UK altnets – independent broadband providers – could be underutilising vast amounts of newly installed fibre optic cables, despite conditions on government funding.

According to research from AssetHUB, some full fibre network builders which have received government funding to create broadband connectivity in rural and hard to reach areas could be failing to make their cables easily available to other operators, despite open networking being a condition of receiving taxpayer’s money.

Failing to promote and enable access to these networks is holding back plans to ‘level-up’ rural and remote communities across the UK, according to asset reuse specialists AssetHUB.

Through the government’s £5 billion Project Gigabit, an estimated 100,000km of taxpayer-funded full fibre cables are being laid in the UK thanks to government subsidies.

So far, over £1.4bn has been granted to 12 companies which are building broadband networks throughout the UK.

While it is a condition of the grant that companies raise awareness of where their new networks are and enable other operators to use them, many are failing to make the most of these important assets.

Without these stipulations, companies risk overbuilding in certain communities and sites, as well as decreasing the efficacy and use of the cables if their interoperability is restricted.

Publishing these details will not only keep these organisations in compliance with Building Digital UK (BDUK), the UK government’s organisation promoting telecoms infrastructure, but it will ensure that these cables are utilised effectively whilst maintaining a better level of fair competition among the involved companies.

“Close to 100,000km of fibre is being deployed across the UK thanks to the £1.4 billion in Project Gigabit funding from BDUK,” said James Saunby, from industry specialists GreySky Consulting.

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“It is critical that network builders understand the potential for these networks to be clearly open and able to be used. A network mapping and contracting service, which is already being driven by the ongoing consolidation between altnets, that can securely share the location and scope of existing networks is required.”

BDUK is providing public money for rural developments that are mandated to provide wholesale access to passive, active, backhaul, and dark fibre. Without proper publishing of sites and interoperability, altnets risk defaulting on these conditions for funding.

The Project Gigabit broadband rollout programme aims for 1Gbps capable broadband networks for 85% of UK premises by the end of 2025, and nationwide coverage by 2030.

“The UK altnet industry is at a risk of more unnecessary overbuild as new entrants rush to deploy new infrastructure without considering the long-term sustainability of their business models,” said Rob Leenderts, CEO of AssetHUB.