The new UK Government has begun informally consulting with the telecoms industry after network operators called on them to make it easier and cheaper to access large residential buildings (MDUs – blocks of flats or apartments), which could help to upgrade related buildings to gigabit-capable broadband. Easier said than done.
The previous government has already done a fair bit of work to improve the situation around access to Multi-Dwelling Units (MDU). One example of this was the Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Act 2021 (TILPA), which tackled situations where so-called “rogue landlords” failed to respond (here and here) and tenants had demanded faster connections.
The TILPA changes tackled this by introducing a significantly cheaper and faster route for dispute resolution via a new court process. But this only applies after a landlord has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for access (i.e. when seeking a legal wayleave agreement) and still leaves plenty of other barriers to entry.
For example, Openreach have complained about restrictions on their ability to upgrade existing infrastructure inside large residential buildings (MDUs), which exist because the owners of such buildings must still give their express permission for any upgrades to take place (even when the operator has existing lines in the building). “Some 990,000 tenants are missing out on our Full Fibre [FTTP] network thanks to this red tape,” said the CEO of Openreach, Clive Selley, last month (here). But it’s unclear how many of that 990k may already have gigabit access via a rival network.
The issue of automatic upgrade rights in MDUs sounds like a fair argument (i.e. extending Openreach’s existing maintenance/repair agreements to include full fibre upgrades). But rival operators have previously warned that granting special access to Openreach – without also affording opponents a fair level of comparable accessibility – risks handing the incumbent an unfair competitive advantage (here).
However, the new government, which has pledged to make a “renewed push to fulfil the ambition of full gigabit and national 5G coverage by 2030,” currently appears to be quite receptive to the idea of tackling such problems. For example, they’ve already set out their desire for reform of the planning system under their Planning and Infrastructure Bill (here and here), which might also make it easier to deploy digital infrastructure.
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According to the FT (paywall), the government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency has now engaged their Barrier Busting Task Force (BBTF) to informally contact broadband operators and seek feedback on the main challenges being faced in securing agreements for private and social housing MDUs, as well as the average costs and resources used in doing so.
In a letter seen by the newspaper, the BBTF states that they’re looking to understand where the barriers to deployment are “most pronounced and where they can be mitigated or removed“, before adding how they “know there are varied views on this subject and are keen to fully understand different perspectives and experiences“.
The government correspondence, which has been expressed as an “information gathering exercise” that is “not intended as a formal call for evidence or consultation“, is seeking responses to be returned by 9th September 2024.
A spokesperson for the Government (DSIT) said:
“No decision has been reached following an informal gathering exercise. [DSIT] is committed to fair competition, and as set out in our manifesto, our priority is closing the digital divide and ensuring everyone has access to fast and reliable connection, no matter where they live or work.”
However, property owners and tenants also have concerns that have to be balanced in all this (i.e. insurance, damage to property, security, safety [e.g. fire, asbestos] and other liabilities etc.), which is because upgrading copper to fibre lines in MDUs can sometimes be a bit more involved than it may seem (not minor work) and not everybody wants that (especially if the building already has such a network or networks present).
The previous government never quite managed to find a complete solution for all this and the new government will inevitably face the same issues. Suffice to say, network operators and the government will be walking a bit of a tightrope in terms of the rights of freeholders and leaseholders etc.