It has been a standout year for Oxfordshire County Council’s Digital Infrastructure Programme team, with projects shortlisted for three Connected Britain awards. Among them was a community broadband project that helped a south Oxfordshire village increase access to gigabit-capable connectivity by 70%, earning a nomination for the Community Improvement Award.
In addition, the Digital Places programme was shortlisted for not one, but two awards at Connected Britain, for the Public Sector Trailblazer Award and Public Sector Partner Award, recognising the programme’s innovative approach to helping local authorities tackle mobile connectivity challenges. While we did not take home a trophy this time, being named among so many outstanding projects was an achievement in itself.
Digital Places was commissioned by Oxfordshire County Council’s Digital Infrastructure Programme and brings local authorities together to take a more informed, collaborative and data-driven approach to improving mobile connectivity. Oxfordshire is both the commissioner and a founding member of the programme, helping to shape its strategic direction while using it to better understand connectivity challenges across the county.
The event also provided an opportunity to showcase the programme during the panel session, Introducing Digital Places: Connecting Communities, Closing Gaps. Our thanks go to member representatives Claire Hutchins-Lee, Oxfordshire County Council; Catherine Weldon, Senior Programme Manager at Connecting Cumbria; and Sarah Marsh, Cambridgeshire County Council, who shared their experiences of navigating complex and often conflicting mobile connectivity data and turning it into actionable plans for their communities.
We would also like to thank Jess Ellis, Programme Director for Digital Places, for chairing the discussion, and Matt Warman, former Minister for Digital Infrastructure and board member for UKAI, for setting out why a shared, standardised approach matters not only to local authorities, but also to industry and government.
As the programme continues to grow, we remain proud of the momentum being built through collaboration between councils. By sharing expertise, tools and best practice, Digital Places is helping local authorities identify connectivity challenges, develop evidence-based action plans and work towards meaningful improvements for residents, businesses and public services.
Connected Britain may be over for another year, but the conversation continues. We look forward to working with existing and future local authority members to help close connectivity gaps and support better mobile coverage across the UK.
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