Fujitsu pulls out of Welsh fibre broadband funding process

Fujitsu has withdrawn from the government's tender process to roll out fibre optic broadband across Wales.

Telecoms firms have the chance to bid for a share of £530 million of state funding to subsidise broadband deployments in rural areas, but Fujitsu is no longer interested in taking advantage of this opportunity in Wales, reports PC Pro.

"After careful consideration, Fujitsu felt the risk levels within the Welsh government contract terms were too high and therefore had no alternative but to withdraw," the company explained.

However, the company stressed it is still interested in next-generation broadband projects in other regions, provided the terms and conditions of the deal are "more agreeable".

Fujitsu has previously outlined plans to roll out fibre optic broadband to five million homes in rural parts of Britain, in partnership with Cisco, TalkTalk and Virgin Media.

Sources within the industry told PC Pro that Fujitsu's withdrawal puts BT in the driving seat, thus undermining the goal of a competitive tender process.