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Openreach boost rural FTTP coverage target to 6.2m by 2026

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gt94sss2:
The other week, BT announced that they had increased their FTTP coverage target to 25m premises by the end of 2026.

As part of this, they have today confirmed they now expect to reach 6.2 million UK premises (was 3.2m before) across rural villages and market towns.

In fact, Openreach have done better than that and actually produced an updated 5-year build plan for 1,100 rural exchange locations here (from page 9).

Related ISP Review article

Black Sheep:
FWIW - believe me when I say the business is 100% committed to the announcement. It's not just shareprice inflating, guff.

Double-edged sword for me though ... workloads have gone through the roof !!  ;) ;D ;D

g3uiss:
Interested in how OR cope with this. Is the use of Sub Contracting the way it’s going to be achieved? As FTTP continues, I guess copper faults will decrease. Are the really well trained “Potts” guys getting re training ? My experience is the more experienced ( years) are really valuable.

niemand:
https://www.lightreading.com/ethernet-ip/new-ip/verizon-saves-60--swapping-copper-for-fiber/d/d-id/715826

70-90% fewer faults than copper, nearly every exchange that isn't a headend can go, those headends require less space.

Build involves tons of contractors, when it's done and copper retired fewer staff will be required on an ongoing basis. Whether this means terminating contracts with third parties working for Openreach and/or redundancies within the company itself no idea.

Either way Openreach definitely won't need all the permanent, temporary and subcontracted folks they have at the moment, let alone the amount they'll have at peak build pace.

Black Sheep:
As Carl alludes to - contractors are involved massively in the FTTP build - ie: civils, cabling, splicing and testing.

OR took on 2,500 extra staff last year to also assist with the roll-out programmes, and are taking on an extra 1,000 more this year. There is also a slow, controlled process of gradually moving folk from Copper duties to Fibre as and when it is deemed acceptable to do so by management. Please, no trolling that copper has been abandoned and 'they' don't give a flying about it.

The down side to all this is as again Carl nods his head at, that in circa 10yrs time there will be a limited work-force required for the 'hands-off network', that Fibre is.

From my own thoughts and perspective, this is why OR were TUPE'd out a couple of years ago and now as we speak, new T&C's are being discussed or brought in, that will only get worse as time marches on ... but all with one thing in mind, termination of contracts when the FTTP build dictates it.
Can't fault the foresight of the management working on behalf of the shareholders, it's just a shame for the younger end just starting out on their career paths.

Even though fibre splicing/testing is a transferable skill within Telecoms companies, the market will be saturated with them once the FTTP build starts tapering off - ergo, a far lower wage structure. 

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