Openreach hits 100,000 FTTP customers in Northern Ireland

Today, Openreach has announced that it has struck yet another fibre milestone with 100,000 FTTP customers recorded across Northern Ireland via various ISP partners. 

 

“We feel extremely proud to have connected our 100,000th customer to this life-changing technology. Building the next generation of broadband has been and will continue to be transformational for Northern Ireland,” said Garret Kavanagh, Director of Openreach in Northern Ireland.

 

“I’d like to commend the efforts of our 1,000 strong team as it is their dedication, expertise and desire to consistently deliver the best results for our customers that has ensured the region is getting the digital infrastructure it needs.”

 

Openreach also notes that it will commit a further £130 million in capex to continue the FTTP rollout across Northern Ireland in 2022. The company aims to reach 75% coverage of all homes and businesses in the country by March next year.

 

This investment is all part of BT’s wider £15 billion investment that aims to connect 25 million UK premises with FTTP by the end of 2026. Openreach currently has around 6 million homes passed with FTTP.

 

Virgin Media O2, meanwhile, hit their own milestone recently, completing the process of upgrading their network to DOCSIS 3.1 technology, four years ahead of schedule. The announcement means all of the company’s 15.5 million premises have access to gigabit-capable broadband speeds, although only 1.2 million have FTTP.

 

In somewhat related news, numerous altnets are set to legally challenge Openreach’s Equinox wholesale offer, which was approved by Ofcom in October. 

 

Equinox will allow ISPs to purchase FTTP products from Openreach at a considerable discount, up to a third in some cases, with the company’s competitors saying that the move could ultimately result in a reduction of competition and investment.