Stability sought to support ongoing sectoral growth

JARLATH FINNEGAN
GROUP CEO, APFN

“We hope that the landslide victory will usher in a period of executive, policy and regulatory stability. As the market consolidates, we want the regulator to continue to play a constructive role in establishing sustainable competition to Openreach. We will feed into Ofcom’s Statement of Strategic Priorities for the years ahead. On a more tactical level, we believe there is important work to be done on access to property. We want to see a simplified access regime for Multi-Dwelling Units to avoid a deepening digital divide. We would also welcome government action to ensure that the ASA follows Ofcom’s lead on how part-fibre and full fibre should be advertised. Broadband was not an electoral issue because the sector serves consumers well; we need continuous focus from government to ensure that it continues to develop sustainably.”

IAN FISHWICK
CHAIRMAN, AIRBAND

We must hope that the new Labour Government will bring some stability to the UK, but we also need to understand that for many of our problems, the devil is in the detail. Fast broadband is key to improving productivity in the UK. I hope that’s a given. In rural areas, where Gigabit Broadband was not commercially viable without Government subisdy, we have a strange problem - stranded streets, which I spoke about at the recent UK Fibre Summit. BDUK subsidised construction to certain streets in a village, but not others. So we have this weird situation where homes, often quite close, have Gigabit broadband in one house, but not their neighbours. I encourage the new Government to widen the Voucher Subsidy scheme to address all “stranded streets”. We cannot have villages with fast broadband in some streets but not others".

ED TAYLOR,
DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS, CITYFIBRE

"With a manifesto commitment to achieving nationwide gigabit rollout by 2030, this government clearly understands the need to rapidly improve the UK's connectivity. The new Secretary of State Peter Kyle’s beefed-up department is aiming to overhaul the public's interaction with digital services across the entire government. Our industry has shown that with the right policy and regulatory conditions tens of billions of pounds of private investment can be attracted to upgrade the UK's digital infrastructure. Yet competitive network rollout isn’t just about delivering speeds; it’s about consumer choice, innovative and reliable services and affordable prices for decades to come. The new government acknowledges that there is still much work to do to ensure every corner of our country is connected, and reforming planning and permitting rules will be crucial in achieving this, alongside continuing to protect consumers and their interests. We are confident that the UK's rapid progress toward nationwide connectivity will continue.”

GARETH GREPPELLINI
CEO SPRING FIBRE

“Infrastructure investment is a keystone to unlocking UK PLC growth sp I’m pleased see the new Government has shown their intent to support the prior industry initiatives such as Project Gigabit and respective Voucher scheme. Whilst we all have learnings to share, it’s testament to the national fibre rollout programme that we are not an industry which requires special measures management. This can’t be said for our sister utility and transport industries. I’d like to see support for accessing green funding, for those that show their ESG agenda is underpinned with green energy and are carbon neutral. As the industry consolidates, there is an opportunity to deliver more local-for-local initiatives, with regional providers prioritised with office and home services to local authorities.”

GUY MILLER,
MS3 NETWORKS

“The previous government laid the groundwork for the first scale competitive network build in the UK for decades, something which will benefit UK PLC for the next century. The job is not done yet however and the new Labour administration must not be complacent but instead double down on its support of competitive network infrastructure. The new government needs to reaffirm its commitment to subsidies where needed but also to drive value to the taxpayer through education. £5bn of public money is worthwhile if households with fibre available upgrade to it, if they don’t it is a waste. The government and Ofcom should lead the charge in educating about the benefits of fibre as well as the existence of altnet fibre offerings to encourage uptake supporting both the altnet business models and the overall boost to UK GDP.”

JAMES FREDRICKSON
CHIEF CORPORATE AFFAIRS OFFICE, VORBOSS

“Fibre roll-out is progressing at pace thanks to the backing of multiple billions of private investment, alongside a supportive policy environment. This in turn is driving competition, benefiting consumers and businesses across the UK. The new government’s growth ambitions alongside Ofcom’s new growth duty could deliver a policy shift that creates new opportunities. For example, by encouraging Ofcom to consider what measures could be taken to improve economic productivity, the focus on growth may prompt the regulator to turn its attention to ‘quality of service’ and customer outcomes in business connectivity markets. Critically though, the benefits of competition can only be realised if both Ofcom and the government actively seeks to protect it. As the cost of capital remains high and Openreach maintains SMP, the incumbent will face strong incentives to leverage its dominance, to limit the scaling of its emerging competitors.”

TONY MOORE,
PROGRAMME DIRECTOR, FREEDOM FIBRE

“Freedom Fibre welcomes the Government’s commitment to fulfil the ambition of full gigabit for residents and businesses throughout the UK. With Project Gigabit currently being one of the largest national infrastructure projects, the push for high-speed fibre broadband demonstrates a long-term commitment from the Government to help promote and encourage economic security, prosperity, and entrepreneurship in local communities. Through Project Gigabit we are working to upgrade the broadband in Shropshire and Cheshire. We look forward to seeing further developments in the process that can help us to accelerate the deliver of fibre to rural areas efficiently, such as a clear education and communication around the migration to full-fibre.”