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LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) - Openreach, the networking arm of
Britain's BT, plans to build gigabit-capable broadband to
3.2 million homes and businesses in hard-to-reach areas after
regulator Ofcom proposed a supportive pricing regime on
Wednesday.
The network roll-out is part of BT's ambition to spend 12
billion pounds on building full-fibre connections to 20 million
premises by the mid to late 2020s if it receives the backing of
the government and regulator.
Ofcom said it was consulting on allowing a "regulatory asset
base approach" for investment in hard-to-reach regions of the
country that would allow BT to recover its investment by
indexing the cost of slower copper connections and allowing
pricing flexibility on fibre.
Openreach chief executive Clive Selley said full fibre
technology could underpin the UK's economic recovery from the
COVID-19 pandemic.
"Right now, we're building a new, ultra-reliable full-fibre
network that will boost productivity, cut commuting and carbon
emissions, and connect our families, public services and
businesses for decades to come," he said.
"It's Ofcom's proposals that give us the right conditions to
build commercially in hardest-to-reach areas."
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Stephen Addison)
