Openreach seeks third fiber broadband technology supplier: reports

Nov. 26, 2019

Huawei and Nokia currently supply Openreach with 10G PON FTTP equipment, based on a tender process completed last year.

Openreach, the broadband access network subsidiary of BT, wants a third supplier of fiber broadband technology to support its “Fibre First” fiber to the premises (FTTP) program, according to Bloomberg (subscription required) and Reuters. Proposals are due by January 2020 with an eye towards a supplier decision in the second quarter of the year, according to the media outlets.

Huawei and Nokia currently supply Openreach with 10G PON FTTP equipment, based on a tender process completed last year (see “Openreach chooses Huawei and Nokia for Fibre First national FTTP roll out”). The Fibre First effort aims to pass 3 million UK homes and businesses by the end of 2020. (An Openreach source quoted by Reuters states that the BT subsidiary now hopes to pass 4 million homes and businesses by March 2021.) The rationale behind the desire for a third supplier is unclear, although the U.S. has lobbied against the use of Huawei equipment in its allies’ communications networks. Some UK organizations have expressed concerns about potential reliance on communications equipment sourced from Chinese companies as well (see, for example, “UK's National Cyber Security Centre warns use of ZTE equipment poses national security risk”).

Bloomberg points to ADTRAN and Cisco as potential participants in the newly launched tender process. Other companies that might be interested include Calix, DASAN Zhone Solutions, and CommScope, which purchased ARRIS earlier this year. ARRIS conducted a 10G EPON trial with Virgin Media in the UK this past February (see “Virgin Media trials 10G-EPON with ARRIS”).

Huawei and Nokia also supply Openreach with Gfast technology, based on a 2016 contract award (see "Openreach taps Huawei, Nokia for G.fast roll-out"). There is no indication that Openreach is seeking a third supplier for Gfast as well.

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About the Author

Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave

Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.

Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.

He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.

You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.