BT calls for local government support to roll out fibre broadband

Payback period of more than a decade means BT needs partners to roll out super-fast broadband

BT says payback period for fibre is more than 10 years

BT must partner with local authorities to roll out fibre broadband to the final third of the UK, a spokesperson for the company said at a Westminster eforum event today.

When speaking at the event, entitled Building 21st century broadband – paying, laying and stimulating demand, BT Group’s strategy and portfolio director Liv Garfield, said that local government partnerships are essential to the roll out of fibre because of the low returns that the company will see from its investment in this area.

“The commercial proposition for fibre roll out isn’t great, with the payback period being ten years or more and this is why we’re looking for partnerships with local government, as we have done in Cornwall and Northern Ireland.”

“BT has already invested £2.5bn in bringing fibre to two thirds of the UK, but going further will require public sector stimulus, as has been the case in other countries,” said a BT spokesperson.

“Our recent partnerships in Northern Ireland and Cornwall show what's possible if the public and private sectors work together.”

The company is working in partnership with The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) to deliver next-generation broadband to Northern Ireland, where BT is investing approximately £30m in broadband roll out for 85 per cent of the population.

The company is also creating a new high-speed broadband network in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The scheme will provide up to 90 per cent of local businesses and homes with access to super-fast fibre broadband by 2014. BT has partnered with Cornwall County Council on the £132m project.

While BT is providing £78.5m of the necessary funding, there will also be European Regional Development Fund Convergence investment of up to £53.5m.

It is also working on smaller-scale projects, such as the scheme running with the Parish Council of Iwade in Kent, where £13,000 of public sector funding helped unlock BT investment to bring fibre to 1,350 premises.