Government’s Framework for UK Fibre Delivery

Today the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) publishes its ‘Framework for UK Fibre Delivery’ as an important step in supporting the upgrade of the UK’s digital infrastructure to ensure data can flow reliably at volume, and speed.

The deployment of fibre networks means an increase in street works taking place on the nation’s roads. Recognising that street works cause disruption and congestion, the DCMS Framework is a toolkit offering advice for local authorities, operators and contractors to maximise the success of fibre deployment in a consistent and transparent manner across the country.

The toolkit aims to help improve the capability of local authorities and industry to plan, deploy and deliver world class digital infrastructure at pace whilst preserving the road network.

GeoPlace supports the Joint Authorities Group (JAG(UK)) which works on behalf of its members to promote excellence in road network and traffic management right across the UK. JAG(UK) is a stakeholder in developing the toolkit. It will encourage its members to take advantage of the best practice for street works planning highlighted in the toolkit whilst recognising that the documentation will evolve over the next few months and will be linked to performance.

GeoPlace also plays a central role in coordinating street related issues through its management of the National Street Gazetteer (NSG). All 174 local highway authorities across England and Wales upload their Local Street Gazetteers together with Additional Street Data (ASD) to the NSG hub. This enables third party organisations such as utilities to meet their statutory highway requirements to provide the appropriate street works notifications.

The NSG, containing definitive information for streets in England and Wales, carries the data that a utility needs to uniquely identify the streets earmarked for works, providing a unique reference number and ASD - additional information about a street, designed to aid the street works process.

Nick Chapallaz, Managing Director of GeoPlace said: “Key to the successful deployment of street works is the need to balance the delivery speed of works against the need to maintain the highway asset and manage disruption. For this to happen effectively, local authorities and operators need a ‘single view of the truth’ for the road network. The NSG provides this verification.”

GeoPlace provides a range of services to support street works managers in making best use of the toolkit. These include advice on permit schemes, administration of the HAUC(UK) performance scorecards of works on the road network, advice on undertaking Traffic Sensitive reviews and the administration, maintenance, allocation and hosting of the Street Works Act codes on behalf of the Department of Transport.

https://www.geoplace.co.uk