OS unveils ‘game-changing advantage’ for altnets

Altnets (alternative network providers offering fibre broadband) embarking on network expansion programmes can quickly run into trouble, when confronted with high rise flats and mixed-use residential and commercial buildings in Britain.

Gaps in data around the classification and characteristics of these types of buildings prevents the smooth running of operational rollouts, or targeted sales and marketing strategies from reaching the different occupiers inside.

Problems such as not knowing how much cable or pipework is required for a job, not knowing what tools need to be on-site, or not knowing what type of staffing expertise will be needed to work on a specific type of building - all these issues mount up. Even before the work can start, not having a clear idea of who owns the piece of land around a building that must be accessed or dug up can create problems. 

Without the correct data or insight for complex buildings, overcoming these issues becomes time-consuming, resource heavy, and results in missing out on prospects to competitors, or missing the full extent of business opportunities for a building.

Similar issues can affect altnets when they tackle complex sites such as schools, hospitals, and factories.

Complex Building Intelligence

Ordnance Survey (OS) has unveiled a major step forward for dealing with these problems by compiling a concept called Complex Building Intelligence for its Partner Channel* to deliver.

Introduced at the Connected Britain event in September 2023, to a significant buzz among players in the altnet industry, Complex Building Intelligence allows users to identify and classify multi-dwelling units through a location analytics service.

The analytics pulls data from multiple sources into one new single layer, combining OS’s addressing, topographic and building height data with HM Land Registry** and Royal Mail PAF data.

Attributes for complex buildings are all available in one place, including: building geometry (e.g. size and shape), building height, functional use of buildings (e.g. retail or education), key infrastructure sites (e.g. hospitals), Unique Property Reference Numbers*** and tenure data for England and Wales (e.g. registered owner or leaseholders).

The full analytics service contains 7.2 million addresses shown within 1.2m buildings around Britain.

The solution incorporates HMLR Title Number data and information about land ownership. For altnets, this streamlines the wayleave consent process when installing telecoms equipment on private land. It also means altnets are no longer forced to licence HMLR and OS data separately when seeking correct land ownership data for sites.

OS’s Strategic Product Manager Richard Crump said: “We have observed the challenges surrounding complex building that telecoms providers face, for some time.

“Having listened and had conversations about these difficulties with many voices in the industry, OS has gone away and developed a solution for its partners that provides a single source of truth in one place.

“Complex Building Intelligence basically removes all the complexity of data management – whether that’s collating the data or querying it.

“It’s a simple, easy-to-use analytics service, kept up to date by experts, that’s ready to load into anyone’s network planning or GIS software.

“It enables better planning and cost efficiencies because users can identify complex properties ahead of time, particularly when organising and attending premises for works.

“Having that data at a click of a button reduces the time needed for planning, which means quicker roll out, improved customer service, and an advantage over competitors.”

OS support

Richard added: “OS provides the expertise to help support the OS Partner Channel in using Complex Buildings Intelligence. We help the telecoms industry easily identify buildings with multiple residential units, or mixed-use residential and commercial buildings. We can help pinpoint commercial-use buildings with multiple tenants, and identify important land ownership information from HMLR.

“We can also help identify building heights where additional equipment for working at heights may be needed.

“The service takes from OS’s National Geographic Database, the advantage being that complex buildings with extensions or separate structures can be dissolved into a single shape.

“Plus, the data involved is updated quarterly so everyone in the industry is kept informed as new developments come on the system.”

Find out more information about Complex Building Intelligence.

* OS Channel Partners leverage their expertise, so their customers benefit from premium OS data sets through their bespoke solutions and services. This expands the reach of OS, its customer base, and brings with it sector expertise and market knowledge.

** HM Land Registry data comes from the HLMR National Polygon Service and Corporate Ownership.

*** Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs) serve as a unique identifier for an addressable location, whether that’s a building, bus stop or post box — think of it as a national insurance number or car registration plate for a location.