Openreach saving £10m through tech innovation

Openreach is rolling out new full fibre technology which led to £10m in build costs savings in the last year.

The company states that its Subtended Headend (SHE) can deploy a new network three times further and cut build time by up to six months.

SHE is being deployed where new fibre-optic cables can be built out from existing green roadside cabinets.

Engineers have now deployed around 100 individual SHEs across the UK, connecting up around 160,000 homes and businesses that would otherwise have been beyond commercial reach, and avoiding the need to build over 1,262 km of new cabling.

By piggybacking in this way, Openreach’s fibre cables can potentially be extended three times their normal reach.

Chief Engineer, Andy Whale, said: “This innovation is helping us to build faster and further into more remote parts of the country, especially in more rural areas.”

“For example, in the remote Welsh Amman valley, seven SHEs have removed the need for 20 km of fibre cable, much of which would’ve been on narrow 60 mph roads. This means the project can be completed two years early, with savings of almost £1m.”