The requirements for developers will ensure new build homes have gigabit-capable connections through the installation of:
• the in-building and onsite physical infrastructure necessary for gigabit-capable connections (consisting of infrastructure including ducts, chambers and termination points) up to an off-site network distribution point where reasonably practicable; and
• subject to a £2,000 cost cap per dwelling, a gigabit-capable connection (composed of equipment such as an optical fibre cable, other cabling or wiring, or wireless connection that will provide gigabit-capable broadband if such a service were to be provided by an Internet Service Provider)
Gigabit-ready physical infrastructure
The developer’s requirement to install the gigabit-ready physical infrastructure necessary for gigabit-capable connections will require building works to ensure that each dwelling (including each individual dwelling in multi-dwelling buildings) is equipped with the required infrastructure to support at least one gigabit-capable connection. This includes in-building and onsite physical infrastructure. Infrastructure can be located anywhere within the site such as in the footpath, driveway or common area leading from the building.
In-building physical infrastructure
To meet this requirement, in-building physical infrastructure should be provided to extend from a network termination point within a dwelling (a physical point providing access to an electronic communications network) to a building access point (a physical point accessible to a network operator) typically located on the external wall. For domestic buildings containing more than one dwelling, in-building physical infrastructure should be provided to extend from a network termination point within a dwelling to a common access point (typically located in a communal service riser). This mirrors existing requirements of Standard 4.14 of the Building Standards updating the standard to reflect that the physical infrastructure should be capable of enabling a gigabit electronic communications network connection.
Onsite physical infrastructure
For the developer to meet the requirement to install gigabit-ready physical infrastructure the new build home will also need to be equipped with infrastructure external to the building. This can vary across developments but typically includes the installation of ducts, chambers, cabinets, towers and poles, connecting a dwelling’s access point to a network distribution point or an access point located in close proximity to a network distribution point.
This gigabit-ready physical infrastructure will need to extend to one of the following points:
• a network operator’s network distribution point for gigabit-capable connections, which could be off-site, or
• where the developer has no right to install gigabit-ready physical infrastructure on intervening land in which it would have to be installed to reach the network distribution point, a point as close as is reasonably practicable to the network distribution point, or
• where the developer has no right to install such infrastructure in land beyond the building, a network termination point’s corresponding access point or common access point.