Although recent studies have found that up to 96% of UK households have Internet access, ultrafast connectivity remains elusive for many. On average, the UK’s download speeds are only 110.99 Mbps, which lags behind the rest of Western Europe’s 138.47 Mbps. Consequently, the government has rolled out Project Gigabit, which aims to secure gigafast broadband to at least 85% of all UK premises by 2025. By 2030, the Project, which has already produced £5 billion in funding, hopes to extend this to the entire nation.
Experts believe Project Gigabit will be realised primarily through full fibre broadband. Historically, full fibre has been lauded for faster and more reliable connections, as opposed to those from more traditionally used copper cables. Unfortunately, the UK has notoriously fallen behind in global full fibre broadband adoption, with only a 3.7% market penetration rate as of 2020. In order to improve this, Project Gigabit is leaning on alternate network or altnet providers who are well-positioned to address specific broadband pain points. To date, there are around 100 altnet companies in the UK, with rollouts surpassing 13 million premises. But how are altnets specifically helping Project Gigabit achieve its goals of broader full fibre access? Read on to find out.
Improved broadband coverage
One of the most pressing challenges holding back widescale fibre use in the UK is the sheer lack of broadband providers in less cosmopolitan areas. According to a report from the Rural Services Network, up to 6% of homes still do not have Internet access, while 1.5 million rely on mobile rather than broadband connections. Altnets are uniquely positioned to fill this demand thanks to their strategic focus on areas outside of the typical metropolitan hubs.
This is evident in how broadband operator Zzoomm has expanded its full fibre coverage across the country. The company has directed its services towards market towns and smaller urban communities. To date, this includes 29 locations, including Penistone, Sherburn-in-Elmet, Sandbach, High Green & Chapeltown. This is equivalent to a 15% market penetration in under a year. In the near future, this is only expected to swell even more, given that Zzoomm just recently sealed a merger with FullFibre. With this, they now have a full fibre network that covers 600,000 properties ready for service. Together, this is poised to enhance operations, which bodes well for households in more underserved places.
Optimised broadband infrastructure
Because the primary focus of digital expansion in the last several years has been in select cities, like London, for its business centres, most rural towns in the UK do not have the necessary broadband infrastructure. For instance, a study by the Aberystwyth Business School revealed that multiple counties in Wales are forced to deal with slow speeds as a result of this lack of essential structures and networks.
Fortunately, the rise of altnet providers has led to more meaningful partnerships that are improving nationwide broadband infrastructures. One such instance of this is network provider CityFibre’s acquisition of Connexin. Through this, the two have been able to effectively optimise both parties’ existing assets, namely their telegraph poles in East Yorkshire. Previously, MPs had been campaigning to convince Connexin to work alongside communications and IT services provider KCOM by sharing their infrastructure. Talks regarding such a deal are still ongoing, further displaying how altnets are embracing more collaborative efforts. As an added benefit, since altnets are using structures that already exist instead of just competing with others to create more, it helps preserve the integrity, mobility, and aesthetic of the communities they serve.
Stimulates the wider connectivity industry
For decades, the broadband industry has been dominated by larger networks like Sky, BT, and Virgin Media. This is why they’ve been able to impact critical aspects, such as pricing. Just earlier this year, this is what led Ofcom to enforce bans on mid-contract price hikes. To illustrate, Sky customers were poised to see a 6.2% bill increase.
With the emergence of altnets, though, the long-standing full fibre broadband monopoly is broken. As new providers enter the market, it provides healthy competition that ensures households are not forced to settle nor are bigger companies allowed to keep setting the pace. That said, the comparatively smaller scale of many altnets does insist that these operators have to be more agile than their more established counterparts. For instance, following the aftermath of Storm Éowyn earlier this year, full fibre providerHyperoptic was left with a broken UPS that couldn’t be immediately serviced. As a result, customers were left offline for four days, whereas UPS problems are typically resolved within minutes or hours. Regardless, though, as these limitations are slowly but steadily addressed, it further diversifies the UK’s broadband landscape.
