Openreach Join New NUAR Digital UK Map of Underground Cables and Pipes

The UK’s largest broadband network operator, Openreach (BT), has officially joined the new Government-backed National Underground Asset Register (NUAR), which is often described as being a “secure” digital map of underground UK pipes and cables (broadband, water etc.) that is partly designed to help reduce accidental damage.

Just to recap. The government currently sees huge potential for NUAR’s mapping to help improve the way that national infrastructure is planned, built and managed (e.g. future full fibre and 5G/6G mobile networks). Previous claims suggested that the map could help to cut the amount of accidental damage that occurs to existing infrastructure (estimated by some studies to cost up to £2.4bn each year) and boost economic growth by “at least £400m” per year due to increased efficiency, fewer asset strikes and reduced disruptions.

The NUAR – operated by Ordnance Survey (OS) – is the solution they came up with, which is in the process of going through somewhat of a final public beta phase before full introduction. The service, once “fully operational by the end of 2025“, will pull together information from 600 underground asset owners, covering 3 million kilometres of buried pipes and cables.

However, the effectiveness of the NUAR means little without full backing from major infrastructure builders, which is why Openreach’s move to join the scheme is today being heralded as “a giant step forward“. Openreach is adding location data including ducts, conduits, poles, spans, cabinets, and chambers, for over 550,000 kilometres of its network to the NUAR platform. The injection of new data means NUAR now covers over 80% of known assets underneath the ground.

In total NUAR now holds detailed information from underground asset owners for an estimated 3.25 million kilometres of pipes, across electricity, gas, water, pipeline operators and telecoms. As work continues with asset owners to capture more data, the platform is said to be “edging closer to achieving full coverage for the subterranean network below“.

Trevor Linney, Openreach’s Networks Director, said:

“As the UKs largest telecommunications infrastructure provider, we are pleased to have started our NUAR journey. Safety is our number one priority, and today Openreach provides information to other providers needing to dig near our infrastructure.

NUAR has the potential to provide the ‘one stop shop’ for users to view everyone infrastructure in a consolidated and unified way, helping keep everyone safe and preventing damage and disruption.”

Carsten Roensdorf, OS’s NUAR Product Manager, said:

“Openreach coming on board is a giant step forward towards getting full coverage in the NUAR platform, further assisting the safe digging process by providing access to a comprehensive set of underground asset data.

Openreach has a very wide coverage and will add value to most of the searches carried out in NUAR.”

The move is significant for both existing users and also for those rival networks and companies that have yet to sign-up, since it makes the map much more useful and attractive. “For those asset owners not yet on board with NUAR, they are missing out on accessing underground asset data from all main electricity and gas networks, together with comprehensive telecom data including Openreach’s network, all in one simple interface at the click of a button,” added Carsten.

The NUAR says it gives excavators better access to data and enables safer and more efficient installation, maintenance, operation and repair of buried infrastructure. It also claims to increase industry co-ordination, because NUAR is a centralised platform that shares a standardised view of underground asset data on the map. And it increases operational efficiency through instant access to data, reducing multiple requests for information that previously took on average six days to obtain.

However, the UK Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) has previously warned the government against putting the NUAR on a statutory footing before it’s truly “fit for purpose, proportionate and can fully deliver on expectations“. But with the addition of Openreach, it’s now much closer to being ready for prime time.