B4RN Fined for Safety Failings During FTTP Broadband Rollout

Fibre optic builder and UK ISP B4RN (Broadband for the Rural North), which is rolling out a 10Gbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across rural parts of England, has been fined £1,400 after an inspector identified a number of safety failings with their deployment in the small Eden Valley village of Kirkoswald (Cumbria).

The provider, which is a registered Community Benefit Society that has already covered over 20,000 premises, first began deploying full fibre services to remote rural homes in Lancashire during 2012, and they’ve since expanded out across various remote rural parts of Cheshire, Cumbria, Northumberland, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Yorkshire – often with the help of local volunteers.

During all of that time, we’ve rarely ever seen B4RN get in real trouble for the work they’re doing, but there’s always a first time. In this case, one of Cumbria County Council’s street works inspectors identified a number of safety problems at B4RN’s deployment around Fetherston Hill in Kirkoswald.

The inspector found that the work had blocked the pavement and reduced the road to an unacceptable width, which forced pedestrians to walk in the road and left no provision for disabled pedestrians. On top of that, there were no traffic lights or traffic signs to warn motorists, which created a “risk of collision” on a steep hill. It was later found that B4RN did not have the appropriate permit for the work either, though this was quickly resolved.

The operator pleaded guilty to the offences at Carlisle’s Rickergate Court, and it was noted that B4RN had responded swiftly when told about the problems and has committed not to repeat the mistakes again.

Michael Lee, B4RN’s CEO, said (News & Star):

“B4RN takes these incidents incredibly seriously. As soon as these incidents were raised with B4RN senior management, we launched a full root cause investigation. The results of this investigation were reviewed collaboratively with Cumbria County Council, and corrective actions were agreed and quickly implemented. We acknowledge that we are at fault, and we continue to work hard to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

B4RN was fined £1,400 for the failings, as well as a £140 victim surcharge and costs of £651. But in the long run, the ability to access affordable gigabit broadband speeds should make all of this worthwhile.