Ofcom plans for a full-fibre future 06 December 2016
Simpler, cheaper access to BT's network for competitors to lay ultrafast broadband
Proposals will help enable full-fibre connections to homes and offices
Companies will be able to build ultrafast, full-fibre' broadband networks more cheaply and easily, using infrastructure owned by BT, under initial plans set out by Ofcom today.
In July, Ofcom detailed a new strategy to promote large-scale roll-out of ultrafast broadband, based on cable and fibre lines that go all the way to people's doorsteps. This would provide an alternative to the mostly copper-based technologies currently being planned by BT, and deliver benefits to people and businesses in terms of choice, innovation and affordable prices.
Ofcom believes network competition is the most effective spur for continued investment in high quality, fibre networks. This will also reduce the country's reliance on Openreach, the network division of BT.
Ofcom plans to make it quicker and easier for rival providers to build their own fibre networks direct to homes and offices using BT's existing telegraph poles and ducts' the small, underground tunnels that carry telecoms cables. This would give BT's competitors the flexibility to innovate as technology evolves, and respond to changes in their customers' needs.
Ofcom is consulting today on how these plans might be achieved.
Yih-Choung Teh, Ofcom Competition Policy Director, said: Fibre is the future for broadband, and Ofcom is helping to deliver that through competition between networks.
Today we're explaining how access to BT's tunnels and poles could be improved, allowing other providers to connect ultrafast, fibre broadband directly to UK homes and offices. Our plans will give providers increased confidence to invest in their own full-fibre networks at reduced cost.
Other countries have seen duct and pole access used to extend fibre to people's doorsteps. In Spain and Portugal, the resulting competition has helped deliver full-fibre broadband coverage of 79% and 70% respectively. This compares to around 2% currently in the UK.
Fair terms for competitors
Ofcom is keen to ensure that all providers can lay fibre in BT's ducts as easily as BT itself. So Ofcom is proposing improvements to the process so that rivals are not disadvantaged when using BT's infrastructure to deploy ultrafast broadband services.
The proposals include changes that mean BT would recover the costs of providing third-party access, such as repairing ducts, in the same way it recovers these costs for its own deployments for example, by spreading them across all services that make use of the duct.
Ofcom is also considering changes to Openreach's rental charges for accessing its duct network. These rental charges are currently linked to Openreach's costs; but an explicit cap on prices could provide greater planning certainty for providers in future.
Faster access
Ofcom is today proposing reforms that would require BT to streamline the process of conducting site surveys for its competitors, which are unnecessarily onerous, bringing them in line with Openreach's own survey requirements.
Where a competitor relies on Openreach to carry out engineering work, it should know when this will be completed. Ofcom is considering a requirement for service-level agreements and guarantees. Alternatively, allowing competitors to undertake the engineering work themselves could provide them with greater certainty and reduce timescales and costs.
Connecting fibre to buildings
For around half of UK homes, the final connection between the customer's home and the network is a drop wire' from a nearby telegraph pole. (The other half of homes are connected by an underground cable.)
Companies wishing to connect fibre directly to premises can face problems such as space and load constraints on BT's poles, which often take time and money to resolve. In contrast, these issues do not affect BT to the same extent for example, BT can connect a premises simply by replacing its existing copper drop wire with fibre.
So Ofcom is consulting on whether to require Openreach to upgrade its drop wires with fibre at the request of any telecoms provider who is offering full-fibre broadband to a customer. Openreach could then charge the provider for using the drop wire.
Digital map
Ofcom also wants to see Openreach provide comprehensive data on the nature and location of its ducts and poles. This new digital map' of the UK will allow competing operators to plan and deploy advanced networks.
BT is now developing an online database, showing the location and capacity of ducts and poles, and intends to make it available to telecoms providers by summer next year. Ofcom expects that the detailed network records will be provided in an appropriate format to BT's rivals.
BT is also already trialling new, simpler processes for sharing its network, working with five other telecoms companies. While Ofcom welcomes this progress, more needs to be done to improve network competition and enable greater fibre roll-out.
A fibre future for the UK
Ofcom's priority is for everyone to have good broadband. While the UK compares well with major European peers for access to superfast broadband, which offers speeds of 30 Mbit/s or more, many homes and small businesses still can't receive a decent connection. So Ofcom is working with the Government on plans to give everyone the right to request a 10 Mbit/s service by 2020.
Looking further ahead, we want full-fibre, ultrafast broadband to be widely available in the UK. Some operators' plans are already underway.
BT intends to connect 2 million premises in this way by 2020, and Virgin Media plans to extend its ultrafast cable and fibre network to reach a fur
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
27/04/2024
On April 26, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher E. Kubasik joined CNBC's Mor...
27/04/2024
PORTLAND, Oregon Audinate Group Limited, the developer of the Dante AV-over-IP solution, announced significant new additions to Dante Connect, its cloud-based D...
27/04/2024
TORONTO Bell Media has launched 10 English and French-language FAST channels featuring entertainment, factual, news, and sports programming. The new free stream...
27/04/2024
An extensive new analysis of the news segments in the broadcast evening news programs of ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS has found that broadcasters devoted most of their...
27/04/2024
GERMANTOWN, Md. EchoStar's Hughes Network Systems has opened a new manufacturing facility and private 5G incubation center in Germantown, Maryland....
27/04/2024
Harry Pappas, one of three brothers who founded Pappas Telecasting Companies in 1971, died April 24. He was 78 years old....
27/04/2024
ATLANTA and LONDON Mexican telecommunications and broadcast company Televisa has selected Synamedia for an overhaul of its broadcast distribution....
27/04/2024
Participate in the Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024
0 Comments
By participating in this surve...
27/04/2024
SDVI Rally Access Workstation Earns Two Top Awards at 2024 NAB Show
Brie Clayton April 26, 2024
0 Comments
SDVI, the leading platform provider for clo...
27/04/2024
Berklee's Music and Health Institute Launches Community Health Musician Cert...
27/04/2024
Charter Communications reported higher first-quarter profits despite continued cord-cutting and competition for broadband customers....
27/04/2024
Two environmentally-focused groups are partnering to engage the unscripted TV world in finding better ways to address climate change. Reality of Change is an ec...
27/04/2024
Sarah Garcia has been promoted to weekend anchor at KTLM McAllen, Texas, known as Telemundo 40. Starting April 27, she will anchor Noticias Telemundo 40 weekend...
27/04/2024
CBS Sports said it launched a new 24-hour free, ad supported streaming television (FAST) channel devoted to the UEFA Champions League....
27/04/2024
Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts received $35.4 million in compensation in 2023, up 11% from the previous year, according to a proxy statement filed by th...
27/04/2024
Art Happens Here With John Lithgow, which sees the actor study dance, ceramics, silk-screen printing and vocal jazz with students in Los Angeles, debuts on PBS ...
27/04/2024
Remember Leave It to Beaver? Bewitched? Dragnet? When cable ratings were rising?...
27/04/2024
Next up for the weekend binge at Catchy Comedy is Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Every weekend, Catchy Comedy features The Catchy Binge, a marathon of a classic sitcom....
26/04/2024
Sundance Film Festival CDMX 2024 kicks-off today with screenings in 5 theaters in Mexico City and the opening-night film, FRIDA, directed by Carla Guti rrez...
26/04/2024
[Editor's Note: This interview is part of a larger feature about the women d...
26/04/2024
Once again this year, SGL Carbon opened its doors to interested children and young people. On the occasion of the German Girls and Boys Day, which took place on...
26/04/2024
Orders1 of $5.5 billion; book-to-bill of 1.06x
Revenue of $5.2 billion, up 17%,...
26/04/2024
Five Considerations For Communications Modernization In The 21st Century
In the digital-enabled battlespace, the Joint Force needs to shoot, move and communica...
26/04/2024
CBS Sports has launched Champions League as a new, 24-hour streaming channel that will serve as the year-round destination for nonstop highlights of the UEFA ...
26/04/2024
Despite tough competition in the streaming space, Roku reported solid results in Q1 2024, beating revenue expectations, with total net revenue up 19% YoY to $88...
26/04/2024
LONDON AND TORONTO Pinewood Toronto Studios has appointed Sarah Farrell as general manager of the Studios in downtown Toronto....
26/04/2024
Quantum to Offer Advanced Filesharing Technology and Performance in StorNext and...
26/04/2024
FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2024 entries and introduces new Emerging Talen...
26/04/2024
Picture Shop Announces Chris Evans as Head of Unscripted
Brie Clayton April 26, 2024
0 Comments
Picture Shop announced Chris Evans will lead Unscripte...
26/04/2024
Participate in a Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024
0 Comments
By participating in this survey,...
26/04/2024
Toy maker Mattel said it is working with Samsung to launch its first free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels later this year....
26/04/2024
Trusted Media Brands (TMB) said it named Marty Moe as president....
26/04/2024
Ron Howard is the director on Jim Henson Idea Man, a documentary that premieres on Disney Plus May 31. Henson of course created Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Big...
26/04/2024
The ice continues to melt under the regional sports network business as the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League have made a long-term deal to broadcast...
26/04/2024
Heading into the upfronts, Warner Bros. Discovery said it launched Olli, a first-party data platform advertiser can use for converged, targeted advertising camp...
26/04/2024
CBS has renewed the drama The Equalizer, which will see season five on in 2024-2025. Queen Latifah stars....
26/04/2024
The CW has entered into an exclusive multiyear broadcast partnership for the Miss USA Pageant and the Miss Teen USA Pageant. The 73rd Miss USA Pageant will air ...
26/04/2024
Fuse Media isn't mincing words in a campaign urging its young viewers to register and participate in the 2024 elections....
26/04/2024
Dead Boy Detectives, a series from Neil Gaiman about a detective agency staffed by ghosts, debuts on Netflix April 25. George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri are in t...
26/04/2024
The Story Collective has gradually repurposed the former Mortlake Brewery to include production offices, workshops and sound stages
By Matthew Corrigan
Publi...
26/04/2024
Perkett joins the company following a 25 year career in product management, product marketing, engineering and user experience (UX) across multiple industries
...
26/04/2024
Teradek, the industry leader in wireless video transmitters and receivers, announced today the launch of new Bolt 6 LT 750 and Bolt 6 Monitor Module 750 RX with...
26/04/2024
NEW YORK Amagi has appointed Richard Perkett chief product officer (CPO)....
26/04/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced the results of the 2024 NAB Radio and Television Board of Directors elections. The...
26/04/2024
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. & NEW YORK Mattel has announced a deal to launch its first three 24/7 free ad supported streaming (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus, Samsung...
26/04/2024
PORTLAND, Maine Viewers here can now receive the NextGen TV signals of five local stations with the launch of ATSC 3.0 service from host station WPFO, which is ...
Ofcom plans for a full-fibre future 06 December 2016 
