UK Telecoms Says Full-Fibre by 2025 is Possible but Difficult

Since becoming Prime Minister last week, one of the first things that Boris Johnson has said he’s like to achieve (other than Brexit on the 31st of October) is full nationwide coverage (in the UK) of full-fibre internet. While a significant number of homes (circa 80%) now have access to some level of fibre (largely through copper upgrades) the hope is that within the next 5 years this can be extended further to give all homes access to ultra-fast broadband.

In a report via the BBC, however, the Telecoms industry has said that while a 2025 date is possible, it would require a significant number of changes. Specifically, to current rules, laws and regulations.

Can The UK Have Full Fibre Internet by 2025?

The telecoms industry has highlighted what they feel are 4 key points that would stand in the way of a UK nationwide full-fibre access service being implemented. These include:

• Planning reform – A means of making access to install cabling more straightforward.
• Fibre tax – A removal of business rate taxes applied to the work.
• New builds – The UK government has yet to formally rule on whether any new-build homes would be required to have full-fibre internet.
• Skills – There may not be a sufficient workforce (with the required skills) to get the job done.

What Do We Think?

Getting full-fibre internet to all homes in the UK by 2025, while a laudable goal, just seems entirely impractical. It is, however, something of a curiosity that one of the key obstacles in the way (that wasn’t mentioned in this ‘open letter’) was that one of the UK’s biggest telecoms providers (one that has, for example, ownership of telegraph poles) is notoriously stubborn at allowing other companies to access their infrastructure. It shouldn’t take too much of a leap for you to figure out who this is.

So, could it happen by 2025? Yes. Will it? Almost certainly not. Don’t think, however, that this is entirely the fault of the government. Some telecoms companies are equally complicit in keeping this moving slower than it has to.

What do you think? How fast is your internet? Do you have full-fibre access? – Let us know in the comments!