshire.
Until recently the majority of their network had been funded by communities investing in the company and many of those did so while also helping to physically build the new fibre infrastructure (volunteers on soft digs through fields etc.). This tends to generate high levels of take-up in a very short space of time because people often feel a strong connection to that which they’ve helped to create.
However as B4RN has grown then they’ve also built-up their own in-house civil engineering team and often work with sub-contractors on bigger builds, which forms part of a hybrid model (i.e. B4RN provides all the design, materials and equipment but a third-party is doing the civils on a daily rate). Similarly their funding sources have also become more diverse.
As it stands today the operator has so far been supported by around £7m in shares, £3.3m from a Triodos Bond and £1.6m in community investor loans. The latter is shrinking as they’ve already paid off over half of the total loans they had. On top of that they’ve also had around £2.3m worth of gigabit broadband vouchers (GBVS and RGC) from the government and another £3.7m worth of those are set for future builds (and rising).
NOTE: Volunteers who help on soft digs (farms etc.) do so in exchange for shares.
The COVID-19 Impact
Despite all this progress the ISP is still a bit behind where they’d normally be and currently have 7,235 connections (i.e. customers, not premises passed) on their network, which is up from 6,000 a year ago. A big part of the reason for this is due to all the disruption caused by the COVID-19 crisis, which has made it challenging to get into houses to do the last bit of fibre.
As a result they’re currently delivering around 150 connections per month, which is well below their target for this period but that should slowly climb back to around 200 in July and then 250 in August etc. Going forwards the actual build rate should soon reach 500 per month.
The operator’s latest target for 31st March 2022 is now 40,000 properties passed (with 20,000 connected) and if all goes well then they hope to hit around 70,000 by 2025/26, which is quite a significant chunk of remote rural premises for an operator that, some years ago now, started with only a few volunteers and some shovels.
Barry Forde, CEO of B4RN, told ISPreview.co.uk:
“One big change is that we are now firing up a parallel build programme based on traditional urban build techniques. We have quite a number of largish villages, typically ~1000 properties (considered a city up here!), which we have skirted round in the past as our ‘across the fields and up the garden’ model doesn’t work there. Too many road locked properties.
We are now going with a narrow trenching, 100mm, dig model along the pavements and roads and dropping a Toby Box outside each property. The first build starts in Halton (926 properties) on the 20th July and we are aiming for an initial build of about 100 properties per month ramping up to 300 over a couple of months. The highways people are being very helpful and giving us permits as we request them.
We are starting with a 5 man team delivering 60m of dig per day, climbing to an 8 man team in August delivering 120m per day and then adding additional 8 man teams as we settle in. Target is a 1000 property village per 6 months per 8 man team.”
Aside from Halton, Barry mentions that Caton, Kirkby Lonsdale, Sedbergh and a raft of other villages are also likely to benefit from their new approach. Further details can usually be found on the Network Coverage Page of B4RN’s website.
Going forward B4RN also has one eye on the UK Government’s proposed £5bn investment, which aims to ensure that “gigabit-capable” broadband can reach every home by the end of 2025 (focused upon the final 20% of premises). A new voucher scheme (post-RGC) is likely to play a key role in that too and this would play to B4RN’s existing strengths.
Meanwhile customers continue to benefit from one of the cheapest and fastest broadband connections in the UK. Subscribers pay just £30 inc. VAT per month for a 1000Mbps (symmetrical) unlimited service and there’s also a one-off connection fee of £150. Plus if you have deeper pockets then a 10Gbps service can be had for £150 per month with a one-off connection fee of £360 (here).
Big things have small beginnings.
