The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has finally resolved a data mismatch that left millions of UK premises with incorrect Project Gigabit supplier information for nearly five months.
DSIT released corrected Open Market Review files on Tuesday, fixing supplier data that had been displaying wrong information since September 2025. The error affected how broadband availability appeared on mapping systems used by residents and businesses to check their connectivity options.
41 Million Records Updated Overnight
ThinkBroadband processed the massive dataset within hours of its release, scanning all 41 million Unique Property Reference Numbers to update their broadband availability maps. The correction reveals which internet service providers are actually delivering gigabit-capable connections under the government’s flagship rural connectivity programme.
“We’ve been waiting months for this fix,” said Sarah Mitchell, a resident of Aberdeenshire who had been seeing incorrect supplier information for her village. “The map showed we were getting fibre from one company, but they’d never even contacted us about installation.”
The Project Gigabit scheme represents the government’s £5 billion investment to bring superfast broadband to the UK’s hardest-to-reach areas. When supplier data displays incorrectly, residents cannot accurately determine which providers are actually serving their postcodes.
Rural Communities Hit Hardest
The data errors particularly affected rural constituencies where Project Gigabit contracts are most active. MPs had been receiving complaints from constituents unable to get clear answers about their broadband prospects.
David Chen, who runs a farm equipment business in mid-Wales, discovered his property had been assigned to three different suppliers simultaneously in the faulty database. “I was getting marketing calls from companies claiming to be my designated Project Gigabit provider,” Chen explained. “Nobody could tell me who was actually responsible for connecting my area.”
The corrected data now shows precise supplier allocations across the programme’s 48 contract areas, covering approximately 1.85 million premises in total.
Mapping Systems Back Online
Several broadband checker websites had been displaying warnings about data reliability since the September glitch emerged. Industry analysts estimate the incorrect information may have influenced business location decisions and property purchases during the affected period.
“Accurate supplier data is crucial for the supply chain,” said telecommunications analyst Rebecca Palmer from Broadband Intelligence. “Contractors, equipment suppliers, and local authorities all rely on this information for planning purposes.”
The fix reveals that Openreach holds the largest share of Project Gigabit contracts, followed by CityFibre and various regional operators including Gigaclear, Wessex Internet, and County Broadband.
Government Faces Questions Over Delay
Industry sources suggest the data corruption originated from a database migration error at DSIT in late August 2025. The department had been working to consolidate multiple datasets following machinery of government changes that transferred broadband policy from DCMS.
Conservative MP James Richardson, who chairs the Digital Select Committee, called the five-month delay “unacceptable” for a programme meant to demonstrate government efficiency in digital infrastructure delivery.
“Businesses and residents deserve accurate, real-time information about their connectivity options,” Richardson stated during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday. “This basic data management failure undermines confidence in the entire programme.”
Contract Rollout Continues Despite Glitch
Physical infrastructure deployment has continued unaffected by the data problems, with contractors reporting steady progress across multiple regions. Latest figures show 847,000 premises now have access to Project Gigabit connections, representing 46% of the programme’s total target.
Emma Thompson, whose Cumbrian hamlet received connections in January, praised the actual service delivery despite the mapping confusion. “The engineers arrived exactly when promised and installed everything perfectly,” Thompson said. “It’s just the paperwork systems that seem to be struggling.”
Several contract areas are now ahead of their original deployment schedules, particularly in Scotland and Northern Ireland where terrain challenges had initially raised delivery concerns.
Industry Calls for Better Data Standards
The correction has prompted calls for mandatory data verification protocols across government technology programmes. The Federation of Communication Services argues that real-time validation systems could prevent similar disruptions.
Telecoms industry bodies are now pushing for automated data quality checks and standardised reporting formats across all public broadband initiatives, including the upcoming Project Gigabit Phase 2 procurement.
DSIT officials indicate they are reviewing internal processes to prevent future data integrity issues, with new validation systems expected to be implemented before the next major dataset release in April 2026.
