New Openreach Repair And Installation Targets Come Into Force On 1 July

New Ofcom rules which require Openreach to install new lines within 12 days and make repairs to existing telephone and broadband connections within two days come into force next week, with BT facing fines if it does not meet new targets.

From 1 July, Openreach must repair around 70 percent of faults within two working days of being notified, a requirement which will increase to 80 percent by 2016, and complete 55 percent of installations within 12 days, a figure which will eventually rise to 80 percent.

Openreach repairs

There will be some leniency for factors beyond BT’s reasonable control, such as extreme weather, and the targets only apply to copper lines, not fibre, which Ofcom says BT does a pretty good job with at present- although this could be reviewed in the future.

Openreach will also have to provide customers with a clear timeframe for any repairs or installations, while it will have to produce regular reports on its progress against its new targets.

“Ofcom setting its sights on improving line repairs and installations is good news for consumers,” says Ewan Taylor-Gibson, broadband expert at uSwitch. “Slashing the time it takes for this to be done should alleviate any worries people have about losing their connections while switching providers. It will also lay to rest customers’ fears of living without internet connections while waiting for an engineer to repair faults with their lines.”

The new rules form part of a wider Ofcom plan to improve competition in the broadband market. The UK communications watchdog recently announced plans to reduce the cost of switching supplier in the hope that ISPs will pass on the savings to their customers.

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