{"id":41916,"date":"2021-03-18T13:34:02","date_gmt":"2021-03-18T13:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/?guid=46e1c95316c67319053d994a5275919f"},"modified":"2021-03-18T13:34:02","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T13:34:02","slug":"broadband-providers-welcome-ofcoms-new-full-fibre-rollout-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/broadband-providers-welcome-ofcoms-new-full-fibre-rollout-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Broadband providers welcome Ofcom’s new full-fibre rollout rules"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n Sabina Weston<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
18 Mar, 2021<\/span><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Ofcom has unveiled new regulations for wholesale telecoms markets used to deliver broadband, mobile<\/a>, and business<\/a> connections in the UK, which aim to promote competition and investment in gigabit-capable networks.<\/p>\n

This includes regulating the impact of Openreach<\/a>, which holds the biggest share of the UK’s broadband market, by examining the level of current or prospective competition in a given area. The BT subsidiary will be prevented from offering geographic discounts on its full-fibre wholesale services.<\/p>\n

However, Ofcom will also freeze the wholesale fees Openreach charges for providing data speeds of up to 40Mbps using technologies such as FTTC (copper links via fibre to the cabinet) or ADSL, which uses copper links only. The regulator has also decided not to place a pricing cap on Openreach\u2019s fastest fibre services, allowing the company to better fund a faster rollout.<\/p>\n

Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes said that, despite the huge demand for network connectivity due to continuing lockdown restrictions, \u201cmillions of homes are still using the copper lines that were first laid over 100 years ago\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ofcom is \u201csetting the right conditions for companies to step up and invest in the country\u2019s full-fibre future,\u201d said Dawes, adding that \u201cnow it\u2019s time to ramp up the rollout of better broadband across the UK\u201d.<\/p>\n

The new regulations will go into effect starting next month and remain in effect until at least March 2026.<\/p>\n

Openreach CEO Clive Selley said that Ofcom\u2019s new regulations will allow the provider \u201cto ramp up to 3 million premises per year providing vital next-generation connectivity for homes and business right across the UK\u201d.<\/p>\n

The company has by now managed to extend the FTTP rollout to \u201calmost 4.5 million premises\u201d.<\/p>\n

Virgin Media CEO Lutz Sch\u00fcler welcomed Ofcom\u2019s announcement, describing it as a\u00a0\u201cresounding sign of support and longer-term clarity from Ofcom for those rolling up their sleeves to build the nation\u2019s next-generation digital infrastructure<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Last month, Virgin Media\u00a0announced\u00a0plans<\/a> to create more than 400 new graduate, intern, and\u00a0apprenticeship<\/a>\u00a0roles over the course of 2021 to\u00a0assist the company in building and maintaining its gigabit\u00a0infrastructure, as well as continuing to expand its\u00a0network\u00a0to connect new homes and businesses as part of its \u2018Project Lightning\u2019 programme.<\/p>\n

\u201cOfcom\u2019s focus is in the right place, and we urge the regulator to maintain this trajectory so that more of the country can benefit from competing gigabit networks that deliver long-lasting economic, societal and environmental benefits,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

CCS Insight\u2019s consumer and connectivity director Kester Mann described the ruling as \u201ca huge boost for the deployment of full-fibre broadband that will benefit millions of UK homes and businesses for years to come\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt comes at a time when the value of connectivity has never been more appreciated as the pandemic triggers major change in how people live and work. The UK\u2019s over-reliance on using dated copper lines for 21st-century connectivity has held back its aspirations to become a world-leading digital economy. Today\u2019s news sets fresh conditions to help accelerate full-fibre broadband deployment to help it move out of the slow lane.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mann added that \u201cthe news caps a great week for BT following a successful outcome in the 5G spectrum auction<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cRolling out fibre infrastructure is a costly and time-consuming venture with a pay-back measured in decades. CEO Phillip Jansen recently declared that BT is “ready to build like fury” and while it would have preferred a longer period free from regulated pricing, the announcement still brings much-needed certainty to make a return on investment. The news may not be so appreciated among service providers that rely on Openreach and other infrastructure. But this was always a delicate decision for the regulator which had to tread a fine line between encouraging long-term investment and maintaining fair competition. It may have got it about right.\u201d<\/p>\n

DCMS<\/a> secretary Oliver Dowden said that he welcomes Ofcom\u2019s new regulations, adding that they \u201cstrike the right balance between encouraging commercial investment and protecting consumers\u201d.<\/p>\n

He also announced that the government will tomorrow publish its \u201cplan to drive the rapid rollout of gigabit broadband across the whole of the UK, including the first places to benefit from our \u00a35bn investment in hard to reach areas\u201d. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sabina Weston<\/p>\n

18 Mar, 2021 <\/p>\n

Ofcom has unveiled new regulations for wholesale telecoms markets used to deliver broadband, mobile, and business connections in the UK, which aim to promote competition and investment in gigab…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":627,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/627"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41916"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41917,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41916\/revisions\/41917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}