CityFibre has now laid over 286km of full fibre internet beneath the streets of Bognor Regis, continuing its rollout progression as part of its plan to future-proof the town’s digital connectivity.
Tue, 22/07/2025 - 09:55
The Government’s latest Statement of Strategic Priorities (SSP) for Telecommunications affirms its targets for UK gigabit broadband coverage and encourages Ofcom to maintain a competitive landscape for altnets.
The five strategic priorities it sets forward act as a framework for Ofcom to leverage when exercising its regulatory functions.
Its first listed priority, ‘Driving growth through world-class fixed and wireless digital infrastructure’, re-asserts the Government’s target for gigabit-capable connections to be extend to 99% of UK premises by 2032. It is the most relevant section for altnets to consider.
The SSP reads: “Building on success, Ofcom should … ensure that the encouragement of investment and economic growth are key factors taken into account in its regulatory decisions.
“Ofcom should … take prompt steps to remedy actions which present a risk to effective competition. Ofcom should closely monitor Openreach’s commercial terms and pricing, given that Openreach benefits from economies of scale that new entrants cannot rely on yet.
“Ofcom should prevent Openreach from offering commercial arrangements that would have a detrimental effect on the establishment of sustained competition, while sustained competition is still developing in the market.”
Its suggestions include a cautious approach to removing remedies that build competition, maintaining a regulatory landscape that supports operators’ investment in the rollout of fibre networks over the next five years and beyond and ensuring predictable and evidence-based regulatory decisions.
Overall, the SSP finds that promoting investment and competition in the fixed telecoms market should continue to be prioritised over regulatory measures to further reduce retail prices in the near term.
The SSP also recommends that Ofcom considers supporting broadband for businesses and universal access when assessing whether to introduce or remove regulatory remedies.
It states that Ofcom should monitor pricing differences in gigabit-capable broadband between geographic areas and localities. The SSP reads: “For any areas of the UK with only one network operator Ofcom should, alongside government, consider steps to ensure consumers do not have to pay excessive prices due to a lack of local competition. The regulator should work with government to review the Broadband Universal Service Obligation and make any appropriate changes.”
Regarding PIA, the SSP states that Ofcom should ensure that Openreach continues to provide unrestricted access to its physical infrastructure to all communications providers on equivalent terms, unless it can demonstrate that a difference is justified.
It also calls for greater transparency in enforcement and the methods by which Ofcom calculates and sets PIA prices.
Also important for altnets is the Governments recommendations to support take-up including the suggestion that Ofcom should work with the government to support gigabit take-up and should report every 6 months on levels of take-up alongside reporting on coverage.
It also states that Ofcom should continue to monitor the use of One Touch Switch and its success.
It reads: “More widely, the regulator should take all efforts to support effective and straightforward switching between providers in order to enable competition and enable more people to benefit from gigabit broadband.”
