Openreach to gauge demand and support for 'full-fibre' broadband networks

The digital infrastructure provider, which is a division of BT that provides network connection and maintenance services to BT and many of its rivals, said it is likely to open a consultation on the case for more fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) infrastructure this summer.

The consultation will look at "the demand for FTTP, the potential benefits and costs of a larger scale FTTP deployment, and the enablers needed to support investment", Openreach said in a statement.

Openreach chief executive Clive Selley said: “We are committed to continuing our investment in the infrastructure Britain needs to support our thriving digital economy. We want to work closely with communications providers to explore how we do that."

"With the right conditions we could make full-fibre connections available to as many as 10 million homes and businesses by the mid-2020s, but we need to understand if there’s sufficient demand to justify the roll-out, and support – across industry, Ofcom and government – for the enablers needed to build a viable business case," Selley said.

UK chancellor Philip Hammond announced plans to support the deployment of more full-fibre networks in his Autumn Statement in November last year. Hammond said a new Digital Infrastructure Investment Fund would provide £400 million of public funds towards the cost of investing in "new fibre networks" by 2020. The money would be "at least matched by private finance", according to the Autumn Statement.

Separately, Openreach has also opened a consultation with telecoms companies on Long Reach VDSL, which it described as "an emerging broadband technology". Openreach said the technology has the potential to be used to deliver "universal broadband coverage" in the UK in line with the government's stated commitment to provide every home and businesses a "legal right to request a connection to broadband with speeds of 10 Mbps, no matter where they live" by 2020.

The universal service obligation (USO) for broadband has been legislated for in the newly enacted Digital Economy Act. Ofcom has already begun work on designing the new USO.

"The consultation process will enable Openreach to determine the best ways to deploy Long Reach VDSL technology with [communication providers] to optimise the benefits for customers and to help the government’s objective of delivering universal connectivity in the UK," Openreach said.