Consultation outcome and formal notice: RGW ONT withdrawal
In January 2023, we consulted with you on us withdrawing the RGW function from our NGA fibre and Hyperfibre connections.
Key reasons for the proposed withdrawal included:
- Promoting CPE that can be easily upgraded with newer wi-fi versions (Wi-Fi 6 and beyond)
- Extending the life of the ONT as it will not need to be updated for new wi-fi versions (less site visits for your customers)
- Smaller form factor – better for wall or cabinet mounting with no external aerials
- Future consolidation to single ONT type
- Simplified future supply chain with a wider range of compatible ONTs available
Whilst a small number of respondents expressed support shown to our product, unfortunately the commercial costs of running the Remote Management Platform (RMP) overshadow the benefits of the RGW ONT, therefore we are confirming our option to stop sell and withdraw the function from our Bitstream and Hyperfibre services.
To give you a bit more time to get ready, we are postponing the stop sell to 31 October 2023 and the withdrawal to 31 October 2024.
This should be considered formal notice for withdrawal of the RGW ONT function and RGW Mode for Hyperfibre.
Hyperfibre Feedback
| What you said | Our Response |
| We would prefer to keep the product in the market | Unfortunately, with the upcoming 2nd Gen HF ONT not supporting Wi-Fi this is not something we are able to offer. In addition, we believe that a separate CPE supporting newer technology (such as Wi-Fi 6 or 2.5G LAN ports) will give a much better End User experience. |
| Request for delay due to scarce volume of Hyperfibre CPE | The proposed date was to stop sell in July 2023; we feel comfortable to extend the date of the stop sell to October 2023 to give extra time to find a suitable CPE. We will also move the withdrawal to 12 months after this date, October 2024. |
| Request for CPE Migration fund | We have considered a CPE migrations fund and at this stage have decided not to offer one due to the Mix-it-up credits that are paid at the start of the Hyperfibre connection. |
GPON Feedback
| What you said | Our Response |
| We would prefer to keep the product in the market | Unfortunately take up of the product is at levels where we can no longer justify the cost of supporting the RMP platform that RGW ONT relies on once we withdraw RGW mode from Hyperfibre. |
| Concerned about impact to sustainability options | We recognise that utilising RGW ONT has a lower environmental footprint than a separate CPE, however with such low uptake, we have chosen to move to a lower powered ONT for Hyperfibre (without wi-fi) that will lower the footprint across all connections, not only those that are being utilised in RGW mode. Shutting down the RMP will also save power usage on our virtual servers. We will continue to investigate options to reduce power usage and waste across our network. |
| Request for commercial options to continue service for longer period | The commercial option to continue offering RGW mode would be significantly more expensive than purchasing retail CPE, so we do not think this is a viable option. |
| Concerns around needing to renegotiate with existing customers to move them to CPE | RSPs could use this as an opportunity to provide better quality CPE and retain the customer in for an extended contract term. |
| Concerns that finding a replacement product that is simple to use for low digital literate end-users (such as elderly in a retirement home) may be difficult | Not all customers in this demographic have this type of ONT, and therefore the removal will streamline operations by providing consistency across ONTs. |
Contact
If you have any questions, please contact your account team.