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Openreach has committed to providing 10 million FTTH connections across the UK, providing economic conditions are right
Openreach has revealed that the cities of Nottingham and Belfast are next in line to join its Fibre First programme. Openreach will make gigabit capable fibre to the home (FTTH) services available to customers in the two cities next year.
Nottingham will become the first gigabit city in the East Midlands, whilst Belfast will become the first city in Northern Ireland to rollout full fibre services. Speaking of the company’s plans for Nottingham, Openreach’s MD, Kim Mears, said that this was just the beginning of Openreach’s plans for the East Midlands.
“This is the first step of our Fibre First journey in the East Midlands, as we get on with building the infrastructure the UK needs to stay ahead in the global digital economy. So far across the country, our engineers have built full fibre broadband technology to more than 650,000 premises, and we’re reaching thousands of new homes and businesses every week. This announcement in Nottingham is building towards our target of reaching three million premises by the end of 2020/21 and we want to get to 10 million by the mid-2020s, if the conditions are right,” Kim Mears, Openreach’s managing director.
In Belfast, the company’s MD for Northern Ireland said that brining FTTH to Ulster would act as a catalyst for the evolution of the country’s digital economy.
“We are delighted to support Belfast’s digital ambitions. The city is already a key player in the global digital economy, and we are getting on with building the digital infrastructure it needs to stay ahead. As we build our fibre network directly to people’s front doors, we remain committed to staying at the forefront of innovation and providing customers with the digital connectivity they need and deserve. Since starting our UK wide ‘Fibre First’ programme, our engineers have built full fibre broadband technology to more than 650,000 premises, reaching thousands of homes and businesses each week," they said.
"We are on track to reach our target of connecting 25 per cent of homes and businesses in Northern Ireland to ultra-fast broadband by the end of 2019 — and we have the ambition, capability and experience to go well beyond.”
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