Openreach, BT’s infrastructure indepedent subsidiary, says it now reaches more than 800,000 homes and businesses in Scotland with fiber to the premises (FTTP). The company says it plans to extend its FTTP footprint this year into urban areas such as Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Stirling and Glasgow as well as rural parts of regions including Fife, East Lothian, Highland, Aberdeenshire and Dumfries and Galloway.
Openreach estimates it has spent about £240 million ($294.2 million) in Scotland on its FTTP roll out, based on an average UK build cost of £300 ($367.75) per premises. The company also estimates that approximately 30% of Scottish households and businesses have signed up for services on the fiber infrastructure. Service providers BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone, and Zen all leverage the FTTP network to deliver services to Scottish subscribers, Openreach says.
“The progress of Openreach’s full fiber rollout is welcome. This is a vital part of our national infrastructure, helping people to work remotely and helping support a greener society,” commented Scottish Government Business Minister Ivan McKee. “Our Digital Strategy for Scotland sets out the importance of digital connectivity to homes and businesses across the country. This welcome investment from Openreach, who are a signatory of Scotland’s Full Fibre Charter, supports our commitment to ensure that everyone in Scotland can access at least a superfast broadband connection.”
“Around a third of the 800,000 homes and businesses now reached by our new Scottish fibre network are rural. We’re connecting parts of the nation other networks don’t reach, bringing an economic boost and backing rural communities,” added Katie Milligan, Openreach chief commercial officer and chair of its Scotland Board. “Our superfast broadband is already available to most people in Scotland, but ultrafast full fiber is the future. It gives businesses, families, and home-workers all the data they’ll ever need and provides the ultimate online experience at great value for money.”
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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.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.