Quantifying the impact of reducing barriers to fibre broadband

This briefing note summarises the context, approach and results of a study, commissioned by BT, to quantify the time and cost impact of reducing a range of barriers to the deployment of 'full fibre' networks in the UK (which we refer to as fibre to the premises, FTTP). There has been much discussion across the telecoms industry about the importance of reducing these barriers, but until now there has been no clear quantification of the value created by removing those barriers. This study is the first to quantify the impacts of reducing barriers on the cost and timescales of FTTP roll-out. The study is relevant to all fibre builders in the UK, not just BT. That is because the deployment barriers that exist today affect all such companies. The reduction of removal of such barriers will therefore be positive for 'UK plc'.

The deployment of FTTP networks is a hot topic for many governments around the world. In the UK, the policy position has moved from a target of 100% coverage of FTTP by 2033, which was originally set in 2018, to 100% coverage of gigabit-capable networks by 2025. FTTP is expected to comprise a large proportion of the UK's gigabit-capable infrastructure, yet the timescale of 2025 is widely considered to be challenging, unless a range of deployment barriers can be reduced or removed. This study has therefore considered: when would it be possible to achieve 100% coverage of FTTP, and what would the likely coverage be by 2025.