Service providers (SPs), particularly ISPs with a fibre broadband offering or those seeking one, avoid the heavy costs of unbundling BT Openreach exchanges directly and instead virtually unbundle them leveraging SSE Enterprise Telecoms’ existing footprint.
SSE Enterprise Telecoms will provide the data backhaul and offer a flexible usage-based billing model. Business and consumer broadband providers will retain control, keeping their direct relationship with BT Openreach and maintaining buying power.
The product is one of the first of its kind, and new to market, with a financially viable usage-based billing model, making it attractive in both the short and long-term. ISPs will benefit from the significant reduction to the CAPEX investment that direct unbundling involves. This speedier route to accessing exchanges also means businesses can test new regions more quickly. ISPs could be taking live customer orders within three months versus potentially longer time frames.
Scalefast FTTC will allow ISPs to utilise SSE Enterprise Telecoms’ extensive network, expanding their footprint nationwide. Consumer and business broadband providers will be able to offer a resilient and business-grade network to their customers, whilst still controlling oversubscription, as multiple NNIs can be procured to contend with traffic.
UK network investment
SSE Enterprise Telecoms has been steadily investing in its network through its expansion programme termed ‘Project Edge’. The latest phase, coined ‘Edge 3’, is made up of 177 BT Exchanges being unbundled in the coming year Once the expansion plans are complete, Scalefast FTTC will offer virtually unbundled access to 733 exchanges, made up of 179 parent exchanges and 554 child exchanges.
SSE Enterprise Telecoms Managing Director Colin Sempill said: “Scalefast FTTC is a solution that gives customers the ability to virtually unbundle BT Openreach exchanges at very little capital or operational cost.
"We’re able to roll out this disruptive solution due to our ability to deliver competitive reach and pricing thanks to our Edge expansion programme and our continued commitment to connectivity excellence. With this high capacity core network and backhaul, businesses and consumers will be better-placed to utilise FTTC broadband services via ISPs”.