BT Group’s network unit Openreach has published updated and, indeed, more detailed plans related to where it will deploy fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) technology.
As part of a regular programme of build updates, Openreach has also named twelve new locations where it intends to deliver gigabit-capable technology to a further 184,000 and businesses. These locations are predominantly in the capital, London, with areas including Bayswater, Chiswick, Finchley, Holborn, Kensington Gardens, South Kensington, Leagrave, Pimlico, Skyport (incl. the area around Heathrow) Stratford and Wembley, as well as the village of Healing in North East Lincolnshire.
Meanwhile, with regards to offering more detailed information regarding its wider full fibre rollout strategy, Openreach has updated its website to include ‘a range of details about its largest commercial build programmes, giving more information about where and when the build will start in each exchange location’. It is now classifying exchange locations in five new simplified categories, those being: where it will build in the future; where it will begin building ‘soon’, with services available within twelve months; where it is building right now; where is has finished the main part of its build in the exchange; and where the exchange is not in its major build programme.
According to Openreach, a total of 2,800 towns, cities, boroughs, villages and hamlets are now included in the company’s FTTP build programme, and the company claims it remains on-target to reach 25 million homes and businesses with FTTP by December 2026. Its full fibre network already covering more than nine million premises, including almost three million in the hardest to reach ‘final third’ of the country.