The Government will seek to reform the rules to facilitate network deployment, which so far have seen limited practical application.
Background: The UK Government has recently taken steps to facilitate operators’ network deployments, with a view to stimulate the rollout of gigabit broadband. These are reflected in the Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill, and in the pledge the Government made on 17 March 2020, when it committed to introducing legislation to make sure that developers prioritise on the installation of high-quality digital infrastructure from the outset in new build homes.
A tool that has had little use so far: On 12 June 2020, the Government announced a review of the Access to Infrastructure Regulations (ATI), which were made in 2016 to implement the EU Broadband Cost Reduction Directive. To date, there has been limited use of the ATI Regulations, and the Government aims to understand why this has been the case. The government wants to make it easier for telecoms operators to reuse existing passive infrastructure – e.g. ducts, poles or masts. This would include existing electricity, gas, water, and sewer networks via infrastructure sharing. To do this, it needs to ensure there are fewer barriers to use, and that the correct incentives exist at all layers (e.g. potential access seekers, access providers, telecoms operators).
Next steps: The review will assess the need for improvements to the regulations to further boost investment in infrastructure, and to encourage infrastructure sharing in deploying telecoms networks. The consultation is open for 12 weeks, until 4 September 2020.
