Closing the gap on the digital divide

A guest blog by Clive Selley, CEO at Openreach, for techUK's Future Telecoms campaign

Ask anyone to name a new, successful, national infrastructure project that’s delivering growth, social inclusion and a greener future for the UK.

I reckon most will struggle.

Little, if anything, is as vital as digital connectivity, but it escapes the spotlight on transport, water, energy or – ironically - AI, which doesn’t work without it

Not long ago, British broadband was a source of national shame.

But in the last few years, a massive wave of investment has poured into the sector, driven by progressive policies and regulation, which has transformed the landscape.

At Openreach, we’re in the thick of this huge investment programme - spending more than £15 billion to build a world-class ‘full fibre’ broadband network throughout the country.

We’re building everywhere.

From the Shetlands to the Isles of Scilly.

And we’ve already reached more than 15 million homes and businesses.

We hope to double that footprint by the end of the decade, whilst our competitors have similarly lofty ambitions.

This is a real British success story with a boost to national productivity alone worth £72 billion. It will also bring a raft of social and environmental benefits, including access to vital and innovative public services and carbon reductions in commuting.

But the truth is, we won’t reach everyone.

That’s why our latest partnership with the UK Government is so important.

It means we can build ultrafast, ultra-reliable broadband to 312,000 more homes that would otherwise be left behind by the private sector.

Our engineers are the best in the business at connecting rural homes and, under the Government’s Project Gigabit programme, properties in remote areas like the South Wales Valleys, Exmoor National Park and the Forest of Bowland will now gain access to the fastest connections on the market.

This is a landmark project and we’re very proud we’ve been chosen through a fiercely competitive process.

But despite the great progress, almost a million homes are still in danger of being left behind nationally.

In addressing so called ‘not-spots’ - attention typically focusses on rural areas, whose geography make them challenging for commercial operators to reach. But it’s not just geography that creates a barrier. Throughout the country, around a million homes, typically in multi- dwelling units, are missing out on upgrades too.

Out of date planning rules mean owners must give express permission for upgrades – even when there’s an existing line in place. Sometimes finding landlords – let alone getting their agreement - is a major obstacle.

Already some 990,000 tenants are missing out on our Full Fibre network thanks to this red tape, but ministers have a chance to stop that at no extra cost to the taxpayer.

With simple reforms to grant automatic upgrade rights. Ministers can prevent this new digital divide.

At the same time, everyone in the industry would welcome improvements to the local authority streetworks permitting system.

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 economic climate have left local authorities stretched, so it’s common to experience delays to permissions, which have a knock-on effect on broadband upgrades.

To achieve the stretching delivery targets set by Government, applications are likely to double over the next few years, placing a huge and unnecessary bureaucratic burden on everyone involved.

A simple fix, at no cost to the taxpayer, would be to introduce flexible permitting – which allows builders to upgrade multiple streets at once.

It could even help deliver much-needed electric charging infrastructure as the country transitions from ICE to EVs.

The new Government’s been very supportive of business, clear about its commitment to growth and keen to spread opportunity. Future legislation like the Planning and Infrastructure Bill offers a great opportunity to tick these boxes and, crucially, given the fiscal position - these changes would cost taxpayers nothing. It’s a win-win.

Exploring the Potential of Future Telecoms

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Future Telecoms is techUK’s exploration of what the connectivity of tomorrow will look like. We will highlight the criticality of communications to our future prosperity and economic growth, and how the future telecoms ecosystem acts as the engine of innovation. Visit our Future Telecoms Hub to learn more or to register for regular updates.