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Extending High Speed Broadband Framework Agreement

Llywodraeth Cymru / Welsh Government

This public procurement record has 5 releases in its history.

ContractAmendment

20 Aug 2026 at 15:29

UK10 - Contract Change Notice
Award

11 Jun 2026 at 15:37

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

27 Mar 2026 at 16:12

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

08 Oct 2025 at 08:29

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

25 Apr 2025 at 16:09

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Welsh Government established the Extending High Speed Broadband Framework to fund telecommunications suppliers to install fast, reliable broadband for hard-to-reach communities and premises across Wales. The work covers the supply and installation of broadband network infrastructure and related telecommunications services, addressing premises that commercial operators would not otherwise serve. Lot 1 covers projects requiring connections to 1,000 premises or more, while Lot 2 covers projects serving fewer than 1,000 premises. The framework is intended to support a series of competitively selected call-off contracts, with grant funding covering the gap between infrastructure costs and commercially viable delivery. The anticipated programme covers around 29,000 premises, subject to refinement during the framework’s operation.

This procurement has been awarded through an open procedure and established as a framework with call-offs awarded through further competitive selection. Evaluation for both lots comprised technical quality at 50%, social value and sustainability at 10%, and commercial assessment at 40%, with economic and technical selection criteria. Lot 1 was awarded on 27 March 2026 to Airband Community Internet Ltd, Fibrus Ltd and Openreach for £60,000,000. Lot 2 was awarded on the same date to Airband Community Internet Ltd, Fibrus Ltd and Wifinity Ltd for £10,000,000. Both contracts were signed on 5 June 2026 and run until 5 June 2028, with possible extension to 5 June 2029. A proposed change would add BB4W Ltd to Lot 2 and increase its value to £10,000,001.

This opportunity demonstrates sustained Welsh Government demand for broadband infrastructure delivery in difficult-to-serve locations, using a framework and repeated competitive call-offs rather than a single installation project. Relevant suppliers are telecommunications network operators and infrastructure contractors able to design, build and operate broadband connections across Wales, including delivery at both large and small community scales. Credibility depends on strong technical delivery capability, commercial discipline and the ability to demonstrate measurable social value and sustainability outcomes. Suppliers should also be able to meet economic and technical participation requirements, manage public grant-funded delivery and work within competitive selection processes for individual call-offs. The appointed supply base includes both large national operators and smaller specialist businesses, indicating scope for capable SMEs as well as major infrastructure providers.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Extending High Speed Broadband Framework Agreement

Notice Description

The Welsh Government has undertaken a procurement to establish a framework (the "Framework") to deliver the Extending High Speed Broadband project (the "Project"). Once the Framework is established, the Authority intends to award a series of call-off contracts (following individual competitive selection processes), that will provide grant funding to telecoms suppliers to cover the "gap" in costs that are required to deliver superfast connections to communities / premises in Wales that would not otherwise be served by commercial operators under normal market conditions, due to the high infrastructure cost of building connections to those "hard to reach" communities / premises. Grants made under the call-off contracts are out of scope for the purposes of VAT. Coverage The Authority's 2022 open market review identified that around 84,000 premises within Wales did not have access to superfast download speeds (at least 30Mbps) exacerbating the digital divide. Ofcom has previously stated that a subset of these (around 10,000 premises) do not yet have access to at least 10Mbps. Despite the efforts of the telecommunications industry and public sector interventions, there are still premises in Wales that do not have access to at least superfast broadband speeds. The Authority has therefore developed the EHSB project to address this gap and provide fast and reliable broadband to those premises. Whilst the Authority is confident that the number of premises without superfast download speeds has drastically reduced since the 2022 open market review (as the scope of commercial and other public sector deployments, including Project Gigabit, have become clearer), the Authority anticipates that the number of premises that are currently in scope of the Framework is in the region of 29,000 premises. The current, indicative list of eligible premises that are anticipated to be in scope for the Framework will be subject to refinement/update during the duration of the Framework (for example, to reflect any premises which may be addressed by other interventions). The premises that are in-scope for each call-off contract will be confirmed in the relevant request for proposals issued under the Framework. Additional Information The Framework will have two lots. The first lot (Lot 1) will be for projects that require the installation of broadband network infrastructure to 1,000 premises and over. The second lot (Lot 2) will be for projects that require the installation of broadband network infrastructure to under 1,000 premises. Suppliers were permitted to apply for either or both lots. The estimated total value set out in this notice is in respect of all call-off contracts that may be awarded under the Framework. It is an estimate only and is in no way guaranteed or final. The associated tender documents for this opportunity contain more specific information. The dates and total duration for any call-off contracts referred to in this notice or the associated procurement documents are also estimates and for illustrative purposes only.

Lot Information

Installation of broadband network infrastructure to 1,000 premises and over

Lot 1 will be for projects that require the installation of broadband network infrastructure to 1,000 premises and over

Options: The indicative term of each framework within the Open Framework will be as follows: * Framework one - two years (with an option to extend Framework one by up to one year); * Framework two - three years (with an option to extend Framework two by up to one year); and * Framework three - three years (subject to any optional extensions that the Authority may implement for Framework one or Framework two).

Installation of broadband network infrastructure to under 1,000 premises

Lot 2 - will be for projects that require the installation of broadband network infrastructure to under 1,000 premises.

Options: he indicative term of each framework within the Open Framework will be as follows: * Framework one - two years (with an option to extend Framework one by up to one year); * Framework two - three years (with an option to extend Framework two by up to one year); and * Framework three - three years (subject to any optional extensions that the Authority may implement for Framework one or Framework two).

Planning Information

To express an interest in this market engagement exercise, interested organisations should e-mail EHSB.Framework@gov.wales by 17:00 on 5th May 2025. Once the deadline to express an interest (as set out above) has passed, participating organisations will be sent a copy of the draft contract via email and be invited to submit written feedback on the draft contract. Participating organisations will then have seven days in which to provide their feedback to the Welsh Government. The format for this market engagement exercise will be consistent for each participating organisation. Participation in this market engagement exercise is not a requirement for future progress in the procurement process and details of the outcome from the exercise will be made clear in the associated tender documents related to the opportunity, once these documents are published.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0507e1
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079564-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK10 - Contract Change Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Large, SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

32 - Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment

51 - Installation services (except software)

64 - Postal and telecommunications services

CPV Codes

32000000 - Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment

51000000 - Installation services (except software)

64000000 - Postal and telecommunications services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£70,000,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
£70,000,000 £10M-£100M
Awards Value
£70,000,000 £10M-£100M
Contracts Value
£70,000,000 £10M-£100M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
20 Aug 20266 days ago
Submission Deadline
26 Nov 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
28 May 2025Expired
Award Date
27 Mar 20265 months ago
Contract Period
5 Jun 2026 - 5 Jun 2028 2-3 years
Recurrence
2028-02-01

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Llywodraeth Cymru / Welsh Government
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
CARDIFF
Postcode
CF10 3NQ
Postcode Area
Cardiff
Country
Wales
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLL Wales
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLL5 South East Wales
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLL52 Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan
Delivery Location
TLL Wales
Local Authority
Cardiff
Electoral Ward
Cathays
Westminster Constituency
Cardiff South and Penarth

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
4
Supplier Names

Airband Community Internet Ltd

Fibrus Ltd

Openreach

Wifinity Ltd

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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