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U.K. incumbent says it would aim to reach 99% of premises by 2020 using mix of technologies.
BT on Sunday offered to spend up to £600 million to connect 99% of U.K. premises to at least 10-Mbps broadband by 2020.
If accepted by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), BT’s proposal would negate the Universal Service Obligation (USO), which was introduced under the Digital Economy Act (DEA), and gives consumers the right to request at least 10-Mbps broadband.
"We are pleased to make a voluntary offer to deliver the government’s goal for universal broadband access," said BT CEO Gavin Patterson, in a statement. "This would involve an estimated investment of £450 million-£600 million depending on the final technology solution."
The telco’s infrastructure arm Openreach proposes to use a mix of technologies, including fibre-to-the-x (FTTx), and fixed-wireless in the most remote areas, to reach 99% of premises by 2020. Depending on the mix of technologies, BT expects to reach universal coverage by the end of either 2021 or 2022. It estimated that 0.3% of premises will still rely on satellite connectivity by the end of 2022.
BT would recoup its investment via wholesale access charges.
"This investment will reinforce the U.K.’s status as the leading digital economy in the G20. We already expect 95% of homes and businesses to have access to superfast broadband speeds of 24 Mbps or faster by the end of 2017. Our latest initiative aims to ensure that all U.K. premises can get faster broadband, even in the hardest to reach parts of the U.K.," Patterson said.
BT argued that its proposal could deliver substantially faster broadband more quickly than could be achieved under the USO. Telco watchdog Ofcom said a regulatory approach would provide a safety net that delivers fast, reliable broadband regardless of where people live.
The government said it will carefully weigh the merits of BT’s proposal against the USO. It has launched a consultation into the latter to help it ascertain how the right to request a connection will work in practice.
"We warmly welcome BT’s offer and now will look at whether this or a regulatory approach works better for homes and businesses," said culture secretary Karen Bradley.
"Whichever of the two approaches we go with in the end, the driving force behind our decision making will be making sure we get the best deal for consumers," she said.
Improving broadband coverage is at the heart of Total Telecom’s Connected Britain and Connected Europe events. Connected Europe will take place in Lisbon on 11-12 October, while Connected Britain will take place at the Business Design Centre, London, on 19-20 June 2018.
