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This month I had the opportunity to visit FMB partners Openreach for their Northern technical forum. The day offered a clear view of how they build the network into new sites, and how their delivery is evolving, as they move past a major milestone in full fibre to premises (FTTP) rollout, with 20 million homes and businesses now connected, and more to come, as engineers at Openreach are now connecting over a million new homes every 3 months with full fibre connectivity, to transform the UK network.   

How full fibre is transforming UK connectivity

The visit included a tour of their Openstreet training centre in Bradford to see how the network is evolving and how they build the network in a mocked-up street from telephone exchange to home, where they train 4,000 new engineers a year.

Full fibre, ultrafast broadband is a key homeowner requirement, offering:

  • Faster downloads and smooth streaming
  • Fewer dropouts during video calls
  • Better support for smarthome tech
  • Delivery though a wide range of broadband providers
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Openreach training centre demonstration.

 

 

Connectivity growth across the North of England

In the North of England,

  • 16,760 plots have been contracted since 1st April 2025
  • 95% of these plots were contracted for full fibre
  • 4,820 plots are in rural locations, and 11,930 plots in urban areas

But this is not just about new connections for developers and housebuilders, there is a team for ‘network rearrangements’ (formerly known as repayments or roadworks planning), whose core objective is to protect and divert the network where needed in line with customer requirements, whilst complying with commercial, safety, and legislative standards, delivering project management from field survey through cost estimate, order and final execution. There is a staggering annual cost of £14 million of network damage where builders have not engaged with Openreach rearrangements team.

How builders can benefit from Openreach collaboration

For FMB members, getting plots connected on time, and connection rearrangements project managed to fit with your site development plan is critical to your client satisfaction. Openreach simply advise contacting them at the earliest possible opportunity to talk through your requirements in both situations, in order to expedite their delivery for you quickly, safely, and efficiently.  

Any member who is interested in taking part in future events at the Openreach training centres, to understand more, and give them feedback, please let us know. Also, if you require more information about their services, we can ‘connect’ you with their regional representative in your area.

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Authors

Carolyn Frank

Carolyn Frank

FMB North Director, Federation of Master Builders

Carolyn has wide ranging experience of helping small businesses to thrive, and is passionate about skills, heritage buildings, retrofit and inclusivity.