{"id":43800,"date":"2025-11-10T08:47:03","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T08:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?p=43800"},"modified":"2025-11-10T08:57:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T08:57:27","slug":"gigaclear-calls-for-openreach-changes-to-bring-gigabit-broadband-to-uk-rural-areas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/11\/gigaclear-calls-for-openreach-changes-to-bring-gigabit-broadband-to-uk-rural-areas.html","title":{"rendered":"Gigaclear Call for Openreach Changes to Bring Gigabit Broadband to UK Rural Areas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Abingdon-based alternative broadband ISP Gigaclear<\/a>, which has built a full fibre (FTTP<\/a>) network across 612,000 premises in rural parts of England (inc. 160,000 customers), has responded to Openreach<\/a>’s recent threat to scale-back their own fibre roll-out (here<\/a>) by calling for “fair regulation between the incumbent and altnets to level the playing field<\/em>“.<\/p>\n

Just to recap. Last week saw Openreach<\/a>’s CEO, Clive Selley<\/strong>, warn both the Government and Ofcom<\/a> that he was \u201cgoing to hold fire<\/em>\u201d on seeking approval for the final phase of the operator\u2019s plan to go beyond their current 25 million premises target for December 2026 (i.e. the goal to expand FTTP<\/a> up to 30 million premises by 2030); at least until the regulatory and tax environment showed themselves to be favourable.<\/p>\n

NOTE:<\/strong> Gigaclear<\/a> is principally owned by Infracapital<\/strong>, together with Equitix<\/strong> and Railpen<\/strong>. The company previously had investment commitments estimated to be worth up to around \u00a31.1bn (here<\/a>) and in late 2023 secured a \u00a31.5bn debt facility (here<\/a>). The provider holds several Project Gigabit build contracts in Oxfordshire (here<\/a>) and East Gloucestershire (here<\/a>).<\/div>\n

At this stage, it’s not known whether Openreach will actually scale-back their infrastructure deployment plans. But Selley’s warning was clearly issued with a view to the threat from both rising business rates and Ofcom<\/a>’s forthcoming market review (i.e. the desire for softer regulation given today’s more competitive environment). However, any reduction in their deployment would naturally hit rural areas the hardest, since those are often the last to benefit from such upgrades.<\/p>\n

The CEO of rival provider Gigaclear, Nathan Rundle<\/strong>, has now hit back and warned that the digital divide between rural and urban areas was now at risk of widening “significantly without greater collaboration across the industry<\/em>“.<\/p>\n

Gigaclear CEO, Nathan Rundle, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have already made substantial headway in bringing full-fibre connectivity to rural homes and businesses that otherwise would have been forgotten \u2013 but the job is not done and we will continue to champion the need for greater collaboration and a level playing field that will help ensure the regulatory environment remains attractive for investors. This is how we will connect these hard-to-reach rural homes and businesses and support the Government in reaching their 2032 target of achieving nationwide gigabit coverage for 99% of properties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gigaclear has been providing ultrafast full fibre broadband to the hardest to reach rural areas for the last 15 years, with over 600,000 homes and businesses able to access our network and serving over 160,000 customers. This includes many Building Digital UK<\/a> communities in hard to reach areas, some of which are currently in progress, in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire. What these underserved rural communities need now is constructive collaboration between the regulator, the incumbent and altnets.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The caveat is that some of what they’re seeking naturally reflects Gigaclear’s own vested interests. The provider is calling upon Ofcom and Openreach to use mechanisms enabled by the Communications Act 2003 (Sections 93A & 93B) to bring about “meaningful digital transformation in rural areas … by enabling altnets to collaborate with incumbents, rather than being sidelined, the rollout can be accelerated, and duplication minimised<\/em>“.<\/p>\n

As highlighted in their Telecoms Access Review (TAR) 2026-2031 consultation response, Gigaclear again urges the regulator and industry to level the playing field and focus on:<\/p>\n