Summary

  • Ofcom's final decision permits a 10% premises exclusion from April 2029, subject to the other second-threshold conditions.
  • Copper price protection remains where Openreach FTTP is unavailable. The commercial contest is for customers who can move, not simply for premises counted as covered.

A broadband retailer can know that fibre passes a customer's home without having arranged a workable installation there. That gap will matter more under Ofcom's decision of 9 September: Openreach will have a more attainable route to lifting copper wholesale price controls, but exchange-wide coverage will not settle every customer's position.

The final rule allows 10% of premises to be excluded from the second-threshold coverage calculation from 1 April 2029. In effect, Openreach can satisfy the coverage requirement at 90% ultrafast coverage in an exchange area. Other conditions remain: advance notice of at least 12 months, at least two years since the first-threshold notice, and notification that the second threshold has been met. Exclusion-related advance notices can begin in April 2028 if the relevant conditions are satisfied. Exchanges with 100% coverage can qualify earlier under existing rules. Final decision

The protection follows the address. Copper price controls are removed only where Openreach FTTP is available; they remain on the anchor copper service where it is not. A regulated fibre anchor product remains part of the framework. This is neither a new retail tariff nor permission to disconnect every remaining copper line. Ofcom's statement page

For retailers, the change makes migration planning a pricing question as well as a network question. If a future wholesale increase reaches an eligible copper line, the retailer could absorb the extra cost, change its retail offer or help the customer move. None is costless. Installation appointments, support and the suitability of the replacement service belong in that comparison; a footprint total leaves them out.

Ofcom's same-day Connected Britain speech placed adoption alongside availability as the next challenge. The distinction is useful commercially. A home passed is a potential sale, whereas a completed and retained connection supports recurring revenue. Moving the regulatory threshold changes the incentive to bridge that gap; it does not show how quickly customers will cross it. Connected Britain speech

Nor does a copper departure necessarily become an Openreach fibre win. Where alternatives are available, retailers and customers may choose another network. The effect on competing fibre operators therefore depends on which connections can actually be sold and installed when customers reconsider their service. The decision supplies a timetable for a pricing option, not a forecast of market shares.