Staff shortage hinders UK fiber rollout, says BT fiber supplier

Although the UK has successfully ramped up its deployment of optical fiber, some challenges persist. One of them is a shortage of skilled staff to install it, according to Ankit Agarwal, the CEO of STL, one of the biggest fiber suppliers to several UK firms including BT.

The issue is a well-documented one, with Ookla's Speedtest intelligence report published in October pointing to labor shortages as the biggest hindrance to the UK's fiber rollout.

In fact, then UK Home Secretary Priti Patel felt the need to reassure network operators last August by saying the Home Office could help streamline visa applications for overseas workers involved in fiber deployment. While media reports of an allegedly imminent fast-tracking scheme emerged during Liz Truss's short but eventful time as prime minister, they were never confirmed.

Liz Truss may be gone, but the problem remains – even if small UK fiber company Hyperoptic recently decided it had too many employees on its hands. Earlier in the year, Nick Johnson, the head of a new industry body called UKTIN, told Light Reading the lack of skilled labor was a challenge across the telecom value chain in the UK. Speaking of fiber in particular, he said he was aware of an unnamed company bringing over fiber splicers from as far as Trinidad.

Meanwhile, Richard Jeffares, CEO of another fiber operator called AllPoints Fibre, spoke of similar issues in a March interview with Light Reading, saying Brexit was to blame. Prior to the UK's withdrawal from the common market, he argued, the country could rely on skilled labor from across the continent. But when "the clock struck midnight, they all went home," taking their expertise with them, he said.

A global problem

Agarwal, however, says that while Brexit certainly had major impact, it is not the only reason for the labor shortage. He points out that the problem also exists outside the UK, in countries including Germany and Australia. It is particularly acute right now in rural areas in the US, he says.

Another factor is to do with shifts in mentality brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, said Agarwal. "Availability of people who want to get trained in this fairly physical work" is a challenge, he believes, suggesting less strenuous work behind a computer has perhaps become more appealing. He says there is a cultural aspect at play, where "people may not be that interested in getting trained for physical kinds of jobs."

When asked what can be done to counter this, he said there is a range of possible solutions. One is retraining people who do similar jobs, such as those skilled in laying copper lines, as well as employees at electricity and gas deployment companies. Bringing in more staff from other countries is also part of the solution, he reckons. STL has already recruited people from India to work in the UK and help install networks, he told Light Reading during an interview last year.

To mitigate the impact of the skills shortage, however, the company has also started offering a plug-and-play fiber solution, which reduces the labor intensity of installation and requires less training. Agarwal says that it can also reduce the time it takes to install fiber by up to 30% and is cheaper to deploy.

Besides reducing labor intensity, shorter installation times can also help with another obstacle in fiber's path – lengthy permitting processes. These can have a significant impact and are of particular concern in rural areas. Agarwal says the duration can vary greatly from one area to another, and points to certain rural parts of the US where permitting takes as long as 12 months as an extreme example.

Rural areas are already a challenging environment for fiber deployment, due in part to the increased cost per premises passed. This can reach between £800 (US$1,022) and £1,100 ($1,406), compared with £400 ($511) to £500 ($639) in cities.

Despite his concerns, Agarwal is confident the UK will be able to reach its target of making gigabit broadband available nationwide by 2030.

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— Tereza Krásová, Associate Editor, Light Reading