UK fixed line infrastructure provider Openreach will now offer to connect new houses to full fibre for free on developments of 20 plots or more.

The previous threshold for freeness was 30, so that means at the current rate of building that an additional 13,000 new premises will get their fibre on the house, so to speak. Openreach says 99 percent of houses built that were eligible for this free service used it. Since the launch of its new build scheme in 2016 Openreach has connected 354,000 new homes with full fibre, implying the vast majority of builds are part of larger developments.

“We hope these new measures will provide the necessary incentive for housebuilders to adopt this future-proof technology across smaller developments so that no-one’s left behind,” said Kim Mears, MD of Strategic Infrastructure Development at Openreach. “We welcome the government’s intention – outlined in the Queen’s Speech – to amend legislation so that all new build homes are required to have the infrastructure to support gigabit-capable connections, and we will work closely with government and housebuilders on how best to deliver this.”

“The customer of today expects, in line with other utility suppliers to be provided with fast, reliable, uninterrupted service upon receiving the keys to their new home,” said Kieran Walker, Technical Director for the Home Builders Federation. “This further step improvement will assist housebuilders in ensuring their customers overall journey is positive one.

As you can see from the table below, Openreach has also lowered what it charges for 2-3 plot builds but compensated by raising the price for 4-9 plot builds. As ever Openreach is keen to stress how on-board with the government’s fibre ambitions it is and cites this move as further evidence of that. Now what about connecting those houses that have already been built too?