We live in a world where fast, reliable connectivity is as necessary as water, electricity or roads. Yet in many new developments, it’s still treated as an after-thought, installed once homes are already occupied. Residents move in, only to face months of poor mobile signal and patchy broadband while contractors return to dig up newly finished pavements and disturb finished landscaping. The result is entirely avoidable disruption and mess.
What if we flipped that model? What if the digital infrastructure was built in, not added later?
This is the principle behind Telecommunications Infrastructure in New Developments (TIND) policy in Australia, a framework designed so new communities arrive with fibre-ready, mobile-ready infrastructure. The question is: could the UK adopt a similar mindset and embed “connectivity readiness” into the very fabric of new developments?
UNDERSTANDING THE TIND POLICY
TIND is an Australian Government policy that mandates the inclusion of telecommunications infrastructure in all new residential and mixed-use developments, both existing and future sites. Its two key objectives are:
- To provide people moving into new developments with ready access to modern telecommunications, both voice and broadband
- To support a competitive and sustainable market for the provision of such infrastructure, thereby fostering efficiency, innovation and choice
In effect, TIND requires developers to include:
- ‘Pit & pipe’ (ducting) for fibre and/or mobile small cells
- Design for mobile coverage and broadband connectivity from day-one (not as a retrofit)
- Early collaboration between developers, utilities and telecommunications providers so infrastructure cost and complexity are minimised
In Australia’s context, where many communities are remote or off-grid, this approach allows developments to be self-sufficient, wired or wirelessly served and built for the future. The UK, though geographically more compact, faces similar challenges of location, economics and connectivity readiness.
WHERE THE UK FALLS SHORT
The UK has introduced obligations for developers: since 26 December 2022, the Building etc. (Amendment) (England) No. 2 Regulations 2022 require new homes to have gigabit-capable physical infrastructure installed (where cost does not exceed £2,000 per dwelling), and if a gigabit link cannot be achieved within cost then the next-fastest available link must be installed. If no connection is possible within the cost cap then at least the physical infrastructure is required.
Yet the reality on the ground shows some significant shortcomings:
- According to Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2024 report, 69% of UK homes (around 20.7 million) had access to full-fibre broadband as of July 2024. An interim update published in Spring 2025 shows that coverage has since grown to nearly three-quarters of all households, around 22.5 million, or 74%.
- While that’s a positive trend, it still means nearly one-in-three homes lack full-fibre access and connectivity in new builds is not always embedded at source
- One thinkbroadband analysis of new-build properties notes that while full-fibre availability in new build homes is consistently high (98%), a significant majority have only one provider, limiting consumer choice
- Developers face competing priorities, affordable housing, energy standards, EV-charging infrastructure, landscape standards, and digital connectivity sometimes falls through the cracks
- When infrastructure is delayed until after occupation, homes may sit for months without full broadband, mobile coverage may lag, and disruption (digging pavements, installing masts) can frustrate residents and local authorities
In short, the ambition is there, but many developments still rely on a “build first, fix connectivity later” model, rather than designing connectivity from the outset.
HOW SMART POLES COULD FILL THE INFRASTRUCTURE GAP
This is where smart infrastructure, specifically the concept of a multifunctional smart pole, offers a compelling solution, bridging the gap between policy intent and developer practice.
Take Connected Urban from CU Phosco: a modular smart-pole platform designed to support a suite of services: lighting, communications, sensors, EV-charging, small-cells; all packaged as a kerbside ready asset.
Key benefits for developers include:
- “Build-ready, connect-later”: The pole serves as the physical conduit for connectivity (ducting, power, mounting) so as technologies evolve (5G/6G, IoT, EV-charging) the infrastructure is already in place
- Reduced cost and complexity: By combining lighting and digital infrastructure in one compact structure, utilities are integrated rather than layered, avoiding multiple contractors and disruptive retrofits
- Location flexibility: Especially in off-grid or peripheral sites (where traditional fibre links might be costly), the smart-pole platform allows wireless backhaul, small-cells or satellite connectivity to be delivered as part of the infrastructure package
- Future-proofing and public acceptance: Smart poles are less visually intrusive than monopoles, and local authorities are increasingly supportive of integrated street-furniture rather than stand-alone masts
- Developer compliance: These platforms support meeting the developer obligations under the 2022 Regulations, gigabit-ready infrastructure at the kerbside, with the capacity to deliver connectivity to each dwelling
By treating the smart pole as part of the utilities palette (alongside power, water, telecoms) and deploying it at the design stage, developers can align with connectivity + urban design + decarbonisation goals simultaneously.
A CASE FOR POLICY ALIGNMENT
If the UK is to shift from reactive fixes to genuinely “digital-by-design” development, policy and planning frameworks will need to evolve. A good starting point is to treat digital infrastructure in the same way we already treat drainage, energy strategy or landscaping: as a requirement of the planning process rather than a detail to be resolved later. Local authorities could ask developers to submit a clear digital-infrastructure plan as part of their application, ensuring that fibre routes, small-cell locations and smart street-furniture are considered before construction begins, not after occupations have started.
Similarly, early engagement between developers and telecoms providers, a principle embedded in Australia’s TIND policy, would help avoid costly retrofits and ensure network capacity is designed in from the outset. Incentives could also play a role. Fast-tracked approvals or targeted funding would encourage the adoption of “smart-ready” assets, such as multifunctional poles that combine lighting, communications and even EV infrastructure in a single, future-proofed structure. Recognising these assets as part of a development’s core utilities schedule, rather than optional enhancements, would further reinforce the message that digital access is fundamental to modern living.
Taken together, these measures would signal a cultural shift: that digital infrastructure is no longer a bolt-on service, but an essential utility.
FROM FIBRE TO FUTURE CITIES
Fibre-to-the-premises remains the gold standard for fixed broadband, and UK coverage is improving steadily. But even as availability grows, developers still face real-world challenges: uneven provider presence, delays in network activation, cost-cap limitations, and the practical difficulty of coordinating fibre installation before homes are occupied.
This is where smart-pole infrastructure offers a complementary, future-ready solution. By providing a built-in platform for wireless backhaul, small-cells, Wi-Fi, IoT sensors and even EV-charging, smart poles allow developments to deliver high-quality digital services from day one, even while fibre is still being rolled out. And once gigabit networks arrive, the same infrastructure can simply be upgraded or reconfigured, without further disruption to residents or the public realm.
In this way, the pole evolves from a basic lighting column into a flexible digital utility: a structure that supports today’s requirements while creating space for the connectivity, automation and data-driven services of tomorrow.
IN SUMMARY
Australia’s TIND policy shows what’s possible when policy and planning converge. The UK now has the opportunity to do the same, to integrate connectivity at the design stage, to elevate it to utility status, and to deploy smart infrastructure that supports not just homes, but entire communities.
Smart poles offer a practical, commercial, future-proof platform that can help developers meet their mandated connectivity obligations, even in off-grid or challenging locations and with reduced cost and complexity.
The question isn’t if we should plan for connectivity. It’s when. And the time is now.