Update to Project Gigabit network build contract - Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes May 2026

Following a significant expansion in commercial rollout and changes to market conditions, in May 2026 CityFibre and Building Digital UK (BDUK) agreed to redesign the contract for Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes, which has now been revised to cover around 6,000 premises backed with £19.8 million investment through Project Gigabit. 

The contract redesign minimises overlap with other suppliers’ commercial rollout, ensuring value for money for taxpayers by focusing public funding on premises that would otherwise miss out.  

We are in discussions with other suppliers to ensure remaining premises not covered by any rollout plans still get access to fast, reliable broadband as soon as possible.

Original contract details

Building Digital UK (BDUK) has carried out significant market engagement in the region to identify potential areas for government intervention to roll out gigabit-capable broadband. 

Following a transparent, fair and robust procurement process, BDUK awarded supplier Cityfibre a £51 million contract to provide around 25,000 hard-to-reach premises in Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes with access to gigabit-capable broadband. The contract was signed in February 2024. 

BDUK, Central Bedfordshire Council, North Northamptonshire Council, Milton Keynes City Council and Bedford Borough Council will work collaboratively with the supplier on ensuring that network build commences as quickly as possible, once the supplier has completed their detailed plans for this build. An amount of preparatory work is required to reach premises (for example, digging trenches, laying duct, installing fibre) prior to being able to access a service. This varies depending on geography and supplier. The first premises under this contract are anticipated to have access to gigabit-capable broadband in 2025. Once the gigabit-capable network has been built, residents and businesses will be able to request a connection from a broadband service provider to benefit from the faster speeds. 

Below is a map of the areas due to be upgraded in the awarded Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes contract.

Please note the premises to be reached by the contract is subject to change following detailed planning by the supplier or due to technical reasons during the lifetime of the contract.

Further detail on the premises due to be upgraded as part of thisthese networkcontracts buildis contractpublished willas bepart availableof onBDUK’s thistransparency pagedata showing premises in dueBDUK course.plans. Note, this is currently for England and Wales only.

If your premises is not currently within the planned contract build, this may be for one of the following reasons:

• Gigabit-capable infrastructure currently exists in your area
• Broadband network suppliers have indicated to us as part of our Open Market Review and Public Review process that they have plans to reach you as part of their commercial build plans. This may include work planned as part of existing voucher projects through the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme
• Your premises is outside of the scope of this project owing to cost or difficulty in reaching it with gigabit-capable infrastructure. The government is conductingconsidering trialsadditional usingsolutions satellites for providing‘Very improvedHard connectivity to premisesReach’ in this category following a call for evidence that has taken placepremises

This contract is part of a wider strategy for Project Gigabit, with other local and regional procurements to build gigabit-capable infrastructure planned and underway across the UK. A list of awarded Project Gigabit contracts can be viewed here.

Under Project Gigabit the government is also providing up to £210 million worth of voucher funding as immediate help for people experiencing slow broadband speeds in rural areas. You can find out if you are eligible for a rural voucher on the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme website.

Further information about Project Gigabit can be found on the BDUK website and under Project Gigabit: UK Subsidy advice.