Mr. Peter Hendrick:

If I were to describe the cost of the programme, I would break it down into three areas: the construction and building of the network; the rental of passive infrastructure, including poles, duct, backhaul and co-location space; and contingencies and VAT in terms of the Government subsidy and quantities. If the cost of building the network is approximately one third of the cost of the subsidy – the total subsidy number is the cost of the build – let us examine the position we are in today. We have subcontracted the work on 76,000 homes to our subcontractors to date. Based on the cost associated with that procurement activity — which concerns resources, equipment and materials — we are confident about the direction of travel for the remaining 400,000-odd homes in addition to the 76,000. Over time, there will be changes affecting materials or labour rates but all of these are built into what we consider in terms of contingencies. Today, we have confidence about the total construction cost, based on our experience with the first 76,000 homes.