Openreach Signs Digital Connectivity Charter for Sheffield UK

Openreach (BT) and the Sheffield City Council have today signed a new ‘Digital Connectivity Charter‘, which aims to help improve the local coverage of “full fibre” (FTTP) broadband ISP networks across the city through various measures (e.g. a common approach to wayleaves and permit applications).

Eagle-eyed readers will no doubt recall that Openreach only recently added Sheffield to their list of “Fibre First” cities (here), which means that the city will be among some of the first areas across the United Kingdom to benefit from the operator’s on-going rollout of 1Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) technology.

Exact details of the new Digital Connectivity Charter haven’t been made clear in the announcement, although it seems to provide the Council with some assurance that Openreach will work to “minimise the amount of construction work required, and that any that is required will meet the Council’s quality and safety standards and will minimise disruption.”

We hope that the agreement will also help Openreach to access some larger buildings (MDUs) in the city (possibly social housing), which is a known bugbear.

Matthew Hemmings, Openreach’s Director in the North, said:

“I’m impressed by Sheffield’s vision for digital connectivity, and by the way our two organisations are collaborating to work towards achieving a common goal. We both want to bring some of the fastest broadband speeds in the UK to the front doors of tens of thousands of homes and businesses across the city as quickly as possible.

By removing barriers, such as being more flexible with how we work together on wayleaves and permit applications, Sheffield has set the benchmark. Our engineers will be able to work more efficiently and effectively, reusing existing duct and poles where possible, to minimise disruption to people living and working nearby.”

Councillor Bryan Lodge said:

“We want Sheffield to be recognised by the digital industry as an attractive place to invest, where the local authority proactively supports operators and removes barriers to the deployment of infrastructure.

“We accept that as a core city, there is much to do. Signing an agreement of this kind with Openreach shows that we are receptive to improving our digital reach and are ambitious to work with other companies that enable us to be at the forefront of 21st century communications. Sheffielders deserve it.”

End.