Further Ofcom rules to support fibre investment Add to Your Pages
24 May 2019
New rules give rival firms better access to Openreachs infrastructure
Measures to support competition and investment certainty in business markets
Companies laying high-speed fibre cables for broadband and mobile networks will benefit from greater access to Openreachs telegraph poles and underground tunnels, under draft decisions announced today by Ofcom.
Openreach, which maintains the UK's main broadband network, is already required to let rival companies use its telegraph poles and underground ducts' to lay their own fibre networks, under rules set by Ofcom last year.
Until now, this measure which can cut the upfront cost of building full-fibre networks by around half has been available to companies focusing on residential and small-business customers. Today's draft decision would extend it to firms serving large businesses, as well as companies laying high-speed lines that support mobile and broadband networks.
Virgin Media, TalkTalk and CityFibre are among the firms already using Openreach's ducts and poles to connect thousands of homes and businesses to faster, more reliable broadband.[1] Between them, competing providers are using around 12,000 Openreach telegraph poles and 2,500 km of underground duct.
Extending access to business networks would allow companies to use Openreach's infrastructure for all telecoms services, improving the business case for them to invest in cutting edge, full fibre and 5G networks.
Ultrafast broadband, which offers download speeds of at least 300 Mbit/s, is now available to more than half of homes in the UK. Full fibre, a form of ultrafast broadband that uses fibre cables all the way from the exchange to people's homes, is now available to 7% of UK properties.[2] And while the number of full-fibre lines more than doubled last year, Ofcom wants to see coverage extended to millions of properties in the coming months.
Supporting competition and investment certainty in business marketsToday, we are also refreshing our regulation of leased lines high-speed data connections used by large organisations, which form the backbone of the UK's mobile and broadband networks.
Under our draft decision, in areas of the country where Openreach faces limited competition from other leased-line networks, we would continue to regulate what it can charge providers to use these services, keeping prices flat. We would also impose strict requirements on Openreach for repairs and installations, to ensure high service standards are delivered.
Also, in many areas, there are no rival networks present at BT's exchanges. Even with duct and pole access, network competition is unlikely to emerge for connections from these exchanges. Here, Openreach would be required to give competitors physical access to its fibre-optic cables, at a price that reflects its costs.
This service is called dark fibre', because the cables are lit' by competitors with their own equipment. Introducing dark fibre in only these areas would significantly reduce the cost for mobile and broadband operators to connect their networks, without undermining their incentives to lay new, competing fibre cables where it is economic to do so.
Where there is stronger network competition, or prospective competition, regulation would be lighter than existing rules, to allow this competition to flourish.
Jonathan Oxley, Ofcom's Competition Group Director, said: The amount of internet data used by people in the UK is expanding by around half every year. So, we'll need faster, more reliable connections for our homes, offices and mobile networks.
Our measures are designed to support the UK's digital future by providing investment certainty for continued competitive investment in fibre and 5G networks across the country.
Supporting widespread fibre investmentToday's measures are the latest in Ofcom's programme of work to support long-term investment nationwide in full-fibre networks.
We recently set out initial views on how our regulation could evolve to encourage competition and further investment from new alternative networks, Openreach and Virgin Media. In addition to today's measures, this long-term strategy includes:
Regulating business and residential markets together from 2021 so companies investing in full fibre can offer a range of services over a common underlying network, serving both homes and businesses.
Extending the duration of regulation from three to five years to help provide longer-term certainty to investors.
Different regulatory approaches in different parts of the country to ensure that rural areas, where there is no prospect for competing networks and a weaker commercial case for investment, are not be left behind.
Next stepsToday's draft decisions follow Ofcom's reviews of the physical infrastructure and business connectivity markets. The new regulations will cover the period from our final decisions, until April 2021.[3]
As required for all market reviews, our draft decisions have been submitted to the European Commission for comment, after which we will publish our final statement next month.[4]
We intend to consult in December on detailed proposals for a single, holistic residential and business telecoms market review, covering the period 2021 to 2026.
NOTES TO EDITORS1. For example, Virgin Media alone recently connected more than 2,000 homes and businesses in a village in Wales using Ofcom's duct access rules.
2. Source: Ofcom's Spring 2019 Connected Nations update.
3. The new, unrestricted duct and pole access will be implemented one month after our final statement. Dark fibre access will have to be provided from six weeks after our final statement.
4. Under Article 7 of the Framework Directive
Europe Stories
18/12/2025
Canada's largest indoor arena has transformed its live production capabilities with a full ST 2110 infrastructure and Calrec's compact Argo S console. S...
18/12/2025
Long-term agreement includes the SES SCORE platform and hybrid distribution worldwide to deliver more than 5,000 hours of golf tournaments annually featuring th...
18/12/2025
18 Dec 2025
VEON Upgraded to Nasdaq Global Select Market, Enhancing Investor Visibility Dubai, December 18, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital o...
18/12/2025
Thursday 18 December 2025
Sky Sports remains the exclusive home of the Masters ...
18/12/2025
Using the additive process of 3D printing, layer after layer gets printed until an object is as close to the final shape needed as possible. Historically, machi...
18/12/2025
In 2025, RT proudly supported 185 arts and cultural events across the island of Ireland, reflecting significant growth since the scheme was re-launched in 2014...
18/12/2025
RT Sports Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
18/12/2025
RT lyric fm presents a very special Winter Solstice edition of Ambient Orbit, l...
18/12/2025
At 7.45pm on 1st January 1926, the precursor to RT , then 2RN, delivered the fledgling new Irish state's first public radio transmission. From those first c...
18/12/2025
December 18 2025, 05:30 (PST) The Movie Experience SLO Becomes First U.S. Exhib...
17/12/2025
Investigative journalists across the Western Balkans and T rkiye continue to con...
17/12/2025
The right playlist is essential on New Year's Eve, building the energy as you get ready and keeping it high as you count down to midnight. This year, Spotif...
17/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
17/12/2025
Wuppertal December 17, 2025
Riedel Builds Global Communication and Commentary ...
17/12/2025
December 17 2025, 17:00 (PST) Dolby and LG Unveil a New Era of Home Audio With ...
17/12/2025
Wednesday 17 December 2025
Heated Rivalry will be coming to Sky and streaming service NOW on 10 JanuaryTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy opti...
17/12/2025
RT has announced that Kathy Fox has been appointed Commissioning Editor with re...
17/12/2025
With the new season of Dancing with the Stars shimmering in the not-too-distant future this New Year, the celebrity and dancer pairings of the twelve couples ha...
16/12/2025
Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...
16/12/2025
Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...
16/12/2025
2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...
16/12/2025
Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor Improves Streaming Video Quality and Boosts Viewer Engagement SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 16, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
16/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December.
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
16/12/2025
Singer -songwriter Brian Kennedy has been announced as the final celebrity dance...
15/12/2025
Cape Town, November 13, 2025 - SES and International artist and humanitarian, Fo...
15/12/2025
Luxembourg, December 15, 2025 - SES, a leading space solutions company, and Abra Group launched fast and reliable multi-orbit inflight connectivity service on t...
15/12/2025
15 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan Delivers First Starlink Direct to Cel...
15/12/2025
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor finds himself the topic of year's cracker jokes
Oasis, David Harbour, Celebrity Traitors and Angela Rayner all feature in this y...
15/12/2025
Comscore Expands Cross-Platform Campaign Measurement to Include Audio and Social New capabilities strengthen cross-platform campaign reporting suite; CCR rebran...
15/12/2025
RT .ie has reached one billion page views this year and is on track to finish 2025 2% ahead of last year. Average time spent on the site is up 3% on 2024, with ...
12/12/2025
Last month, Spotify announced a new collaboration with the ATP Tour, the global governing body of men's professional tennis, aimed at bringing the next gene...
12/12/2025
Friday 12 December 2025
Ted is back! Seth MacFarlane's live-action comedic ...
12/12/2025
Uachtar n na h ireann, Catherine Connolly visited RT Raidi na Gaeltachta's...
12/12/2025
Ireland AM host Eric Roberts has been revealed as the sixth contestant taking to...
11/12/2025
Thomson and the Center for News, Technology and Innovation (CNTI) convened a two-day workshop in Sarajevo bringing together more than 35 journalists, editors, p...
11/12/2025
Having the right song soundtrack your moves can make all the difference when gam...
11/12/2025
It's been a big year for Taylor Swift. Her highly anticipated album The Life...
11/12/2025
11 Dec 2025
VEON's Banglalink Receives Regulatory Approval to Launch Digita...
11/12/2025
Thursday 11 December 2025
Sky Arts paints a picture of Britain's beauty as ...
11/12/2025
It's not every day we're asked to create a website for a classical musician!
So, we were delighted to help pianist Georgina Duncan as she embarks on he...
11/12/2025
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Irish golfing hero Shane Lowry...
11/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier ti...
11/12/2025
Sash is ready to samba as Fair City star Stephanie Kelly is revealed as the late...
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
10/12/2025
For the first time, Spotify is giving users the power to steer the algorithm. Gustav S derstr m, Spotify's Co-President, CPO, and CTO, shares the vision beh...
10/12/2025
10 Dec 2025
VEON's Rising Capital Markets Profile Strengthened by Inclusion...
10/12/2025
10 Dec 2025
VEON Recognized for JazzCash, Kyivstar and Jazz at the World Commun...
Further Ofcom rules to support fibre investment Add to Your Pages 
