Openreach plans to launch symmetric 1Gbps broadband

Openreach says it plans to make the new service available at premises which make up its ‘Type C’ bid to build full fibre in concert with the Government’s wider Project Gigabit programme. It will look to launch the new symmetric service in April next year. 

An ultrafast symmetrical service can accelerate the upload of large files, like videos, graphics and software, explains the release, and can can reduce latency and ping times. Since uploading and accessing data are equally fast, it’s pitched at being useful for content creators, gamers, and cloud-based applications and services.

“Last year we successfully launched to Communication Providers (CPs) new download speeds of up to 1.8Gbps over our Full Fibre network and we’re keen to continue pushing the capabilities of the network so we can further diversify our portfolio and offer our CP customers, and their own end customers a broader choice of competitive fibre based products,” said Openreach product manager Matthew Sledge. “At the current time we are focusing the new product on a deployment in selected Project Gigabit Type C areas, where we can assess demand and usage.

 “With broadband data usage growing year on year, we’re also planning for the future, and have recently engaged our Communications Provider customers on the next phase of Full Fibre network architecture, e.g. XGS-PON. We are seeking their feedback on what end customers future speed requirements might look like.”

Customers interested in signing up to the new 1Gbps symmetric service will be able to use their existing Optical Network Terminal, and pricing and commercial terms for the new product ‘will be confirmed in due course.’

Yesterday it was announced the UK government is stumping up £800 million in funding to address poor broadband connectivity for 312,400 hard to reach homes and businesses across the UK, a project which Openreach will be delivering.

Today, a blog from Openreach’s CEO Clive Selley lamented ‘out of date’ planning rules meaning owners must give express permission for these sort of upgrades, claiming sometimes finding landlords and getting this permission is ‘a major obstacle’.

“Every year we apply for around 300,000 permits to carry out work on a street-by-street basis,” he said in the blog. “But it’s no secret that the pandemic, global events and economic climate have left local authorities stretched, so it’s common to experience delays to permissions, which have a knock-on effect on broadband upgrades.

“To achieve the stretching delivery targets set by Government, applications are likely to double over the next few years, placing a huge and unnecessary bureaucratic burden on everyone involved. A simple fix, at no cost to the taxpayer, would be to introduce flexible permitting – which allows builders to upgrade multiple streets at once.”