Openreach Cuts UK FTTC “Fibre Broadband” Contract Terms to 1 Month

Good news for consumers and ISPs alike. Openreach has today announced that the minimum contract term for their ‘up to’ 40-80Mbps Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC / VDSL2) broadband service is to be cut from 12 months to just 1 month for all services!

The decision means that ISPs buying an FTTC based “fibre broadband” service from Openreach will be able to offer shorter contracts to consumers and this applies to new connections, as well as the start of a stopped line or ISP to ISP migrations. In addition, the application of a Homemover’s Adjustment against current FTTC Held to Term charges will no longer apply.

However the decision about whether or not to pass this change on to subscribers will remain one for each ISP. Most of the biggest providers tend to tie customers in to their service with longer 12-18 month terms, although this often has less to do with Openreach’s minimum contract period and more to do with being able to offer a longer contract in return for a cheaper price.

The change, which will be introduced from 12th October 2017, does not apply to ultrafast Fibre-to-the-Premise (FTTP) lines, which currently have very limited coverage (these remain restricted to a 12 month term). By comparison FTTC is now a product of wide national availability (nearly universal) and no longer requires a 12 month term to help Openreach recoup their investment. Recent changes to the regulatory environment may also have had a role to play.