New Ofcom rules to boost full-fibre broadband

[Becky]

Ofcom has issued new measures to encourage the availability of fibre broadband to consumers in the UK, by ruling that BT must share telegraph poles with their competitors. BBC News have been taking a look at the new measures and how BT and their rivals have reacted to this ruling:

Ofcom says full fibre internet is currently available to 3% of UK homes and offices. It hopes to see 6 million buildings connected by 2020.

It said BT must make it easier for rivals to install fibre on its telegraph poles and in its underground tunnels.

It wants a clearer map of where there is capacity on the telegraph poles and in the tunnels for rivals to do so.

Ofcom suggested streets could be connected to full fibre in "hours" rather than days, as companies would no longer have to dig up roads to lay fibre.

It estimated that sharing infrastructure would halve the cost of connecting a home to full fibre - from £500 to £250.

Overall this seems like great news for consumers. Read more here.