BT outsources copper maintenance in £1bn deal

UK carrier BT said Friday that it has signed a letter of intent to outsource maintenance of its local access network business – the copper in the ground.

BT spin off Openreach was initially charged with the job of maintaining the copper as well as providing access to the local loop for BT and its rivals. However, Openreach outsourced the maintenance job to a number of subcontractors. In a bid to cut costs the company is now consolidating all that maintenance into a single contract.

The winner of that contract is a joint venture between UK-based support services and construction firm Carillion and technology services company Telent. The deal is worth something in the region of £1bn.

Under the contract, the joint venture would deliver a range of services across Openreach’s five regions – London and Home Counties, the South East, Midlands, Wales and West, the North, and Scotland. Services will include support and network installation services, asset management and maintenance.

The deal is expected to be agreed and signed within the next two months.