Openreach adds 1Gbps full fibre to 10,500 new builds in London
Openreach has announced it will install full fibre broadband in a massive new build development on the banks of the River Thames in London.
They need to say “full fibre” rather than just fibre broadband because, as BroadbandDeals.co.uk has made clear, fibre is often not fully fibre. Often it’s part copper, using the 140-year-old technology that supplies the country’s phone lines.
But we digress. Openreach is aiming at installing the high-speed tech into 10,500 homes across the 443-acre former Barking Power Station site.
FTTP, or fibre-to-the-premises wiring will allow 29,000 homeowners and renters access to ultrafast broadband at speeds up to 1Gbps.
Customers will still need to buy broadband from a local ISP but the availability of good quality ultrafast broadband in London can be a major point for buyers in deciding where to set up home.
Barking Riverside has planning permission for 10,800 homes in total.
Kim Mears, managing director of infrastructure at Openreach, said the site represented “one of the most ambitious and important developments in the UK”.
She added: “This major investment in ultrafast broadband reflects our commitment to ensuring the UK has a first-class network, capable of delivering the latest communication services for households, businesses and other organisations across the UK.”
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Openreach say 240,000 new homes have benefited from the FTTP contract since the launch of the scheme in 2016.
The Barking development is the UK’s largest brownfield regeneration site with 460 homes, 9,000 flats and 1,000 businesses expected to set up shop there.
Openreach has agreed to build FTTP infrastructure for free to all new housing developments with 30 or more homes.
The engineering arm of BT – which legally split from the telecoms giant in fears over competition – says it will make ultrafast broadband available to up to 12 million homes and businesses by the end of 2020.
