Openreach Install 500,000 Green Zyxel ONTs via UK FTTP Broadband Rollout
Network kit manufacturer Zyxel has revealed that UK network operator Openreach (BT) have now installed 500,000 of their “green” Optical Network Terminals (ONT / ONU), which forms part their ongoing deployment of gigabit speed Full Fibre (FTTP) based broadband ISP technology. The new ONTs use re-engineered casings made from 95% recycled plastic.
The ONT or optical modem device is usually installed inside your home or office (wall hung), near to where the fibre optic cable physically enters your property. The primary job of this small unit is simply to take the optical signal and convert it into an electrical one that can be connected to your broadband router via an Ethernet port (LAN/WAN).
The standard ONT is usually a very small device and Openreach installs a number of them from different suppliers, such as ADTRAN, Nokia, Zyxel and Sercomm. But as part of this the network operator has been encouraging suppliers to help them achieve their target of removing 100 tones of plastic from its supply chain, such as by using recycled cases and other parts.
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Openreach engineers have already installed half a million of Zyxel’s sustainable ONTs (e.g. model code PM5313-00) and the network provider expects to install even more this year as customers upgrade to Full Fibre. The devices use recycled plastic (made from re-cycled plastic pellets) in their construction and arrive in zero‑plastic minimal packaging made from recycled materials.
Trevor Linney, Network Technology Director at Openreach, said:
“We’ve already passed more than 22 million homes and businesses to our broadband network, and more people across the UK are choosing Full Fibre as they rely on fast, reliable connectivity more than ever.
As we continue connecting communities to our network, it’s essential we do so in a way that reduces our environmental impact as well as delivering world‑class technology. A great example of this is moving to 2.5G Ethernet by default, avoiding future truck rolls as customers seamlessly move to higher speeds.”
James Harris, Head of EMEA at Zyxel Communications, said:
“As Openreach continues to expand its fibre network across the UK, speed, reliability, security and sustainability are all important factors.”
We’ve engineered our ONT portfolio to meet these exact standards, enabling Openreach to rapidly scale its multi-gigabit services and continue connecting millions of homes and businesses with confidence.
We are pleased to support Openreach’s ‘Let’s reach zero’ strategy. Through close collaboration, we have delivered a customised ONT design that significantly reduces the amount of plastic required in its manufacturing process.”
Zyxel said their ONTs use built-in Secure Boot technology and incorporate Airoha’s next-generation chipset, helping them meet all the requirements of the UK’s Telecommunications Security Act (TSA). For this rollout, Zyxel created a bespoke ONT specifically for Openreach.
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, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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I’ve got one of these! The amount of surplus fibre and plastic bags and packaging left in the bin by the installer probably outweighs any tiny savings on materials by using a “sustainable ONT”.
lol
I wonder if Openreach/Zyxel have to pay “plastics tax” (in the same way that e.g. a mass market clothing retailer does).
It’s not great; what drives the amount of packaging is the desire to ship equipment in pristine condition long distances and using multiple modes, especially if the “last mile” is by parcel courier (to end user or local installer) or in small batches (logistical cartons, ie less than a pallet).
Protection against moisture and hence mould (when using bulk intermodal containerised freight on land or sea; and containerised/palletised for air) is a surprisingly big problem, needing plastics and desiccant sachets.
If you can optimise the supply chain to deliver to point of use in (say) boxes of 20+ units you can greatly reduce plastics/desiccants, and use more recycled/recyclable paper and card (to prevent rubbing damage between units in the box). This requires an end to end or “systems” viewpoint
For half a million ONTs (in a very short time), even small savings in plastic add up, and one hopes the device will last a couple of decades or more untouched for most customers. Yes, the installer of the fibre cable has a larger burden of waste from the inevitable off-cuts of dropwire and CSP wiring, mitigated somewhat that they are planning on not coming back for an even longer timespan. (Perhaps they aim for 40-60+ years like copper easily achieved? …Except at the joints, heh heh.)
The Zyxel ONT is supplied in a cardboard box, with cardboard separator, there is a cloth bag to protect the ont and a card tie around the PSU cable. There is no plastic or metal in the packaging.
It reminded me of Excel’s plastic free packaging, which is also very nice to deal with.
Trevor Linney, Network Technology Director at Openreach, said:
“A great example of this is moving to 2.5G Ethernet by default, avoiding future truck rolls as customers seamlessly move to higher speeds.”
https://www.zyxel.com/service-provider/sites/default/files/2025-08/zyxel-PM5313-00_WEEE-report.pdf
anyone know what a truck roll is?
Basically industry lingo for sending an engineer out to do something. In this case, if you already have a 2.5G capable ONT installed then you won’t need to send one out again for service speed orders below 2.5Gbps. But their statement does rather overlook Openreach’s planned move to 10Gbps capable XGS-PON.
For what it’s worth the CityFibre ONT has a 10 G port – at least the one they installed in my house does. Even fewer ‘truck rolls’! It also looks a lot smarter than the pictured Zyxel, that thing is ugly.
> But their statement does rather overlook Openreach’s planned move to 10Gbps capable XGS-PON.
I don’t think this is unreasonable. It probably makes commercial sense to deploy a GPON ONT with a 2.5Gb/s port (i.e. which can handle all the various GPON speeds, including those faster than gigabit) and then to replace the ONT for XGS-PON rather than deploy some sort of GPON / XGS-PON combination ONT.
@Mark Jackson: Openreach is installing millions of ONTs, and a “dual-mode” ONT is more expensive than a Zyxel like this especially when 95% (or more) of users will be happy with GPON. Actually most users have problems with their Wi-Fi and not the technology which delivers broadband.
When someone subscribes to faster speeds carried only by XGS-PON, an Openreach tech will be round to swap out the ONT.
Related environmental question. The ONT needs a source of power. I wonder whether it would be environmentally better for the ONT to be powered from the exchange or street cabinet from the metal landline it that it often replaces, at least while that is still viable, instead of “Locally”
Also I wonder whether the plug in power supply has been fully optimised to minimise power draw for the use case. What great looks like is the plug in power supply is designed to power both the ONT and the router (sharing any conversion power losses across multiple devices), and is designed as a “plug through” form factor so the customer does not “lose” a power socket or have to resort to extensions etc. (Plug through form factor for power supplies has been seen sometimes).
I also worry that some people who have transitioned to digital voice will not understand that the ONT/router needs to be on all the time to maintain telephone landline service; particularly in cases of cognitative disability (I have observed this sort of issue first hand). At the very least, there needs to be labelling on the power supply/at the socket which says in large red letters “DO NOT TURN OFF”; I can foresee demand for special plastic socket covers that prevent easy access to the socket switches (yes I know you can install sockets without switches) and makes removal of the power supply a more deliberate activity (breakable safety strap)
Some ISP’s like grain connect use an sfp ont which is an all in one unit where the sfp module acts as a ont. This means that you can just connect it to a sfp port which powers the ont, meaning you only need the router.
No. What a strange thing to wonder.
The SFP Grain use is not an ONT, it’s a simple transceiver. Grain don’t use PON so no ONT.
No. Openreach are not going to spend a huge sum of money to develop some sort of remote power system that uses an increasingly unreliable network that they explicitly want to get rid of and does not even physically exist in some areas (ie any new build in the last few years). It probably wouldn’t deliver enough power to run both the ONT and a router anyway, particularly on longer lines.
Leaving aside the regulatory and safety issues, it also complicates installs where the customer wants the ONT in a different location, which would be the case in a lot of older homes where ye olde hardwired phone was installed by the front door and that is often where the master socket went.
It is much more sensible to offer UPSes to those who need it and anyone else can choose to buy their own UPS if they want it. The new industry-standard UPS has a Y cable to power both the ONT and router.
I have one (visually identical to the one pictured, no sign of serial numbers). Frugal device: mine consumes 2.7–3 Watts of 12V DC (easy on battery backups), and the Openreach-branded (also white) mains PSU is svelte and also frugal. Power-up is something like 30 seconds or less, if I recall correctly.
I got one of it. The engineer did left spare ONT to me (think it no longer use it anymore – it’s won’t work anymore once new ONT was activated)
These units will normally stay in the building for years, unless the costmer go for a faster speed that it can’t cope with, but it makes sense to stick a unit in that is future proof. While it is nice to use recycled plastic, I would think the packaging that is used would be more harmful.
I realise that it is nothing to do with Openreach, but it is a BT problem as well as other providers, the amount of routers these companies send out, is far more than what they use in ONTs.
No need to keep changing routers every couple of years just because new tech comes out, most people would even take advantage of the old tech. The same with mobile phones.
To be honest, sticking the green lable on this ONT is just a gimmick
Router firmware size grows over time as code is added to patch exploits and bugs. Eventually a router runs out of RAM or CPU and it then becomes a vulnerable liability.
So really, there is a need to keep changing routers. Not every couple of years, but more than never. The same is true with mobile phones.
Or give the customer “Bring Your Own Device” router option. In my case Plusnet sent me their Hub 2 which is a rebadged BT Smart Hub 2 and a 7 year old design. It is now gathering dust in the loft until such time I leave and they request it back.
Major ISPs will never do BYOD due to the support hassles it creates. You will get their router whether you choose to use it or not, and they will ask for it to be connected before any troubleshooting occurs.
It bears repeating that unlike the average user of this website, in reality customers use the supplied equipment, which is usually on a no-cost rental basis these days so that it can be recovered, refurbished and reissued.
The Plusnet SH2 is still fully supported (as is the BT and EE versions of the same device). It’s still more than enough for the average Plusnet customer.
The issue for me is that I had one fitted last week . I had a Nokia ONT and it was small and not an eyesore . I would have expected that the ont would have been designed to fit on the existing two screws poking out of the wall but no , the engineer proceed to drill straight on hammer and butchered my wall . When I said why did you do that he said the ont will hide the damage which it did but it’s double the size !!