COPPER10 Dec 2021 23:41
found this...dated 2011. Copper now $9,577 per tonne and the fibre roll out must mean that a lot of that copper is superfluous to requirements
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We contacted BT investor relations, and they are not arguing with the maths, agreeing that BT does have some 75m miles of copper cabling and that using a £5,000 per tonne spot price for copper this could be worth around £50bn.
But BT suggests the cost for its extraction are entirely unknown (digging up roads/driveways, extracting the copper from the protective sheaths, etc), and there are all sorts of issues, regulatory and otherwise, that kick this into the long grass in terms of a possible scenario. TalkTalk and Sky, for example, have invested in infrastructure dependent upon the copper network and compensation for its retirement, coupled with the need for fibre sharing agreements, would be immediate practical constraints.
Nonetheless, as an academic exercise this raises an interesting point - BT is basically sitting on a copper mine - and while ... copper cable.... is being maintained in situ as a back-up and to continue offering legacy services on both wholesale and retail bases, there will come a time when the copper is no longer required, and can be scrapped...even if this takes 20 years, or more, it could arguably fund the deeper rollout of fibre of the network, or special returns to investors.
No matter how impractical the near-term possibility of this scenario playing out may be, the fact the group might be sitting on such potential asset values ought to be understood by investors, and perhaps reflected in the value of the group.
Sign In
Follow the stocks
