Brits living in blocks of flats or apartments risk missing out on high-speed fiber broadband due to quirks in domestic regulations that can hinder access for telco engineers.
While network operators continue to roll out fiber-optic infrastructure around the UK as part of the government’s Project Gigabit scheme, some customers are finding it difficult to get connected if they live in a multi-dwelling unit (MDU), a property that contains multiple separate living spaces, such as an apartment block.
One Reg reader contacted us about the issue, saying they had discovered that properties either side of their block of flats were already cabled up and enjoying fiber broadband, but they were unable to get it.
“BT, my current ISP, gives no indication of any issue, other than saying that fiber is due at some point before the end of 2026,” the reader told us.
“Ofcom says I can have up to 5 Gbps from either Openreach or CityFibre – but only the CityFibre website says that Openreach are not deploying to my block of flats because they don’t have permission from the landlord,” the reader said, but added that “I’m the landlord, and they haven’t asked.”
Our understanding is that this is a known issue, where the landlord of an MDU needs to give their approval to allow work to proceed, but that telcos are not always able to identify the landlord in some cases.
Openreach, the infrastructure arm of former state-owned telco BT, already has the right to enter communal areas in places such as blocks of flats if it needs to repair the copper telephone wiring, but we understand that this right does not extend to network operators seeking to upgrade tenants to fiber.
The company told us that it is seeking a change in the law so tenants have the right to request permission to get a broadband upgrade from their landlord, who would in turn have a duty to respond to this request.
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“While the majority of UK homes and businesses are going to benefit from our massive investment in transformational broadband technology, hundreds of thousands of flats are at risk of missing out,” an Openreach spokesperson said in a statement sent to The Register.
“It’s possible that some people will be stuck with slower connections for years whilst their neighbours enjoy gigabit-capable, ultra-reliable broadband – which research suggests will boost productivity and prosperity. There’s a real risk of harming the UK’s growth potential, which is why we think the government needs to act.”
We asked the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which is now responsible for Project Gigabit, if the government plans to address this issue.
Openreach announced this week it has reached a new milestone in migrating its infrastructure from copper to fiber with the closure of a legacy exchange at Deddington in Oxfordshire.
Deddington is the first of 4,600 exchanges across the UK to be fully decommissioned as part of the move to all-digital, the firm said. It expects to need about 1,000 “super digital exchanges” or Openreach Handover Points (OHPs) to serve the whole of the country in future, as each OHP typically replaces four to five traditional exchanges. ®
