BT reveals pricing proposals for duct and pole access

In a hotly anticipated announcement, Openreach, BT's local access network division, has announced the draft pricing and design proposals for its duct and pole sharing products.

ISPs have been awaiting the release since Ofcom stipulated in October 2010 that BT should offer them access to its infrastructure, including underground ducts and telegraph poles.

It is hoped that this will hasten the rollout of super-fast broadband across the UK, especially to more remote locations.

Opeanreach is proposing a price for communications providers renting space in its underground ducts of £0.95 per metre, per annum.

It said that this is a 15 per cent reduction on the price offered by European incumbents.

Unfortunately, these comparisons cannot be made for access to the poles, as there is very limited international precedent. The proposal put forward for this is £21 per pole attachment.

"We have listened to the views and requirements of our customers and will continue to work closely with industry and Ofcom to finalise the details of our duct and pole sharing products," said Steve Robertson, CEO of Openreach.

"Although we don't view duct and pole sharing as the silver bullet to get fibre to all premises in the UK, these new products represent a positive step, opening our infrastructure to the supply industry with an even wider range of different mechanisms for delivering fibre broadband."

The prices put forward today are still draft proposals, and Openreach intends to spend the next few months gauging industry reaction via a consultation. The commercial launch of the service is expected in summer 2011.

It seems that ISPs welcome the proposal but remain skeptical about what it means for the future.

"Ofcom's requirement that BT opens up its nationwide network of ducts and poles was a welcome step and rightly focused on opening up areas of the country not already served by superfast broadband. We're examining Openreach's proposed pricing and now need to ensure that BT's initial demands do not limit the ambitions of getting next-generation connectivity to those people living outside our towns and cities," said a Virgin Media spokesperson.