KCOM Kcom Group Plc

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By Adria Calatayud

Shares in U.K. broadband providers rose Monday after the British government set out plans to boost full-fiber connectivity with the goal of having coverage across the whole country by 2033.

At 1350 GMT, shares in BT Group PLC (BT.A.LN), the retail broadband leader in the U.K., were up 1.3%, while shares in smaller competitors TalkTalk Telecom Group PLC (TALK.LN) and KCOM Group PLC (KCOM.LN) were up 1.2% and 0.4%, respectively.

Newly built homes will be required to have full-fiber broadband, while public investments will be made to provide coverage for rural areas, according to a government report released Monday.

The proposals aim to connect 15 million premises to full-fiber broadband by 2025 and achieve full coverage by 2033, as this infrastructure will be needed to support the rollout of 5G.

In the U.K., 4% of broadband connections are full fiber, compared with 89% in Portugal, 71% in Spain and 28% in France, the government said. Full-fiber connections are faster, more reliable, and more affordable to operate than copper-based networks, it said.

The U.K. government will prioritize promoting investment over interventions to further reduce retail prices in the near term, according to the report. It also believes that a move to longer, five-year review periods could provide greater regulatory stability and promote investment.

The U.K.'s new policy framework looks supportive for BT, analysts at Jefferies said.

Although the British telecommunications operator should benefit from the government's prioritizing investment over retail pricing and longer market reviews, the report also suggests the broadening other operators' access to BT's network arm Openreach and retains the threat of an Openreach separation, analysts at investment bank Berenberg said.

Furthermore, the U.K. government aims to have a majority of the population covered by a 5G signal by 2027, according to the report. If the current market structure doesn't support network investment in 5G, the country's telecommunications regulator, Ofcom, would consider options including consolidation in the mobile industry.

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayudvaello@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 23, 2018 10:46 ET (14:46 GMT)

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