Project Gigabit

First Rate Surveys provided both fibre surveying and network planning across Project Gigabit, taking areas from the initial field survey through to completed planning within Orion.

Our surveying included existing poles, underground chambers and proposed network routes, capturing the infrastructure information required to develop an accurate network plan. This included assessing existing infrastructure, recording route conditions, identifying suitable locations for fibre equipment and determining the most practical route through each area.

Following the field survey, the information collected on site was used to plan the network within Orion, creating clear and buildable routes for the delivery teams.

A key part of Project Gigabit was identifying practical network solutions for rural properties that had previously been difficult or commercially challenging to reach due to the cost and complexity of providing fibre infrastructure. As a government-funded programme focused on extending gigabit-capable connectivity into harder-to-reach areas, each survey required careful consideration of how individual properties could be served.

A wooden utility pole with various signs attached to it, including white circular tags with black letters and numbers and a small orange circular sticker at the bottom. The background shows green leaves and branches.
A wooden utility pole with various attachments. There is a red plastic marked with letters and numbers, a white circular marker with the letter 'I', a red box at the bottom, and black cables attached. Surrounding greenery and blue sky in the background.
A narrow, dirt pathway running alongside a wooden fence and overgrown with bushes and trees. A person is seen walking along the trail next to a utility pole with wires overhead. The scene appears to be in a rural or suburban neighborhood with greenery and trees lining the path.
A utility pole with wires stands in front of dense green bushes and trees, under a partly cloudy blue sky.

Our role was to assess the existing infrastructure and surrounding network, identify viable duct or overhead routes and determine the most practical way of providing a connection to each property. Where straightforward existing routes were not available, alternative solutions had to be considered to create a safe, practical and buildable network plan while minimising unnecessary civils works and cost.

Throughout the programme, we maintained communication with the relevant teams, providing progress updates and resolving survey or planning issues as they arose to help keep each area moving towards build.

Project Challenges

One of the key challenges on Project Gigabit was finding practical and compliant ways to serve rural properties that had previously been considered too costly to include within other network builds. As a government-funded programme focused on improving connectivity to hard-to-reach premises, many of the areas required significantly more infrastructure than a typical fibre build.

Due to the rural nature of the network, routes often required new poles, additional civils and the use of existing infrastructure across private land. Each route therefore had to be carefully surveyed and planned within the required specifications and regulations, while also looking for opportunities to reduce unnecessary civils and keep the proposed solution as efficient and buildable as possible.

A tree-lined dirt road with greenery on both sides and shadows cast on the ground, showing a glimpse of a red vehicle in the distance.
A rural dirt road surrounded by greenery and trees on a sunny day in Swindon, England, with a large tree on the left side and bushes on the right.
Map showing multiple points labeled to install 8M medium, with coordinates, on a body of water near some buildings, roads, and trees.

A major part of the challenge was access and permissions. Proposed BT/Openreach infrastructure frequently needed to cross or be positioned on private property, meaning engagement with landowners and customers formed an important part of the surveying process. PTWs, PTDs, wayleaves and other permissions had to be identified and obtained where required to allow routes to progress.

The overall objective was to determine how each previously unserved property could realistically be connected, balancing cost, regulations, permissions and buildability while developing a network solution capable of reaching as many rural premises as possible.

Project Summary

A narrow paved country road flanked by green bushes and trees, with a white car approaching in the distance. Overhead, there's a bright blue sky with scattered white clouds.

CLIENT
Circet / Openreach

LOCATIONS
Swindon: Blunsdon, Kington Langley, Braden stoke, Box, Minety, Purton, Chieveley, Cricklade
Stanstead: Stanstead Abbots
Bristol: Avonmouth, Filton

PERIOD
2026

PROJECT SCALE
1,631 Homes Surveyed
11 Areas

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