Infrastructure update: Full fibre and 5G

Economics infrastructure 5G Nov 2019 shutterstock_662591011cmyk

Here, Building examines the state of the digital communications market and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead

01 / Introduction

The use of broadband and mobile phones is so universal that digital services are as essential a utility as water or electricity. However, the UK’s excellent connectivity is built on old foundations. While Openreach’s main distribution system to on-street cabinets uses fibre, the vast majority of final connections are still in copper. A £30bn nationwide roll-out is under way to upgrade the UK’s legacy infrastructure to variants of full-fibre connectivity – and legislation is planned that will require new-build housing developments to have full-fibre connections in place.

In addition, the Labour Party has made an election commitment to nationalise Openreach and provide universal free UK broadband by 2030. This massive programme underlines the importance of digital infrastructure to the UK.

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