Ofcom Paves Way for Copper Network Retirement Amid Full-Fibre Rollout

UK regulator Ofcom has announced its decision to allow Openreach to retire its copper network in phases. This move aims to support Openreach's transition to full-fibre broadband, which offers faster and more reliable services than connections that use copper lines.

The rollout of full fibre broadband has made significant progress in the UK, with over eight in ten households now having access to these high-quality services. However, maintaining both copper and fibre infrastructure simultaneously is costly and inefficient for Openreach. By retiring the copper network, the company can redirect resources towards investing in network improvements or reducing prices.

Ofcom's decision also includes a change in the wholesale price of copper connections. From April 1st 2029, Openreach will be able to alter these prices at premises where full fibre is available and ultrafast broadband (download speeds of >300mbit/s) is available to at least 90% of premises.

However, customers on the Openreach network remain protected by a charge control. If full fibre is not available at a premise, the existing cap on the price of a copper-based service will remain in place.