Telent to expand Openreach full fibre network

News and Business

Warwick, UK-based Telent has been awarded a contract by Openreach to support a £12 billion project to bring full fibre broadband to millions of homes and businesses throughout the UK. Telent will build new infrastructure for Openreach in 12 cities and towns across the UK. Detailed planning activity is already under way and construction is due to start during the next 18 months.

The contract award follows a competitive tender process and will see Telent supporting Openreach’s ambition to build full fibre infrastructure to 20 million premises throughout the UK by the mid-to-late 2020s – delivering significant economic, social and environmental benefits for urban communities. Openreach’s full fibre network is already available to more than three million homes and businesses across the UK and Telent is one of nine partners to win contracts which will see that extended to at least a further two million premises. As part of the contract, Telent will be responsible for construction tasks such as surveying, building, testing and supporting Openreach to commission the network so that customers can place orders.

Ric Welsby, managing director of Telent’s Infrastructure Services division, said, “We are delighted to have been chosen by Openreach to be a major supplier as it expands the number of homes with access to ultrafast fibre broadband. The pandemic has demonstrated the critical nature of fast and reliable broadband and Openreach is accelerating its deployment to meet increased demand. We are extremely proud to be playing a part in the roll out of this important national infrastructure.”

Kevin Murphy, MD for fibre and network delivery at Openreach, said, “Great connectivity is more important than ever, whether it’s to support home working, to keep in touch with family and friends, or to access digital services like health and education. Full Fibre broadband enables this in spades, and we’re ramping up our own efforts to build our new network to as many homes and businesses across the UK as we can. This is one of the largest infrastructure projects in the UK today, and if we’re going to deliver the enormous social, environmental and economic benefits that Full Fibre can bring, it’s important we can build the new network efficiently, safely and without compromising on quality. We’re delighted to be partnering with Telent because they’ll be pivotal in helping us achieve those aims for our customers and for the UK as a whole.”

Telent is already recruiting people to help deliver this project and Openreach will be offering world class training as part of this build programme which includes partner use of its 12 training schools across the UK.

For more information, visit telent.com.