Nokia Chosen to Build Open-Access Fiber Network

Nokia announced it has been chosen by Openreach to build its One Network Platform, an open-access fiber network to serve homes and businesses in the U.K. Built using Nokia’s Altiplano and NSP network domain controllers, they claim the network will help Openreach grow from 17 million connected premises today to 25 million by the end of 2026.

Openreach’s open wholesale broadband network connects users to communication service providers offering fiber to urban centers, towns, villages and smaller rural communities in the UK. The Nokia-powered Openreach One Network Platform aims to reduce the number of exchange buildings required to cover the country. 

Nokia’s product is modeled on a modular data center architectural approach enabling Openreach to build a large-scale multi-service open-access network that Nokia says can help reduce the power and space requirements at Ethernet access exchange sites. The architecture supports various deployment models tailored to different population densities.

With Nokia’s Altiplano and NSP network domain controllers, Nokia says Openreach will be able to automate its fiber connectivity services across Point-to-Point, GPON, and XGS PON technologies through intent-based management.

"This will simplify operations drastically through a common service-oriented interface and will reduce OSS complexity across the network by 85%. In addition, the solution provides streaming telemetry to provide detailed insights into the network’s behavior and performance," Nokia said in a press release.

Trevor Linney, Director of Network Technology at Openreach, said: “This is the next step in our plans to build a future-proof, multi-service, one network platform—that supports both full Field FTTP and future Ethernet products. Introducing Nokia’s Altiplano and NSP network domain controllers and 7250 IXR data center routers will boost automation, network visibility and control, and product flexibility for our Communication Provider customers and their end-user customers. Ultimately, this is about making our network easier to manage, more efficient and reliable, for example, through quicker identification of faults via automation, and helping to cut operational costs.”

Geert Heyninck, General Manager of Broadband Networks at Nokia, said: “Open-access networks are the future of broadband, and we’re proud to support Openreach in bringing fiber connectivity to millions across the UK. Meeting growing broadband demands requires scalability and flexibility, which is where the intent-based design of our solution really shines. We are motivated to help Openreach automate operations, optimize resources and create a robust, future-ready network that serves both urban and rural communities.”