Agenda item

Update from Openreach on the full-fibre broadband rollout in Bromley

The Partnership received a presentation from Daniel Godfrey, Fibre First Engagement Manager – Openreach, providing an update on the full fibre build within the borough.

Members were advised that the full fibre build had been underway in the borough since 2020. It has been hindered by the first period of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, however they had since made significant progress. A key factor had been the signing of a digital charter, an example of which was retroactive permits which allowed works to be completed on an emergency permit and filed afterwards.

With regards to Orpington, 78.52% of residents were now able to order superfast packages. Openreach would want to cover 100% of an exchange area however various cost factors applied. They primarily targeted the overhead network before looking at incremental extras, such as properties which had cable networks running underground – these were not targeted first as they were more costly to the programme. It was noted that once 75% was achieved, a stop sale activity was triggered in the network and copper products would no longer be advertised. They would look to migrate all customers on to the superfast network – the copper networks would then gradually be closed down, with the copper removed from the ground and recycled. In response to a question from the Chairman, the Fibre First Engagement Manager advised that they hoped to close out Orpington by quarter 4 of this year.

In Farnborough, 59.69% of residents were now able to order superfast packages, which was below the stop sale target. This was due to the high proportion of direct, inground feed type, and they would now be looking to provide extra funding/permission to build for these residual premises. This was the same for Biggin Hill, which stood at 69.65%. Some areas were part of the community funded programme, where customers could use the government’s gigabit digital scheme to part fund the build. This work was now being rolled out, and would see 75% achieved.

With regards to Chislehurst (70.52%) they were approaching the 75% target and would be looking at incremental extras. In Hayes Common the roll out was at 39.16% – this was significantly lower than other areas as this build had been started much later in the programme.

Members were advised that Openreach had a target of providing full fibre to 25 million premises around the UK by 2026, and this would be heavily impacted by multi development units (MDU). The majority of Bromley’s social housing stock had been outsourced to Clarion Housing Group. Openreach would like to work alongside social housing landlords to gain access and provide their residents with the opportunity to order superfast broadband, and they would be attending the September meeting of the Bromley Federation of Housing Associations. Openreach offered ‘fibre for free’ and would not charge residents to install the network – they were an open access network, and gained capital by service providers renting their network.

In response to questions from the Chairman, the Fibre First Engagement Manager advised that Openreach worked through geographical telephone exchanges maps, and therefore Penge and Bromley town did not fall into the cluster being built. The coverage of 98% related to the cluster area, rather than the whole borough. The next stage would be the Penge cluster, and the Fibre First Engagement Manager agreed to provide further information following the meeting. The Chairman requested that a copy of the presentation also be circulated to members of the Bromley Economic Partnership following the meeting.

In response to questions from the Vice-Chairman, the Fibre First Engagement Manager said that he would liaise with the build team regarding granular information on the connectivity of the Strategic Outer London Development Centre, which could be provided following the meeting. Fibre consultations were offered, and further information on this could also be fed back to members.

The Chairman thanked the Fibre First Engagement Manager – Openreach for his update to the Partnership.