BT's Old Copper Landline Network Could Be Worth Over $2 Billion (engadget.com)
- Reference: 0185351988
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/09/01/1815258/bts-old-copper-landline-network-could-be-worth-over-2-billion
- Source link: https://www.engadget.com/2248735/bts-old-copper-network-could-be-worth-over-dollar2-billion/
> BT's recovered copper was previously valued at around $2 billion. But prices have surged, thanks to [2]rising global demand tied to AI data centers, renewable energy and electrification. With global demand expected to grow sharply over the next decade, the value of BT's copper could potentially exceed even that $2.7 billion estimate.
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> The BT subsidiary Openreach is in the process of replacing its legacy copper network with full-fiber broadband, with plans to connect 30 million residences by the end of the decade. It's already recovered nearly 10,000 metric tons of copper in its latest financial year and over 22,000 metric tons since 2023. "Copper has become one of the most strategic materials in the modern economy," according to Openreach's head of sustainability, Abby Chicken.
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> Unsurprisingly, BT isn't waiting to profit from the recovered metal. It has an agreement with EMR, a cable recycling company, and recently received $133 million up front for recovered copper.
[1] https://www.engadget.com/2248735/bts-old-copper-network-could-be-worth-over-dollar2-billion/
[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielcohen/2026/08/18/the-coming-copper-crunch/
Meanwhile, In America (Score:2)
Meanwhile, in America they abandon the copper in place.
It looks like a fortune to be made. But the recovery cost is probably much higher than we might guess.
Re: Meanwhile, In America (Score:3, Interesting)
That's OK, it will get cleaned up later...when a copper thief steals it and kills all the fiber cables in the process.
Re: (Score:2)
All around here the utility poles are overburdened by the weight of fiber, no pole stands straight for long anymore (although that could just be the new-growth stock used to make the poles) it doesn't even look safe beyond that of just being ugly.
In the local neighborhoods most of the copper is below ground, that's not going to be cost effective if you have to dig. It's been down there since the 60s and started having frequent connection point issues around the 90s.
problem is finding out who owns it (Score:2)
Original monopolies who laid the lines are long gone, and trying to figure out which reincarnation of the regional ma bell company actually owns it could be tricky. Very good bet those records are in some forgotten warehouse somewhere and won't be cheap to figure out and there could even be lawsuits with multiple companies claiming ownership.
And the earth contains $trillions$ in copper... (Score:3)
Problem is, you still have to go get it. My own house still has copper POTS lines connected to it that haven't been used in twenty years or so. Do they contain valuable copper? Yes. Is worth someone's time to tear down the wires, strip the insulation, and recycle the remaining copper? Maybe not, unless they're a desperate junkie.
Re: And the earth contains $trillions$ in copper.. (Score:4, Interesting)
If you're a thief, you just burn the cables to strip the jacket. If you're more serious (i.e. electrician who does demo, a real scrapper) you have a stripping machine that pulls the cable through a blade and automatically splits the insulation. There's still a fuckton of work and waate generated, most of which contains shit like pthalates, lead and other delicious toxic materials.
Re: (Score:3)
The easy copper has been mined.
https://edconway.substack.com/p/the-race-for-copper-hots-up
https://www.mining.com/web/an-american-mine-still-has-millions-of-tons-of-copper-if-companies-can-get-to-it/
Re: (Score:2)
from your walls? no.
from every rack in every rural exchange? sure, if it wasn't already done a decade ago.
from nearly every last mile? makes a lot of financial send. Easier done if you're already in there to pull new fibre or if the copper can be pulled with the duct and winch method. You could have a handful of crews working full-time and every day they work they'd recover more copper than it costs you to pay them.
Not so fast (Score:3)
Those cables are full of lead and other hazmat shit. Sure, there's copper in there. Who's gonna pick up the environmental remediation tab for all the liberated heavy metals, though?
Re: (Score:1)
Also not mentioned: what will happen to all the poles that no longer have wires strung on them. Openreach aren't replacing directly with fibre, that's being routed in the ground from new distribution boxes, except possibly for really rural areas. For suburbia that's millions of useless and worthless ex pine trees soaked in creosote that will not only be a bitch to dig out (some have been there for over 50 years) but also are unrecyclable as well as shockingly polluting should they be burnt.
Re: (Score:2)
Over here in the US the poles still have everything else. Is your electricity all under ground or something?
Digging out isn't hard, any heavy equipment that pulls straight up usually doesn't have an issue. If it does cut the pole off at ground level.
The poles can be retasked as fence posts on farmland.
Re: (Score:2)
In Europe, most of power and phonelines are *below* ground. Unlike the US, which looks to me like a third world country.
Re: (Score:2)
Depends on the area in the US. In general in wealthy and urban cores the utilities are burred. In general outer central city, suburban, and rural area's utilities generally are found on poles. In general utilities on poles are cheaper to install, easier to locate and repair faults, but tend to be vulnerable to weather
Re: (Score:3)
In the UK the electricity, water and gas are all usually underground, There will be one big transformer somewhere that serves many houses, Power crosses the country on pylons above ground. The phonelines are underground too until the point at which they distribute to the houses then there is a pole with lines coming off to maybe 6 or 8 houses, That is what I have seen in my experience and how my current house/street is set up. We don't have much else on those poles, we don't have any power transformers lik
Re: Not so fast (Score:2)
Whereâ(TM)s Fred Dibnah when you need him. ?
Re: (Score:2)
Line truck. Pole puller. [1]Job done. [youtube.com]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14hvXM2fmeQ
Re: (Score:2)
I think generally the last to move their utility off the pole is responsible for its removal and disposal. Around here when the power company puts up new poles, They'll drop the new pole right next to the old one. Move over their power lines then chaninsaw the old pole just above the telephone and cable lines. It's up to those utilities to move their services to the new pole and the last one to get around to doing it also gets the task of removing and disposing of the old pole.
Not to mention asbestos etc. (Score:2)
Asbestos siding works fine unless it's made friable by demolition. Ditto abundant asbestos plumbing etc insulation in old structures.
The world has plenty of other sources of scrap copper.
Lead in ancient cables Re:Not so fast (Score:1)
I think AT&T (pre-1984) and the "Baby Bells" (1984 on) stopped putting lead shielding around copper cables in the 1970s or the early 1980s.
[1]Legacy Lead-Sheathed Telecommunications Cables: Status and Issues for Congress [congress.gov] is a report from 2023 that says
> AT&T estimated that lead-sheathed cables represent less than 10% of its copper cable footprint of roughly 2 million miles. Verizon also reported that lead-sheathed cables make up a small percentage of its copper network
The report is light on details though. It's also not clear what part of the modern AT&T overlaps with the pre-1984-breakup version of AT&T.
[1] https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12559
Business case (Score:2)
Because the cost of digging up tens of thousands miles of cable is zero?
Re: (Score:2)
Because there's no return on the copper you are digging up tens of thousands of miles of cable for?
Do you have any information showing what the ROI would be on recovering all this unused cable, negative or positive? Neither does anyone else. So stop assuming.
Re: (Score:2)
Just hire a bunch of meth heads and let them keep a portion of their score. The copper will be taken off the poles or dug up faster than you can complete their orientation paperwork.
Just have us bring it in (Score:2)
Do it like soda bottle deposit returns.
The end users just rip out their old unused wires and bring it into the local office for a few bucks.
Saves the phone company from hiring crews, equipment, and fuel.
Plus, if the homeowner breaks their own fiber, then the phone company gets some money for a service call.
And if they bring in their AC wiring, that'll be even more copper.
Meanwhile AT&T just doesnt care (Score:2)
-- because we are the phone company.
They just over-lash the existing copper when overbuilding with fiber here in So. Cal and therefore make it harder to recover in the future.
Re: (Score:2)
Maybe the copper line makes a good anchor to attach the fiber line too ;)