Full-fibre broadband for all to cost £30bn

Deploying a nationwide full-fibre, or fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) broadband network, by 2033 in line with the government’s ambitions will cost £30bn under a competitive model, Westminster has revealed.

The total sum is an estimate of total undiscounted deployment capital expenditure (capex), and excludes connection costs and lifetime operating expenses, according to the government’s Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review (FTIR), which has recently been published by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

However, the landmark report said if things continue the way they are going right now, full-fibre networks will only ever reach three-quarters of the country, and will not get there until at least 2038.

In light of this, the FTIR sets out a number of proposed changes that DCMS believes are necessary to give the majority of the UK population access to 5G mobile networks, to connect 15 million premises to full-fibre broadband by 2025, and to hit the ultimate goal of national coverage in 15 years’ time.

“We want everyone in the UK to benefit from world-class connectivity no matter where they live, work or travel,” said newly appointed DCMS secretary of state, Jeremy Wright.

“This radical new blueprint for the future of telecommunications in this country will increase competition and investment in full fibre broadband, create more commercial opportunities and make it easier and cheaper to roll out infrastructure for 5G.”

Consultations on some of the proposed recommendations are set to begin imminently, said DCMS, notably streamlining wayleaves and mandating fibre connections in new builds.

Moving forward, the recommendations will also form the basis of the government’s next Statement of Strategic Priorities (SSP) to Ofcom, which will set out strategic objectives and outcomes that the comms regulator must pay heed to during its day-to-day activities.

The publication of the FTIR was welcomed by broadband industry stakeholders, such as Ofcom CEO Sharon White, who said: “We … share its ambition for full-fibre and 5G networks to be rolled out right across the UK. The government and Ofcom are working together, and with industry, to help ensure people and businesses get the broadband and mobile they need for the 21st century.”

An official Openreach spokesperson added: “We want everybody in the UK to have fast, reliable access to the internet and we’re actively working on ways to increase adoption of our superfast and ultrafast services across the country. As more devices, appliances and services go online, we want every home and business to be able to do whatever they want, whenever they want online, all at the same time.

“We’re already building full fibre to around 10,000 homes and businesses every week, and by 2020 we’ll have reached 3 million. We have a huge, world-class engineering team, and wherever we build, we’ll deliver the best quality network with the highest levels of service and built-in competition and choice.”

“Today marks the day the government decided once and for all to leave copper behind and commit the UK to a full fibre future, making clear that a new generation of infrastructure builders is the vehicle for delivering its bold ambition for all homes and businesses to be connected to full fibre by 2033, not just Openreach,” said CityFibre CEO Greg Mesch.

“CityFibre is already building the networks that the UK’s economy needs to prosper and is ready to work with industry and government to make this a reality quickly.”