Ofcom makes interim chief exec appointment
Jonathan Oxley is currently competition director at telecoms regulator
Unified Comms - Jasper Hart
November 7, 2019
The government has ambitious plans to reach nationwide full-fibre by 2025
CityFibre has announced plans to hold an industry-wide consultation on the potential opportunities for businesses to switch from copper to full-fibre networks.
The consultation has come off the back of CityFibre progressing in its Gigabit City rollout in Stirling, which will become the first UK city to switch-over from copper to full-fibre in summer 2020.
The consultation will be carried out by independent analyst firm Assembly Research, who specialise in communications markets, with CityFibre providing communications providers an opportunity to support all legacy services on the new networks.
CityFibre will also be outlining what the process should be for mass migration of customers and what steps need to be taken.
It comes as part of the governments plans to have full fibre digital infrastructure nationwide by 2025, as CityFibre invest £2.5 billion into its Gigabit City Programme.
CityFibre’s programme will reach over five million homes and businesses, that will cover over 60 towns and cities and make up more than a fifth of the UK target.
CityFibre CEO Greg Mesch said: “Only by collaborating as an industry, with the full support of the government and Ofcom, will we be able to switch-over the UK from legacy copper networks to a future-proof full fibre platform.
“Our consultation will ensure that we play our part in this switch-over and that the eventual retirement of the copper networks is managed in a way that promotes sustained infrastructure investment from a range of organisations,” said Mesch.
