New report adds to doubt about UK's 2025 FTTP target

Ambitious, lofty goals tend to fall flat without sincere efforts to bring them to fruition.

That seems to be the warning many are issuing to the UK government about its much-publicized plan to connect every premises in the UK to full-fiber broadband by 2025.

The latest call to action comes in a 63-page report from the Social Market Foundation (SMF) think tank, which says that with full-fiber coverage at just 14% across the country currently, the government needs "significant policy reform" to reach its target.

Part of those reform demands include the government doing more to shore up providers' fiber investments: "New 'demand management' measures should be used, where central and local government should commit to purchasing full fibre broadband services for public sector buildings such as hospitals and schools, as a means of providing some 'certainty of demand' and encouraging industry investment," states a report summary.

Other policy reforms listed include the government adopting a "technology agnostic approach to gigabit-capable rollout," that would allow for 5G and coaxial cables to provide high-speed connectivity, rather than fiber, where cost-effective; as well as "appointing local authority digital champions" who would be the point of contact for local service providers, and "create efficiencies in processes such as granting permission for street works."

To be sure, the SMF report is "supported" by UK ISP TalkTalk, which has a vested interest in broadband policies favorable to its business objectives.

In a statement about the report, TalkTalk CEO Tristia Harrison said: "We welcome the Government's ambition for gigabit connectivity for everyone by 2025, but this is in serious danger of being missed without swift action… While some fixate on tax breaks for industry, far more critical for the country is that customers can afford the broadband as it is built, so TalkTalk is urging the Government and Ofcom to ensure that competition thrives and that prices are fair for hard-pressed Britons."

The TalkTalk/SMF report comes a week after BT/Analysys Mason issued their own report casting similar doubt on the UK's ability to meet its FTTP target, and demanding policy intervention from the government. Among those changes included an end to BT and Virgin Media having to pay higher business rates on fiber connections than on copper; subsidies for new, remote workers; and an overhaul of "unworkable" rules for fiber builders.

Meanwhile, SMF's TalkTalk-supported report expresses its own concerns about BT's Openreach.

The analysis laments Openreach's ability to charge higher wholesale prices to retail broadband providers, saying it could "undermine" competition in the market: "With BT and Openreach owned by the same parent company, BT's broadband charges could be kept down, hindering the ability of other firms to compete and gain market share," it states.

While the provider-supported reports differ on some policy proposals, they reflect similar and growing concerns that continuing to reach for the UK's FTTP target without additional incentives and fail-safes from the government could leave their businesses hanging if the demand doesn't meet supply. SMF's report further raises alarm that the final builds in harder-to-reach areas of the UK will be far more expensive than builds thus far, estimating that connecting the "final 10%" of UK households could cost about £4,000 (US$5,164) per premises, compared to £300-£400 ($387-$516) for the first half of premises.

Commenting on SMF's analysis, Scott Corfe, research director for the think tank, said: "The 2025 target is extremely ambitious and the UK still has a mountain to climb to reach it. Getting there will require some radical changes, especially in how the public sector uses its huge buying power to support demand for broadband and offer the industry some certainty that funding new networks will pay off."

Related posts:

• BT says FTTP builds must double to meet gov. target
• Virgin Media crowns itself UK gigabit king
• Openreach building to 3.2M premises in UK 'final third'

— Nicole Ferraro, contributing editor, Light Reading