Estate Living September 2016 Digital Issue | Page 54

OPEN

access

Asking the right questions
to get a true ‘open access’
provider for fibre broadband
on your residential estate.
From experience in Sweden, as well as from various studies, it is clear that open access
is the way residential estate owners make the most money from providing broadband
infrastructure. It can result in a 7.2% - 10% premium on home prices while also maximising
the satisfaction of residents − with both consumers and business users getting the best
possible choice and prices for broadband services.
Sadly, the term “open access” is increasingly and deliberately being distorted by some
broadband operators who claim to provide it when they actually don’t. There’s no legal
or industry standard definition of “open access”, so the term is wide open to abuse.
This short article sets out what true open access is and provides some simple questions
for you to ask of anyone proposing an open access solution. There are four generic types
of organisation that claim to offer open access. And the first three types aren’t capable
of delivering it!