Openreach and BT have both faced some significant issues in recent months as they’ve struggled to find themselves in the wake of their separating practices. While BT struggle to prove that they’re putting the needs of their customers first in terms of fibre broadband and connectivity speeds, Openreach are also looking to ensure that they can provide the best networking solutions to people across the UK, in combination with a range of broadband and connectivity services.
Recently, Openreach announced that they would be launching a new special offer service to ISPs across the United Kingdom, which should permit customers on the slower speed FTTC, or “Fibre-to-the-cabinet” services to upgrade their solutions into a faster tier without any extra charge. This limited offer is only set to run between the 1st of April this year (2017), and the 30th of September, which means that ISPs will need to be quick to the mark.
A Step in the Right Direction for Faster Broadband?
To understand why this upgrade solution is such a benefit for ISPs, it’s worth noting that usually, these organisations are required to pay a one-off “bandwidth modification” charge when they want to upgrade broadband connectivity. Recent numbers indicate that this measures out at around £11.25 per line, plus VAT. That can make upgrading existing FTTC fibre broadband customers a very expensive option for ISPs across the nation. This charge is demanded whenever a fibre broadband customer is upgraded to a faster tier, whether it’s moving up from 40Mbps to 80Mbps, or 80Mbps to 100Mbps.
Soon, however, this charge will be removed by the broadband connectivity provider, Openreach, for a period of six months. There are absolutely no special terms involved in the deal, and ISPs don’t have to apply to be deemed eligible for the offer. Instead, they can simply take advantage of the solution while it runs.
The Statement from Openreach
According to Openreach, the latest special offer has been launched in an attempt to financially support customers who need to improve their efforts while providing enhanced broadband experiences to customers through higher fibre speeds. CPs will have the opportunity to take advantage of this upgrade solution for anything that is ordered between the first of April and the 30th of September this year.
At present, quite a few ISPs are already choosing to absorb the charge that comes with modifying bandwidth, rather than having to pass it onto their subscribers. However, meanwhile, many people often pick the slower tier simply because they’re concerned that the copper wires used to access the internet in the UK may not be able to cope with providing anything faster. The chances are that this latest deal won’t have much of an impact on the current market and the fibre solutions that we see today, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a step in the right direction. Anything that makes fibre easier to access in the UK is worth some celebration.
