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UK: BT re-do their sums on FTTP

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  • 28-01-2014 3:30pm
    #1
    clohamon
    Registered Users Posts: 1,766 ✭✭✭


    http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/6208-fibre-on-demand-coverage-expansion-announced-by-openreach.html
    Fibre on Demand FTPP which is on offer from Openreach in a selection of locations around the UK which can already get a FTTC based is not a cheap service to install but with its previous wholesale price of £38+VAT it was just about in the realms of the home workers and others who are happy to pay a premium for a premium service. Unfortunately it would appear that after some number crunching on the actual cost of installations done to date Openreach is putting the price up from the 1st May 2014.
    • The three year contract currently carries a £38+VAT monthly fee, this will increase to £99+VAT.
    • The fixed connection charge will increase from £500 to £750.
    • The variable one-off distance based charge will increase to £3.50 per metre from the current £2 per metre. This is the radial distance to the aggregation node that your FTTC cabinet is connected to, so generally near the fibre cabinet.

    This means whereas previously around half of UK premises could be expected to pay in the region of £700 to £1500 for the initial connection, this rises to a range of £1,100 to £2,500.

    Whether this will kill the demand for Fibre on Demand is down to how much the SME community value a 330 Mbps download speed (30 Mbps upload) with the reliability of a full fibre connection. We should point out as ever, that in areas where native FTTP is installed by Openreach (i.e. no FTTC and only FTTP as the super fast option), the pricing remains the same and this native service does not have the large install fee.


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    #2
    clohamon
    Registered Users Posts: 1,766 ✭✭✭clohamon


    I wonder is this just old fashioned monopolist gouging, or have they discovered in practice what eircom predicted in 2010...
    Our initial findings indicate that FTTC is not the preferred option for us as the long term future option in metropolitan/Urban areas for three reasons:
    • Not future proof for Medium & High usage residential customers or for High usage business customers
    • Less long-term opex savings potential, and
    • An inefficient upgrade path to FTTH


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