Under the partnership, STL will be responsible for delivering millions of kilometres of optical fibre cable to support the build over the next three years. Openreach will tap STL’s expertise and innovation to help accelerate its full fibre build programme and drive efficiency.
Kevin Murphy, MD for fibre and network delivery at Openreach, said: “Our full fibre network build is going faster than ever. We need partners like STL on board to not only help sustain that momentum, but also to provide the skills and innovation to help us go even further. We know the network we’re building can deliver a host of social and economic benefits – from boosting UK productivity to enabling more home working and fewer commuting trips – but we’re also trying to make this one of the greenest network builds in the world. So, it’s good to know that STL’s compact and efficient designs will contribute to this in a significant way.”
The new partnership continues a 14-year relation between the two and was confirmed as Openreach moved on it target to reach 20 million homes and businesses by the mid-to-late 2020s.
Commenting on the collaboration, Ankit Agarwal, CEO of the connectivity solutions business at STL, added: “We are extremely excited to join hands with Openreach as a key optical solutions partner to build Full Fibre broadband networks for millions in the UK. Our customised, 5G-ready optical solutions are ideally suited for Openreach’s future-proof network requirements and we believe they will enable next-gen digital experiences for homes and businesses across UK. This partnership will be a major step towards our mission of transforming billions of lives through digital networks.”
