Digital and telecoms: resources for local authorities
This section offers guidance to assist local authorities in areas of digital leadership, legislation, regulation, planning, public assets and deployment.
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Digital strategy and leadership
Local authorities can use this guidance to help demonstrate leadership and create a strategy to encourage investment in digital infrastructure.
Find out how councillors can help support Building Digital UK’s Project Gigabit programme in their local area.
Legislation and regulation
This section provides an overview of the current legislative and regulatory environment around the deployment of digital infrastructure at the local level, including the Electronic Communications Code and the role of Ofcom.
Access to public sector assets
This section presents practical guidance on access matters, including advice on access agreements and how local authorities can promote and encourage the use of public sector land, buildings and other assets for digital deployment.
Guidance for the local planning authority
Local planning authorities have a crucial role in the deployment of fibre and mobile infrastructure. This section offers guidance on how local planning policies and practices can support a wider digital infrastructure strategy.
Additional resources
The guidance below has been developed to address challenges around street works and deployment of digital infrastructure on the Government estate.
The Street Works Toolkit offers guidance for highway authorities and network providers on how effectively to coordinate street works for the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure (this applies to England and Wales).
The Digital Infrastructure Toolkit provides advice for central government and network providers regarding access to government sites. Local authorities are encouraged to consider this guidance and how it might be applied to their sites.
5G technologies: radio waves and health
This section presents information on exposure to radio signals from 5G technologies. This 5G Mobile Technology Guide also provides advice to help councils and local politicians deal with queries from the public, counter misinformation and explain the facts about 5G. Mobile UK, which represents the mobile network operators, provides additional information on its website.
Project Gigabit Phase One Delivery Plan
Following constructive and positive feedback to the paper from 96 organisations across the telecoms industry and local government the Project Gigabit Delivery Plan builds on the December 2020 proposals and the responses we have received and sets out our immediate delivery plans.
Public reviews
Building Digital UK will be seeking views from the public and other stakeholders with regard to existing or planned commercial gigabit capable broadband in areas open for public review. All areas currently open for public review can be found on the UK Gigabit Programme: public reviews page. Each public review will take place over a specified time period and will be replicated on the corresponding county council’s broadband web pages.
GigaHubs
There is up to £110 million available to connect public sector buildings - such as GP surgeries, libraries and schools - in hard to reach parts of the UK.
For more information, see GigaHubs: key information.
Smart Infrastructure
The Smart Infrastructure Pilots Programme (“SIPP”) was launched in June 2023. The programme looked to support local authorities to procure and test smart multi-purpose columns, based on PAS 191 specifications, for mobile and wireless connectivity services, and other relevant uses, such as CCTV and environmental monitoring sensors, which will help them make efficiency savings and increase connectivity for their local communities.
Six local authority-led projects were funded as part of the programme. The project have produced project outcomes reports to provide guidance to local authorities looking to deploy PAS 191 multipurpose columns.