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New Rules to Aid UK Full Fibre Builds and Network Security Become Law UPDATE

Friday, Nov 25th, 2022 (7:01 am) - Score 2,712
Red Road Closed road sign in a UK city street.

The UK Government’s new Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill (PSTI) is finally set to become law after passing through both houses of parliament this week. The new law will, among other things, make it easier for full fibre broadband and mobile operators to upgrade, share and deploy new infrastructure.

The key focus for telecoms operators and digital infrastructure builders stems from how the PSTI will update the existing Electronic Communications Code (ECC), which reflects a set of rights that are designed to facilitate the installation and maintenance of electronic communications networks.

The ECC was last reformed in 2017 (here), but it didn’t resolve all of the obstacles to deployment and also created some new problems, such as with how some operators (particularly mobile providers) were pushing land / property owners into accepting “derisory payments” (here) for access to install their infrastructure (wayleave agreements).

Some of the aforementioned issues have since been ironed out through the court process, although some disputes between telecoms operators and landowners can still take many months to resolve.

NOTE: A report published in 2020 by the Centre for Policy Studies suggested that 80% of negotiations take more than 6 months to be completed, while the average time for agreements to be completed is 11 months and nearly a third of negotiations stall.

Operators also found it difficult to upgrade and share some of their existing equipment and infrastructure, which has prevented some networks from being used as efficiently as possible. In response, the new law introduces a series of changes to the ECC that will, they hope, ensure that operators can resolve disputes and upgrade the necessary infrastructure in a timely fashion.

The changes should help to support the Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit programme, which aims to deliver “nationwide” coverage of 1Gbps capable broadband networks by 2030 (85% by 2025). On top of that, it will also support the £1bn Shared Rural Network project, which seeks to extend geographic 4G mobile coverage to 95% of the UK by the end of 2025 (this may also aid future 5G coverage).

The PSTI’s New ECC Measures

➤ A new requirement for telecoms operators to consider the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) – a way of resolving disputes that does not involve going to court such as mediation or arbitration – in cases where there are difficulties in agreeing terms. Operators will also be required to explain the availability of ADR as an option in their notices to landowners.

➤ New automatic rights for operators to upgrade and share underground infrastructure – such as fibre optic cables – which were installed prior to the 2017 Code reforms and are not currently covered. This is in cases where there will be no impact on private land or burden on the site provider.

➤ Changes that make it easier for a telegraph pole to be shared, if it is used by an operator other than the operator that owns the pole, and to also make it easier for the equipment on an existing pole to be upgraded (e.g. replacing an old copper line with a fibre-optic one). This includes some safeguards to protect the interests of private landowners and occupiers (e.g. it will not provide operators with an automatic right of entry on to private land).

➤ New rules to allow operators to apply for time-limited access to certain types of land more quickly where a landowner does not respond to repeated requests for permission.

➤ New provisions to speed-up negotiations for renewal agreements. Operators who already have infrastructure installed under an expired agreement will have the right to either renew it on similar terms to those for new agreements, or request a new one.

A number of amendments to the bill were considered and some of those were adopted (e.g. the change that makes it easier to share and upgrade kit on existing telecoms poles). The government also approved an amendment that, for reasons of national security, will prevent operators from deploying new infrastructure on the UK’s national security, defence and law enforcement sites without consent (the Secretary of State can also block such attempts).

However, the government rejected a proposal for there to be an independent review of the ECC to ensure the rules are working correctly (here), which partly reflected concerns that it could delay the rollout of new infrastructure and might also “give rise to a new head of public expenditure“.

Julia Lopez, Digital Infrastructure Minister, told ISPreview.co.uk:

“We are pleased the Bill has been approved by Parliament.

It will improve the use of existing infrastructure and help landowners and telecoms companies agree deals quicker – meaning people get better mobile and broadband sooner, no matter if they live in a city centre flat or village farmhouse.

The legislation will also strengthen cyber protection to make sure the UK has the strongest security regime for smart tech in the world.”

Overall, the increased flexibility and faster processes should help to speed up the rollout of new broadband and mobile networks, although it remains to be seen whether the safeguards are enough to protect land/property owners from abuse. Striking the right balance here has always been difficult. In addition, it will take time to go through the usual motions (e.g. Ofcom consultations) before the revised code is fully implemented.

Finally, the new law also implemented the long-awaited Secure by Design proposals (i.e. ensuring connected devices are better able to resist cyberattacks), which gives ministers new powers to bring in tougher security standards for device makers and to fine those that fail to comply (both retailers and manufacturers). Some examples include banning easily guessed default passwords (admin/admin etc.), as well as improved support for security issues and a requirement for related products to state how long they will be supported by vital security patches etc.

The new law will probably have a big impact on cheaper imported products, which might not normally adhere to UK rules as closely as they perhaps should. We can also foresee problems around retailers that need to sell older stock, which might not offer the same length of support to those who buy them.

UPDATE 12:11pm

Openreach has issued a comment, which adds a useful perspective from the country’s largest fibre builder.

Michael Salter-Church, External Affairs & Policy Director for Openreach, said:

“We welcome the intent of the PSTI Bill which will support network builders as we rollout new full fibre connectivity. But we believe it could have gone further to support an accelerated deployment. We’re busy upgrading our vast existing network across urban and rural UK, helping the Government to deliver its ambition of reaching 85% of UK premises with gigabit connectivity by 2025.

The Bill could have made this easier by providing automatic access rights, through reform of wayleaves. We will need to secure wayleaves for over 1.25 million poles situated on private land, which in turn support over 1 billion metres of cabling in rural areas alone. This is also relevant to the delivery of Project Gigabit which relies on the use of telegraph poles.

We’re also concerned that many people living in small multi-dwelling units – flats and apartments, could be left behind due to obstructive landlords, creating a new digital divide. Having an automatic upgrade right would help connect these properties without the delays that are inherent in a system that involves taking a case through a tribunal process, which makes the build less efficient and more costly. We hope the government will keep a close eye on this part of the market and take further action to make access easier if smaller buildings aren’t benefiting from the upgrade at the same rate as other properties.”

However, Government MPs did object to some of Openreach’s proposals for the legislation, and so they didn’t make it through, not least because they were worried about handing the operator a specific commercial benefit.

As Julia Lopez MP said yesterday: “We have looked carefully at the Openreach-backed amendments to the PSTI Bill in great detail. TILPA [Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Act 2021] is neutral to all operators without giving any single operator a particular commercial benefit, and we believe that the amendment that Openreach has persistently tried to get through the House gives it a commercial benefit.”

On the subject of MDUs, MPs have previously noted Cityfibre’s concerns about the risk of handing a benefit to Openreach by effectively “grandfathering old wayleaves inside buildings” (i.e. entrench the operators who have those agreements already – mostly Openreach).

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Mark-Jackson
By Mark Jackson
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 .
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Comments
2 Responses
  1. Avatar photo Bandy McBroadbandface says:

    *New automatic rights for operators to upgrade and share underground infrastructure – such as fibre optic cables – which were installed prior to the 2017 Code reforms and are not currently covered. This is in cases where there will be no impact on private land or burden on the site provider.*

    How does this impact Virgin Media’s current network infrastructure that has been in place since the 90’s?

  2. Avatar photo PW says:

    Although its not explicit I believe it only applies to Openreach and PIA, as the only asset that regulators say must be made available to share.

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