Oh crap: UK's digital overlords moot new rules to help telcos lay fibre in sewer pipes
- Reference: 1591953311
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/06/12/dcms_sewer_fibre/
- Source link:
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS, aka the Department of Fun) has opened a call for evidence — closing on September 4, 2020 — that could inform a change in legislation allowing broadband networks to share infrastructure with other utility providers.
Dept of Fun minister Matt Warman said he is also open to changes in legislation that would improve the access of network providers to run cables along existing road and rail networks.
"It makes both economic and common sense for firms rolling out gigabit broadband to make use of the infrastructure that already exists across the country. This will help them avoid the high costs and disruption of having to dig or build their own and ultimately benefit consumers," said Warman.
Dark Fibre: Reg man plunges into London's sewers to see how pipe is laid [1]READ MORE
"We've seen progress with improved access to Openreach's ducts and poles, but other telecoms companies have large networks that are not easily accessible. We want them, and utility companies, to do more to open these up and help speed up getting next-generation broadband to people across the UK," he added.
One avenue of pursuit would see the Access to Infrastructure (ATI) Regulations 2016 reformed to facilitate better information-sharing between utility providers. It would not, however, mandate any commercial decisions on the behalf of the likes of OpenReach.
Openreach has set a target to deactivate the legacy copper network [2]by the end of this decade , and has [3]already started retiring copper sales in some areas . This effort — which has the support of Ofcom and central government — will inevitably cost billions.
Estimates from the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) reckon that infrastructure re-use could make this vastly cheaper, producing an £8bn in cost savings for providers like OpenReach and Virgin Media. And that's significant, considering civil works (namely deploying cables and poles) can account for 80 per cent of the overall cost.
Already, this effort to replace copper has caught pace, with Openreach yesterday announcing it had already wired up its first full-fibre metropolis: quaint cathedral city and noted Russian tourism fave, Salisbury. So far, over 20,000 premises in Salisbury have gigabit broadband, and [4]Openreach intends to discontinue copper sales this year .
It is, however, not the first full-fibre city in the UK. [5]Thanks to KCOM , that honour goes to one-time European Capital of Culture (and inspiration for grim Brit 1980s TV miniseries [6]Threads ), Hull. ®
Sponsored: [7]The Forrester Wave™: Streaming Analytics, Q3 2019
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2015/01/26/feature_zayo_fibre_network_in_london_sewers/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2019/09/19/bt_switching_off_copper_by_2027_reports/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2020/05/13/openreach_confirms_intent_to_throttle_118_cooper_exchanges/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/05/13/openreach_confirms_intent_to_throttle_118_cooper_exchanges/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2019/10/10/hull_first_city_to_get_fullfibre_diet/
[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgT4Y30DkaA
[7] https://go.theregister.com/tl/1956/-8460/the-forrester-wave-streaming-analytics-q3-2019?td=wptl1956
A JCB will always slice through lines by mistake no matter where it is
Potentially, less chance of something being cut, but with the associated factor that if one utility is cut, several get taken out.
Urban roads (including pavements) are often full of sub-surface utilities, making digging new holes tricky. Add in to that that not every utility is recorded, and even where they are recorded, the positioning isn't always that accurate. So utility strikes happen.
There are various ways to scan for sub-surface services before you dig. I'm not sure how well fibre is detected by these methods (Cat-and-Genny wouldn't be much use; no idea how effective Ground penetrating Radar is with fibre).
Running your fibre alongside something else that's more detectable may actually prove an effective way of reducing cable strikes.
But just getting people to properly record where their infrastructure is would be a good start.
Crack teams of highly trained ninja rats could take out the competition
Cack teams shirley?
Err, even the first 2 seconds of the trailer linked, show
Threads is Sheffield based, not based in the #1 Crap city 2003, 'Ull's actually not that bad outside of Orchard Park and it's ilk
Fiber in sewer pipes
Well, that will be fun for someone when it comes time to troubleshoot and fix a service outage..
Re: Fiber in sewer pipes
Well, it will drive them round the bend
Porn Bergs.
NT (no tisuues)
Why wait ?
Whats taking them so long to decide on this simple and obvious solution?
Oh wait. They have to consider the "square mile's" interests and their shareholders in having their pound of flesh from the action. (Rental revenues, access charges, etc). Evtryone wants a slice of the action pie. And of course, the vested interests of the incumbent operators in losing traditional revenue models (phone line rentals, call charges, other pointless servcies). You see, if every household is wired up permanently with Gigabit fibre, theres no need for the current setup to continue ripping off punters.
So hey ho. Let the status quo continue till the next elections.
Didn't google do this as an April fools joke years ago.
Also, IMDB says Threads was the only performance of the late Anne Sellors. An interesting credit.
what could possibly go wrong?
Isn't this already in place?
Are we sure they don't already run BBC, Sky and ITV News through the sewers already? The mainstream media is full of sh*t.
Just in case there wasn't enough sh*t on the Internet already.
Next - Internet outages due to the latest fatberg being removed and more chances for a JCB to cut through connectivity.