Openreach trials gigabit fibre for 200,000 off-plan UK businesses
Key Points
- Openreach opens a 12-month near net FTTP trial from 1 June 2026 targeting business premises outside its current build programme
- Over 200,000 UPRNs qualify, starting with single dwelling units before expanding to multiple occupancy buildings
- The industry order cap sits at 400 premises total, with each communications provider limited to 100 orders
- The fixed build charge is £2,200 excluding VAT, paid on network completion not upfront
- Speeds of 1,000/115 Mbps or higher become available once the line is live
Openreach will run a 12-month near-net trial from 1 June 2026, offering full fibre connections to over 200,000 business and public sector premises that currently sit outside its build programme.
The trial targets addresses with a Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) that Openreach has not yet scheduled for fibre to the premises (FTTP) deployment.
Initially covering Single Dwelling Units, the scheme will expand within months to include Multiple Occupancy Units, broadening eligibility for commercial tenants and shared-use buildings.
Openreach requires all premises to pass a desk survey before accepting an order, confirming the site qualifies for the fixed-price near-net treatment. The trial runs until 31 May 2027.
How the ordering works
Communications providers (CPs) such as BT, Sky, and TalkTalk submit requests on behalf of business customers, and Openreach distributes the near-net UPRN list only to CPs that sign the trial contract.
Openreach sets the industry cap at 400 premises in total, allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
Each CP carries an individual limit of 100 premises orders, and within that allowance, no more than 80 orders can be for a single premises type, ensuring Openreach collects a mix of building classifications.
Quotation requests count toward the cap and remain valid for three months from the date of issue.
What businesses will pay
The build charge is £2,200 excluding VAT, payable on completion of the network build rather than upfront.
Once the line is live, CPs can order a GEA-FTTP service running at 1,000/115 Mbps or a higher bandwidth variant at Openreach’s published prevailing rates.
Bandwidth upgrades become available one month after the FTTP service provision date, charged at the prevailing transaction rate.
Millions of UK business premises remain on the wrong side of the full fibre divide, sitting in areas where operators have no current build plans.
This trial tests whether Openreach can serve that demand reactively, on a commercial basis, without waiting for a full area rollout.
A successful outcome could inform future near-net policy and open a permanent route for off-plan businesses to access gigabit connectivity.
