Openreach, BT’s digital infrastructure subsidiary, has added 36 locations to its fiber to the premises (FTTP) deployment list. The target markets, which should see construction begin in the next 12 months, include four in Scotland, the result of the Scottish Government’s decision to extend rate relief on such deployments.
The Fibre First FTTP deployment list now includes 74 locations. Openreach says it expects to reach 3 million to 4 million premises by March 2021, and perhaps 15 million homes and businesses by the mid-2020s “if the right investment conditions are in place.”
New to the Fibre First FTTP roster are such towns and cities as Newcastle, Doncaster, Chelmsford and St Albans. The Scottish locations include Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire and Bathgate, Broxburn and Whitburn in West Lothian. “We listened to industry and provided 10 years rates relief, five years more than the UK Government, with the aim of encouraging new investment in Scotland’s fiber infrastructure network. I am pleased to see that decision yielding early results with this announcement by Openreach,” commented Paul Wheelhouse, Connectivity Minister for the Scottish Government.
The full list of 74 locations can be found on the Openreach website. The company says its fiber broadband access network currently reaches more than 1.5 million homes and businesses in the UK, having doubled its FTTP footprint last year. Openreach says its footprint expands to more than 20,000 new homes and businesses each week.
“We’re pressing ahead with our investment and Openreach engineers are now building in communities all over the country, keeping us on track to deliver against the bigger ambitions we set out in May,” stated Clive Selley, Openreach chief executive. “The Government wants to see a nationwide full fiber network and we’re keen to lead the way in helping them achieve that. We know that if it’s going to happen, Openreach will need to be at the front doing the heavy lifting, so we’re working hard to build a commercially viable plan.”
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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