Access underground asset information faster to plan and deliver work on telecommunications assets more efficiently

By providing an instantly accessible, secure, and standardised view of underground assets across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) complements and enhances how telecommunications organisations undertake their existing safe digging practices as set out under HSG47 and other regulatory frameworks. Instead of sourcing and interpreting records from multiple organisations, users can quickly access standardised asset information, helping them make faster, better-informed decisions. From design and construction through to maintenance, operation and emergency repairs, NUAR improves visibility, strengthens coordination, reduces delays and helps minimise the risk of costly utility strikes. Supporting safer and more productive delivery of telecommunications works.

In June 2025 the Data (Use and Access) Bill received Royal Assent, putting NUAR on a statutory footing for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The regulations to establish NUAR as a statutory register remain in progress with the UK Government. The data provided by asset owners who have voluntarily joined the service so far covers over 80% of the known underground assets.

Why use NUAR

Support safer excavation

With thousands of accidental utility strikes occurring each year, NUAR gives teams instant access to underground asset information from multiple organisations, helping them understand what lies beneath the ground and make safer, more informed decisions when planning works.

Reduce time spent gathering asset information

NUAR provides instant access to underground asset information from multiple organisations through a secure digital service, reducing the time and effort needed to obtain data, helping teams plan works more efficiently.

Standardised asset visibility

NUAR brings together underground asset information from multiple organisations into a clear, standardised view, helping teams identify constraints earlier, improve coordination and plan works more efficiently.

Who can benefit?

NUAR supports a range of telecommunications organisations, including:

  • Fixed-line network operators
  • Full fibre providers
  • Mobile network operators
  • Alternative network providers (Altnets)
  • Telecommunications infrastructure providers
  • Network construction and maintenance contractors
  • Design, planning and engineering teams
  • Asset protection and street works teams

The service is also available to authorised supply chain contractors working directly on behalf of participating asset owners.

Typical use cases

Reduce the Risk of Utility Strikes

With an instant, standardised view of underground assets to increase risk awareness when planning works to support safe digging practices

Understand What's Beneath the Ground

Use standardised asset data to inform site orientation, surveys and early-stage decision-making for installation, maintenance and repair of your assets

Emergency Response

Enable faster access to underground asset information when responding to emergency outages that affect the availability of your networks and services

Supporting the telecommunications sector

NUAR already includes data from several major telecommunications organisations including Openreach, Virgin Media O2, Gigaclear and Wessex Intranet, creating a growing, comprehensive view of the underground infrastructure.

Wessex Internet uses NUAR to simplify the planning of full fibre broadband installations across rural communities in the South West. By providing instant access to standardised underground asset data, NUAR helps teams gather information more efficiently and improve coordination with utility providers. The result is faster planning, easier access to critical information in the field, and significant time savings. Declan Chubb, Network Planning and Design Manager at Wessex Intranet said: "It's just so quick and responsive and a bit of a gamechanger especially from a planning perspective. NUAR’s consistent. It's concise. It's clean. It's detailed and it's not pixelated, which is great.”

Read the Wessex Intranet case study

Get access to NUAR

Contact us to find out how NUAR can help your organisation improve planning, coordination and visibility of underground infrastructure.

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