Openreach’s new CEO, Clive Selley, has called on government to reduce the regulatory barriers hindering broadband’s rollout.
In a recent blog post, Selley said that despite Project Gigabit funding, which aims to extend gigabit-capable broadband to thousands more premises, almost one million homes could miss out due to outdated planning rules.
These rules require property owners to give explicit permission for broadband upgrades, even when an existing line is already in place. This particularly affects residents of apartment blocks or “multi-dwelling units”, where locating landlords and securing their agreement remains challenging.
Selley’s comments follow an announcement this week that Openreach will receive up to £800 million in funding to bring gigabit-capable broadband to 312,000 premises across the UK.
Selley wrote, “Every year, we apply for around 300,000 permits to carry out work on a street-by-street basis. But it’s no secret that the pandemic, global events, and the current economic climate have left local authorities stretched. As a result, delays in obtaining permissions are common, causing knock-on effects on broadband upgrades.”
To meet government delivery targets, the number of applications is likely to double over the next few years, which Selley warned would place an “unnecessary bureaucratic burden on everyone involved”.
“A simple fix, at no cost to the taxpayer, would be to introduce flexible permitting, allowing builders to upgrade multiple streets at once,” he added.
Selley’s sentiments align with those of BT CEO Allison Kirkby, who, speaking at the Deloitte and Enders Media and Telecoms Conference in London in June, noted that Scandinavian countries are “way ahead” of the UK in terms of telecoms infrastructure. Kirkby attributed this to the regulatory and planning environment, as well as the widespread adoption of digital skills and services, and urged the UK government to enhance “regulatory and fiscal policy certainty”.