Written evidence from the Internet Services Providers Association (ISPA UK) (BSR0023)

Introduction

1. The application of the new Higher-Risk Building (HRB) Regulations, alongside the current setup of the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) are fundamentally not fit for purpose, and are having a significant detrimental impact on the telecommunications (telecoms) sector which, without immediate action from the Government, will see hundreds of thousands of individuals left without Internet access in coming weeks.

2. The Internet Services Providers' Association (ISPA) is the trade association for providers of Internet services in the UK. Our members comprise the majority of the telecoms sector, which is currently rolling out full fibre broadband, or “future-proof” digital connectivity, to households and businesses across the country in one of the largest infrastructure projects in modern British history.

3. As a result of the application of new HRB Regulations and delays within the BSR, many of our members have already experienced delays, disrupting their ability to provide residents in HRBs with access to digital connectivity, which enables everything from working or studying from home, to connecting with family and friends online, and participating in the economy.

4. We currently estimate that 800,000 households within HRBs could be left without access to the connectivity they need in the near future. Without immediate intervention by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), supported by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) we will see:

4.1.            Immediate consumer impact: Residents, including students at university, are already moving  into properties that do not have access to full fibre broadband and this number will rise significantly.

4.2.            Rollout target and digital exclusion: HRBs will be left without access to future-proof digital connectivity. Current and future residents will be digitally excluded – the UK will not achieve its broadband targets and digital inclusion efforts will fail. 

4.3.            Undermining of competition: Long BSR approval times will make it effectively impossible for consumers to switch across network providers, undermining government policy to support a dynamic and competitive market.

4.4.            Lower market and investor confidence: HRBs are effectively at risk of becoming stranded assets, undermining the valuation of providers with a strong HRB footprint.

4.5.            Total paralysis of the BSR: In light of the 6 - 12 month backlog at the BSR and in anticipation of a fast policy solution, our members are currently not submitting applications. Once they do, the BSR will be overloaded even further and it is not set up to handle the demand from our sector, exacerbating the current backlog and increasing delays across all sectors – including housing.

5. Therefore, we ask the Committee to raise this issue with Government as a matter of extreme urgency, and make the following recommendations:

5.1.            Recommendation 1: Limit the need for applications. Operators are already rightly held to high standards in firestopping, and take those responsibilities extremely seriously. Therefore it would be more proportionate to limit the necessity for BSR approvals as much as possible. There are two policy options which should be implemented at pace:

5.1.1.            Confirm that work related to telecoms installation work does not meet the “material alteration” threshold of Regulation 3(2) in The Building Regulations 2010, thereby exempting the work from the HRB Regulation (2023); or

5.1.2.            Provide clear guidance which types of telecoms installation works require BSR approval.

5.2.            Recommendation 2: Move to post-approval. In implementing either of the policy options outlined above – telecoms exemption, or additional guidance – the initial issue of delays could be alleviated by requiring operators to provide proof that works have been completed to the required standard after the fact – effectively moving telecoms from a pre-approval to a post-approval framework.

5.3.            Recommendation 3: Increase funding and resourcing to the BSR. In addition to policy solutions, the Government must guarantee an increase in funding for specialist expertise and standardised processes within the BSR, in order to expedite applications should they be needed for telecoms.

6. The Government has a number of options available to address the issues arising with the new HRB Regulations and within the BSR; on behalf of the telecoms sector, we urge the Government to take action as a matter of urgency, and ensure residents of HRB will have access to future-proof digital connectivity now, and in the future.

Response

Question 2: How has the Building Safety Regulator’s (BSR’s) regulatory framework impacted the delivery of new homes and the maintenance and improvement of existing high-rise buildings? Question 3: What impacts could the BSR’s regulatory framework have on the delivery of the Government’s housing targets?

1. The implementation of the Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023 (“HRB Regulations” or “the Regulations”) is directly resulting in delays to rollout of full fibre, gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure in the UK, already negatively impacting consumers in HRBs across the country.
    
2. In following the new HRB Regulations, intended to improve fire safety and regulate works carried out on buildings deemed “higher risk”, building owners are required to refer any “building works” deemed to be a “material alteration” to the BSR.
    
3. Due to ambiguity in the definition of “material alteration”, building owners — particularly local authorities and managing agents — are increasingly interpreting the regulations conservatively, and requiring formal approval from the BSR for routine fibre and telecoms installation works when this was not previously the case, resulting in widespread delays to full fibre rollout, the largest ongoing infrastructure project in modern British history.
    
4. At this time, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of routine fibre and telecoms installation or remedial works have been effectively put on pause, affecting up to 800,000 premises across the UK. Without urgent action from the Government, these premises will be left without connectivity, massively exacerbating the digital divide.

5. Telecom operators operate under significant time constraints, as the sector works to ensure the Government hits its target of 99% full-fibre by 2032[1]. The current figures stand at 78%[2], and thus the next few years require strong progress from the sector and consistent investment in order to ensure this target is met.

6. Works to install or maintain telecoms infrastructure, particularly fibre rollout, is by nature highly mobile, short duration and low-impact; a typical build on a given street can be complete in a matter of days. With BSR applications taking months to approve, operators will, in nearly every case, have already completed their work in that area and will have been forced to skip these buildings. If a building or premise is left unconnected, the premise effectively becomes a stranded asset and will not benefit from gigabit-capable digital connectivity without more time and financial investment.

7. Operators already have robust safety practices in place, including same-day firestopping by competent persons, to ensure that any penetrations for cables are immediately sealed to prevent the risk of fire spread.

8. As a result of the Regulations, residents in up to 800,00 HRBs across the country will not have access to the Internet over the next few weeks.

9. The impact of delays in approvals for the telecoms sector include:

9.1.            Residents – including students at university, families, and vulnerable people – will be unable to access the benefits of connectivity, becoming actively digitally excluded; this runs directly counter to the Government’s digital inclusion agenda.[3] It is likely that the Government will be forced to spend more money[4] in the future to ensure these households are connected.

9.2.            Long approval times for telecoms works will effectively make it impossible for consumers to switch across network providers[5], undermining government policy to support a dynamic and competitive market and forcing them to pay more out of contract.

9.3.            Additionally, the broadband market is currently facing severe economic headwinds, and is in a process of consolidation. If approvals for telecoms works are delayed by weeks or months, providers may be forced, due to value for money pressures from investors, to leave certain premises behind; in the long term, this will undermine established investment cases and investor confidence and risk HRBs effectively becoming stranded assets.

Question 5: To what extent are delays in approvals for high-rise buildings down to the regulatory processes used by the BSR? Could these processes be made more proportionate, particularly for smaller works, without impacting the safety of high-rise buildings? If so, how? Question 9: To what extent are delays in approvals caused by the resources available to the regulator?

10. The delays in approvals for the installation of fibre and telecoms in high-rise buildings is a direct result of the interpretation of the new HRB Regulations (2023), which were written without regard for the impact that requiring prior approval for minor works would have on the sector; requiring prior approval for telecoms installations and remedial works is entirely unproportionate for the types of works carried out by the sector.

11. This issue is also exacerbated by the lack of resources available to the BSR – the current system is not fit for purpose, evidenced by the current backlog of 6 - 12 months for approvals, and approval times for new cases reaching a minimum of 16 to 20 weeks.

12. The estimated approval time for applications made to the BSR in a perfect world is 8 weeks. However, rollout is an ongoing project taking place across the whole of the UK; if every operator submitted an application for every premise in HRBs in need of fibre broadband, this would result in:

12.1.            The BSR being paralysed by a surge in applications, severely exacerbating the existing backlog and causing critical delays across all sectors subject to BSR approval, including housing;

12.2.            Rollout plans across the country would be halted, with consumers living in HRBs directly impacted, as they are left without access to connectivity[6].

13. The most effective way to ensure the volume of telecoms works applications does not overwhelm the BSR would be for the Government to confirm that the sector is exempt from the regulations.

14. Further, in order to expedite works the Government could designate telecoms works within a post-approval system, in which works can be carried out as planned, then certified after the fact. This would allow operators to connect the whole building, as they have been doing safety across the country for many years, and return to make adjustments in the rare cases where this would be necessary.

15. This system would need to be implemented alongside clear guidance which specifies which types of telecoms-related works need approval.

16. Recommendation 1: Limit the need for applications. Operators are already held to high standards in firestopping, and therefore it would be more proportionate to limit the necessity for BSR approvals as much as possible. There are two policy options which should be implemented at pace:

16.1.            Confirm that work related to telecoms installation work does not meet the “material alteration” threshold of Regulation 3(2) in The Building Regulations 2010, thereby exempting the work from the HRB Regulation (2023); or

16.2.            Provide clear guidance which types of telecoms installation works require BSR approval.

17. Recommendation 2: Move to post-approval. In implementing either of the policy options outlined above – telecoms exemption, or additional guidance – the initial issue of delays could be alleviated by requiring operators to provide proof that works have been completed to the required standard after the fact – effectively moving telecoms from a pre-approval to a post-approval framework.

18. Recommendation 3: Increase funding and resourcing to the BSR. In addition to policy solutions, the Government must guarantee an  increase in funding for specialist expertise and standardised processes within the BSR, in order to expedite applications should they be needed for telecoms.

19. In future, the Government will need to support the BSR in creating an efficient triaging system which expedites telecoms works approvals, and ensures that these applications, submitted at great volume, do not overwhelm the whole BSR and delay approvals across infrastructure sectors.

Question 6: What level of guidance or feedback is necessary for those making applications to the BSR to understand its requirements?

20. Formal guidance is needed to clarify which types of telecoms works require BSR approval in order to remove unnecessary applications and mitigate the volume of applications needed from the sector.

07 July 2025

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