
Opening up BT's infrastructure for new fibre broadband 20 April 2017
Access to underground tunnels and telegraph poles will level the playing field
Proposals will support fibre investment and provide a choice of networks
Openreach's existing ducts and poles must be made ready for others to use
Ofcom has today set out detailed plans for improving access to Openreach's infrastructure, making it cheaper and easier for competing providers to connect their own fibre broadband directly to homes and offices.
Network competition can deliver significant benefits to consumers through choice and innovation, which can deliver higher quality and lower prices. Today's measures are designed to spur investment in the next generation of ultrafast internet connections, and reduce the country's historical reliance on Openreach the network business within BT Group.
Ofcom's plans will make it quicker and easier for BT's competitors to build their own fibre networks all the way to people's doorsteps using Openreach's existing telegraph poles and ducts' the small, underground tunnels that carry telecoms cables.
The main proposals, announced today, are:
Access on fair terms: Providers should be able to lay fibre using BT's ducts and poles as easily as BT itself[1]; and the cost to BT for providing this access should be spread across all users.
Network ready for use': Openreach must repair faulty infrastructure and clear blocked tunnels where necessary for providers to access them.
Mixed-use networks: Companies can lay fibre for consumers and large businesses, provided the purpose of the network is primarily to deliver broadband to homes and small offices.
Final connections into homes: BT should ensure capacity is available on its telegraph poles for additional fibre cables that connect buildings to a competitor's network.
Better information: Openreach will continue to develop a digital map' of its duct and pole network so competitors can plan new networks.
Yih-Choung Teh, Ofcom's Competition Policy Director, said: People increasingly need fast, reliable broadband. We'll make it easier for companies to offer their own full-fibre broadband more cheaply by accessing Openreach's tunnels and telegraph poles.
This will put other providers on a level playing field with BT, so they have the confidence to invest in their own full-fibre networks.
Getting ready for a fibre futureThe UK compares well with major European peers for the availability of broadband connections involving some form of fibre-optic cable, such as fibre running to the street cabinet. However, Ofcom remains concerned that the UK has very low coverage of full-fibre broadband, where cable and fibre lines connect directly to homes and offices.[2]
BT's competitors have raised concerns about the costs and time required to build these networks. To address this, Ofcom committed to lower these hurdles by improving access to Openreach's existing infrastructure.
Reusing existing underground ducts can significantly reduce the time it takes to roll out a new network. For example, while it can take days to build 200m of duct using traditional construction methods, fibre cables could be installed in the same length of existing duct in a matter of hours.
Since Ofcom outlined initial plans in December, Openreach has made the process for accessing its ducts and poles more efficient, following a trial last year with five other telecoms companies. Other providers now carry out their own work on the infrastructure, which has helped reduce delays.
However, there is more to be done. Ofcom plans to require Openreach to ensure its existing network of ducts and poles is ready for use'. This means it would have to repair faulty infrastructure and clear blocked pipes on request, within a timeframe agreed with its customers.
Ensuring a level playing fieldOfcom wants to ensure all providers can lay fibre in BT's ducts as easily as BT itself. So we intend for BT to recover related costs, such as repairing ducts, in the same way it recovers these costs for its own deployments for example, by spreading them across all the services that make use of the duct.
If a telecoms provider wants to build its own ultrafast network for consumers, but needs additional revenue to enable the investment, Ofcom is proposing that the company should also be able to use BT's infrastructure to provide leased lines' dedicated, high-speed cables used by large businesses. This can help strengthen the business case for new investment.
Connecting customersFor around half of UK homes, the final connection between the customer's home and the network is a dropwire' from a nearby telegraph pole.
Companies wishing to connect fibre directly to premises can face problems, such as insufficient space on BT's poles, which often take time and money to resolve. So Ofcom is proposing that BT must ensure capacity is available on its telegraph poles for additional fibre cables that connect buildings to the network.
Digital mapOfcom has told Openreach to provide comprehensive data on its network of ducts and poles a digital map' of the UK to allow competitors to plan and deploy their own advanced networks.
Openreach recently launched this as an online database. The new tool shows other telecoms providers the exact positon of its ducts, poles and chambers, together with an indication of available duct capacity.
While this is welcome progress, we want Openreach to make its digital map tool easier for other providers to use.
Next stepsToday's proposals form part of Ofcom's Wholesale Local Access Market Review for the period from April 2018 to March 2021.[3] The consultation closes on 15 June 2017, and Ofcom expects to publish its final decisions in early 2018, with n
Most recent headlines
13/03/2025
(L-R) Stephanie Suganami, Tatanka Means, John Malkovich, Ayo Edebiri, and Juliette Lewis attend the premiere of Opus at Eccles Theatre in Park City. (Photo by...
13/03/2025
Spotify took center stage at the London Book Fair this week, reaffirming our commitment to the audiobook market and showcasing our impact on the publishing indu...
13/03/2025
At Spotify, we work every day to lift up new voices, giving creators the opportunity to live off their art. Through Spotify Audiobooks, our in-house publishing ...
13/03/2025
Every time airborne law enforcement (ALE) teams fly, they expect their equipment to perform. Whether airborne units are conducting support for ground teams, bor...
13/03/2025
Sunday February 9 saw the annual return of the US' biggest television event, the Super Bowl LIX. Jamie McCombs, Fox Sports Audio Consultant / Sr. Audio capt...
13/03/2025
On Sunday March 2, stars across the film industry gathered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the 97th Academy Awards. Production Sound Mixer Paul Sandweis...
13/03/2025
WUPPERTAL, Germany Riedel Communications will feature its new StageLink family of smart edge devices, Smart Audio and Mixing Engine (SAME) and Virtual Smart Pan...
13/03/2025
TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring ...
13/03/2025
DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage P...
13/03/2025
FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Lif...
13/03/2025
CTIA, the wireless industry association, has named former FCC Chairman Aji Pai as its President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1. He replaces Mere...
13/03/2025
he National Association of Broadcasters is urging the FCC to end its investigation of that controversial CBS interview with Kamala Harris stating there is no ...
13/03/2025
MIAMI CBS News & Stations continues to expand its use of augmented and virtual reality technologies with the planned launch of an augmented reality/virtual real...
13/03/2025
Srividhya Srinivasan, co-founder and chief customer success & innovation Officer at Amagi, tells TVBEurope how staying ahead of the latest trends is essential f...
13/03/2025
WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency has launched a massive, new deregulatory initiative that could potentially subject virtually all ...
13/03/2025
SUNNYVALE, Calif. SDVI has announced that it has integrated its Rally media supply chain management platform with the Spectra Vail multi-cloud data management s...
13/03/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted a waiver of its local ownership rules to permit Gray Media to acqu...
13/03/2025
TV Tech: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2025 NAB Show?...
13/03/2025
Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice The songwriting major sang Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals during the blind auditions.
...
13/03/2025
Roku Debuts NWSL Zone' Within Roku Sports to Spotlight Live Games, Content Feature marks Rokus first women's league-branded zone within service By Bra...
13/03/2025
Pixels, Images, Video, AI - and Us: A Perspective on AI from NDI Inventor Andrew...
13/03/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Lighting Design Group's Steve Brill, Dennis Size ...
13/03/2025
IOC, Comcast NBCU Ink $3B Media-Rights Extension for Olympic Games Through 2036;...
13/03/2025
NCAA March Madness Live Returns with Expanded Availability of MultiView Vertical...
13/03/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Cosm's Devin Poolman on What It Takes To Deliver the Immersive...
13/03/2025
Sky Business, Sky's B2B division, providing connectivity and content to busi...
13/03/2025
Rohde & Schwarz launches R&S NRP140TWG(N) thermal power sensor: A new benchmark ...
13/03/2025
We asked the questions, analysed the answers and now we're excited to share the results of the fifth edition of the ICG Marketing Survey.
Our 2025 survey p...
13/03/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. - March 13, 2025 Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced a breakthrough in video streaming innovation with the launch of new origin capabilitie...
13/03/2025
Haivision Showcases Mission-Critical Video Solutions at SOF Week 2025
Haivision's video wall systems, ISR technology, and DoDIN APL-certified video distri...
13/03/2025
Company Leads the Way with New Software-Based Production Platform, 12G Switcher,...
13/03/2025
A new Apple Immersive concert experience, Metallica, is coming to Apple Vision Pro this Friday, March 14. Filmed in Mexico City during the sold-out second-year ...
13/03/2025
Here is your host, Patrick Kielty!
Shake your Shamrocks, Patrick Kielty will be...
13/03/2025
This St. Patrick's weekend, RT invites you to celebrate all things Irish, showcasing the very best of Irish sport, entertainment and live coverage from the...
13/03/2025
What's next in AI is at GTC 2025. Not only the technology, but the people and ideas that are pushing AI forward - creating new opportunities, novel solution...
13/03/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
By combining T-Mobile's robust network, Thal...
13/03/2025
Bundle up - GeForce NOW is bringing a flurry of Blizzard titles to its ever-expanding library.
Prepare to weather epic gameplay in the cloud, tackling the genr...
13/03/2025
AI is leveling up the world's most beloved games, as the latest advancements...
13/03/2025
PC game modding is massive, with over 5 billion mods downloaded annually. Mods p...
12/03/2025
O Spotify acaba de lan ar o relat rio Loud & Clear deste ano, uma vis o transpar...
12/03/2025
Spotify acaba de presentar el informe Loud & Clear de este a o, una mirada trans...
12/03/2025
Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience thi...
12/03/2025
Spotify has just unveiled this year's Loud & Clear report, a transparent loo...
12/03/2025
More than 70% of FAST programming has been produced since 2010, according to new Gracenote report
NEW YORK March 12, 2025 Gracenote, the content data busin...
12/03/2025
GEONA, Nev. Independent digital and linear advertising rep firm Viamedia will adopt cloud-based ShowSeeker Pilot as its primary ad campaign and order management...
12/03/2025
BRUSSELS Mediagenix has announced that Wael Yasin has joined the company as sales director Central Europe....
12/03/2025
LONDON A new study highlights opportunities for shoppable TV and the massive impact online consumer spending is having on the economy, with Omdia predicting tha...
12/03/2025
CUPERTINO, Calif. Interra Systems has announced that Comcast Technology Solutions has integrated recent updates to BATON Version 9 into its operations....
12/03/2025
Nevion announces new 400G addition to its eMerge SDN media fabric offering
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
High-capacity switch enhances existi...
12/03/2025
DaVinci Resolve Studio Delivers Cinematic Sound for Adam Bol
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
Feature film relies on DaVinci Resolve Studio for ...