Openreach test solution where UK business users help pre-plan fibre installs

Network access provider Openreach (BT) has today begun informing broadband ISPs about yet another Proof of Concept (PoC) trial they’re conducting called “Walk the Route“, which in simple terms will ask business customers to help their engineers plan an FTTP installation before they turn up.

The public briefing on this is rather vague, but it does state that end-customers would be expected to “captured images to improve site readiness and installation planning“. According to some of the feedback we’ve seen, this would only apply to more expensive Premium FTTP provisions for business customers.

The PoC is currently expected to run for 3-months, starting around November 2026 sometime, and would be restricted to selected orders made in the London and Home Counties region(s). So far as we can tell, some degree of AI-assistance would be involved and customers would be guided with audio, photos and video to help capture where they want the fibre to go etc. (route, network entry point, ONT location etc.).

In theory this could help to reduce the number of engineer visits (truck rolls) required to complete an installation and to make the deployment itself quicker on the day (fewer unexpected blockers), thus saving time, money and disruption. But this does depend a lot on the ability of Openreach’s tools to correctly guide customers to collect the right data and present it properly, which is easier said than done.