The arrival of an Openreach van is met with fear of days – or even weeks – of traffic disruption on streets across Britain. But its boss wants to do even more digging as part of an ambitious plan to boost the UK’s internet speeds for tens of millions of households.
Openreach’s chief executive Clive Selley, 63, has called for the Government to make it even easier to dig up streets to lay fibre optic cables, saying the current process is inefficient and costly for both his company and the taxpayer.
He says the introduction of so-called ‘flexi-permits’ would allow the company, which is part of FTSE 100 giant BT, to get planning permission for several streets at a time rather than asking councils for approval on each individual road.
‘We work in the streets, we work in the pavements and we work in the roads. So we ask for permission a third of a million times a year,’ Selley says from firm’s HQ overlooking the City. ‘Councils are under cost and staffing pressures, so this generates huge amounts of work.
He adds that the use of flexi-permits would allow Openreach to group neighbouring streets into ‘clusters’ that could be approved as one block, rather than having to secure permission on an individual basis. He says: ‘Pushing that through at pace wouldn’t just reduce workload, it would increase the pace at which we could build, and take the cost away from the councils. It’s a win-win with no taxpayer money involved.’
Others disagree, including Tory MP Mark Francois, who is campaigning in Parliament for tighter regulation of roadworks.
Digging for victory: Clive Selley says that easing rules on road works would relieve pressure on short-staffed, cash-strapped councils
He told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Openreach have a bloomin’ cheek. They have already had years to install fibre networks and should really have finished the job by now. Why should long-suffering motorists have to endure more frustrating delays because Openreach can’t get the job done efficiently in the first place?’
Undeterred, Selley also calls on ministers to make it easier for Openreach to access apartment blocks. This currently requires permission from landlords, some of whom are based overseas.
‘In many of the apartment blocks in London, the owner’s address is a PO Box in the British Virgin Islands. So you write them a letter and will not hear back,’ he says.
Instead, Selley argues the Government should include the right to fibre broadband in the Renters’ Rights Bill working its way through Parliament, a package of measures that includes a ban on no-fault evictions and the right for a tenant to own a pet. He says: ‘The bill gives you the right to own a budgie but not to fibre broadband.’
His comments come as Openreach ramps up plans for its fibre network to reach 25 million homes and businesses by the end of next year, up from 18 million.
It will mark the completion of what Selley calls ‘milestone one’ of Openreach’s fibre broadband expansion, with the next goal to reach 30 million homes and businesses by the end of the decade. The expansion has been Selley’s sole objective since he took over Openreach in 2016 after a stint as head of BT’s technology arm.
The next stage will focus on harder-to-reach rural properties, which he acknowledges will be a ‘slow burner’ and ‘more complex’. It includes bringing fibre internet to the far-flung northern islands of Scotland, with Openreach deploying drones to carry spare parts from the mainland.
Selley argues that bringing fibre broadband to remote areas could help resolve the UK’s productivity crisis as well as revive efforts to ‘level up’ regions outside London.
‘If rural areas can get access to fibre broadband, all of a sudden people there can work, run a business, get a remote education, along with all the news and information services,’ he says. ‘That can be life-changing.’
The expansion comes as the number of customers signed up to a BT contract to access Openreach’s fibre network hit a record high of 6 million in the final three months of last year as demand surged. Fibre networks are also provided by competitors including Virgin Media O2 and CityFibre.
But it is an expensive endeavour, with the first 25 million connections costing £15 billion, an investment that hung like a noose over BT’s share price.
Future-proof: Clive Selley estimates the firm makes as much as £20 million a year from selling off copper cables
This is offset in small ways such as the sale of the old copper cables that Openreach digs up to replace with much faster fibre broadband.
Selley estimates the firm makes as much as £20 million a year from selling off copper cables, although compared with the billions being poured into the network he admits this is ‘not big money’.
The broadband business plans to keep pushing on, despite a wider backdrop of cost-cutting at BT, with group boss Allison Kirkby moving forward with plans to axe as many as 90,000 jobs by 2030.
Selley’s optimism remains undimmed by the cuts, which have seen Openreach’s workforce fall to 28,000 from a peak of 38,000.
‘The fibre expansion teams are becoming more efficient. So I can build with fewer people now than I could even a year ago, and particularly two years ago,’ he says.
While all his energy is focused on reaching the 25 million milestone, Selley pauses when asked if he himself will continue in the job for the second phase of the expansion.
‘I’m determined we get to this important milestone. Then it’ll be for the Openreach board to decide what happens next. I want what’s best for Openreach and will work with the board to figure that out.’
Virgin Media O2 has reported that its network had reached more than 18.3 million premises at the end of last year, while Cityfibre’s has risen to more than 4.1 million.
This is because many households have a choice of fibre network, with one criticism being that they build on top of each other, which some say is a waste of resources… and causes more roadworks.
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