Openreach is planning for the commercial launch of its Single Order Transitional Access Product (SOTAP) on December 1st.
This product serves as an alternative digital service for those in area where there may not be a fibre alternative by the 2025 PSTN switch off.
Without SOTAP, four million premises in the UK would have no available fixed broadband product.
SOTAP provides broadband and IP or digital phone services over the existing copper line running to a customer’s premises. Phone services are optional and will be provided ‘over the top’ of the copper line via VoIP products.
The SOTAP solution needs an unbundled (LLU) exchange infrastructure to work.
Openreach has been piloting the fibre alternative since May this year and has seen a tenfold increase in demand following the introduction of UK wide ‘stop sell’ in September.