Openreach Extend New Build FTTP Discounts to Commercial Premises
Last year’s move by Openreach (BT) to drop the deployment cost of their 1Gbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based ultrafast broadband ISP network infrastructure by an average of 75% (here), which focused upon new build UK homes at sites with fewer than 30 premises, has been extended to include commercial premises.
The operator already offers all new developments of 30+ homes the ability to get FTTP built for free, while last year’s change also introduced a “revised rate card” for smaller developments that may be building between just 2 to 29 premises in an area (developers can register here).
For example, under the old system a site of 20 premises (homes) would previously have contributed £25,000 for an upgrade to FTTP but with the new rate card Openreach merely required a contribution of just £223 per premises (amounting to a total of £4,460 across all 20 premises). As this was on a sliding scale then somebody with, for example, 29 homes (plots) would have paid just £17 per plot or £493 total.
At the time the operator estimated that more than 40,000 homes across 5,000 small developments could benefit. Openreach has now informed ISPreview.co.uk of some more good news for developers, which is that from today the same pricing structure (set rate card) as applies to residential premises will also be extended to commercial ones.
Openreach Statement
Previously every commercial site was costed individually, with a bespoke rate offered at the end of a survey process. This new pricing structure will offer developers a simple way of costing their site for fibre, which is becoming essential for cloud computing, IP services and online commerce.
Single sites will still need a bespoke costing.
By commercial premises they of course mean small businesses, offices and sole traders. All of this will no doubt go toward supporting the operator’s on-going work to cover 4 million UK premises with “full fibre” FTTP by March 2021, which could be extended to 15 million by around 2025 and they may even go beyond that if the conditions are right (e.g. easier wayleave agreements, extension to the business rates relief on new fibre etc.).
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook and Linkedin.
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2-29 properties if this was extended to refurbishments OR are at a point where this could be converted to a ‘reasonable request’ for full fibre.
Could a village pretend they were all doing a simultaneous home improvement project?
New builds are cheaper because you can put the ducting into the ground and prepare the homes as everything is built, which just leaves the fibre to be run through. Refurbishing an existing home is not even remotely the same thing.
@NGA New Build quotes work on the basis that the developer does all the on-site civils, supplies and builds all the chambers and often fits the CPE
All Openreach do is the fibre tail, splitter and splicing
Which actually makes it quite cheeky that OR charge anything to fibre up given that new build new dig is viable on its own two feet…
Jim, I am sure this is not beyond your wit. So there are lots of front garden projects occurring at the same time with some footpath replacement, oiled with a little clawback. It just needs lining up.
@NGA
What?
Trenching adopted highway is say £90-£120/ meter.
Digging prior to build is £2-4/meter
This isn’t a front garden project. New build you have complete flexibility to arrange infrastructure to the most economically sensible routes
@A builder. Sometimes you need a financial element to ensure things happen correctly. If it was free of charge you could guarantee some developers would leave it to the last knockings and expect it to happen & for nothing still. Having a cost ensures it is budgeted for and considered
Jim – nonsense for 2 -29 properties, the latter could be a refurb of a small block of flats.
NGA that would be a Brownfield conversion and not a greenfield New site
they are not the same
I was quoted £35K because I would pass 2 houses and take their right away – those 2 houses would struggle to raise £35 so that’s totally unfair
Sally, this is BT Group using its discretion to select what it does and does not want to do. There has been six year war of attrition and at every turn, these projects are cheaper to deliver than portrayed. Quites are being issued to avoid doing the work that is inconvenient to do.
It is worth writing a short case study. The £100k cab becomes £25k. The £4k average includes 11 years of operational costs.
There remains £668m in BT’s accounts owed back on the BDUK projects, that should be used to get to 99% coverage, or reduce the 17% of rural so far excluded.
Sally I assume this was a FOD request and nothing to do with a New site — NGA more disinformation and your own “unique” take on anything (which is 100% devoid of reality
Sally what was your quote for and who did you obtain if from
Fastman your out of order. All numbers feature in BT’s Group misleading of Parliament and evidence in some 7 Parliamentary inquiries on this matter.
How can one bit of BT say it is £35k and another for the same set of services inbed it within a rollout where for the part the monies are actually owed.
Openreach was further from BT Group separated for a reason. The excesses are reducing but each step has to be won. Sally’s will be a good example.
@NGA
That is not understanding how FttPoD works, there is a standard cost book, the desktop planning quote will arrive at 1 initial figure, but a surveyor on the ground will see a different view and arrive at the best delivery for the route, planning will then requote accordingly, some go down substantially some will not change and some will increase.
It is not a cherry picking exercise, the cost is directly related to the works needed to deliver and the cut off for the product is all circuits delivered from the same local copper DP, not a wider area.
The Clawback sums are being used right now across the country, they are not sitting in anyones accounts idle.
An average Cabinet Cost is irrelevant, as you have to appreciate the context, a “Cabinet Cost” is different to a “FTTC build cost” of which the Cabinet Cost is just one part of the whole. Each and every one will have a unique set of costed components. Average is also confined by date – early in FTTC deployments are the easier, lower cost areas, then in later stages of BDUK Phase 1, average will be swayed by far more costly, much longer fibre paths, difficult power, complex civils, awkward wayleave areas, which will massively impact your “average”. Your average could change month by month depending on when you ask and whether the question is “Cabinet Cost” of “FTTC Build Cost”
Must admit I’m lost as to the relevance of this FoD quote to BDUK, and the relevance of both to new build pricing.
Carl T it has no relevance to anything
FOd is nothing to do with new build which is not to do with FTTC cab cost
its like apples and perfum and Pair of trousers are all the same
the only similarity is they can all be brough in each of the large surpermarkets
they are separate and not alignd
Thanks for clearing that up, Fastman.
Fastman, that is a bit rubbish, since when are perfume and trousers made of the same inputs? Treating FoD like a private circuit in terms of delivery and pricing is a proposition decision designed to limit availability.
In its current form it is just a means of punishing those excluded from roll-outs where the costs have been gamed high to reduce the amount or flow of BT capital needed.
Jim – 450k rural FTTP so far and enough funds to do another 600k! BT have reported phase 1 average after 22,000 cabs at £25k (all in -cab, fibre path, power). Phase 2 average BT reported as £27-£28k. There are also sorts of variations but the averages are a fraction of what ex CEO portrayed them. That is the public record.
On FTTPoD .. it is currently structured to limit demand.
@NGA
Obviously FoD is treated like a private circuit Mike, given that each order is bespoke, rather than a mass market product like regular FTTP. You’re making some points as if they are startling revelations rather than statements of the obvious whilst simultaneously working in ridiculous conspiracy assertions (which you have repeatedly failed to prove over many years), treating them as facts.
I hope that people reading your posts are not taken in, you could do a lot of harm by misleading people that have legitimate questions.
@NGA
Those numbers you quote are not correct – what’s your public record reference?