'This is a positive step forward for our city'

COMMUNICATIONS PROVIDERS CAN APPLY TO ACCESS KCOM BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE

- By ANDREW SPENCE

ALL communications providers in the Hull area can now apply to access KCOM’s passive infrastructure.

Hull MP, Emma Hardy, has explained “this could help to reduce the need for duplicate poles and street disruption”.

The issue of broadband poles popping up has been heavily discussed in the region over the last several years. In an effort to stop the erection of poles, which she claimed were causing companies to lose community support, the then Digital Infrastructure Minister, Julia Lopez MP wrote to KCOM last spring calling for infrastructure sharing.

After completing the delivery of its Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) network in 2019, the Hull-based provider KCOM has now announced the launch a Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) Reference Offer Product that will enable other providers to use KCOM's passive infrastructure to roll out their own fibre networks.