Zyxel and Openreach Team Up to Reduce Plastic Waste in Full Fibre Installations

A new partnership between Zyxel Communications and Openreach is helping to cut plastic and packaging waste from the UK’s Full Fibre rollout - by deploying re-cycled ‘modems’ to connect customers.

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Zyxel is deploying a range of new Optical Network Terminals (ONTs) - the wall-mounted box of electronics that converts optical signals into electrical ones used by household devices - with re-engineered casings made from 95 per cent recycled plastic.¹

Openreach engineers have already installed half a million of Zyxel’s sustainable ONTs and the network provider expects to install even more this year as customers upgrade to Full Fibre - the UK’s most reliable broadband technology.

The GPON² devices use recycled plastic in their construction and arrive in zero‑plastic minimal packaging made from recycled materials.

Openreach is working with Zyxel and other partners to manufacture the new kit – with casings made from recycled plastic pellets. Pellets come from a variety of sources within the polycarbonate (PC) plastic family, including recycled casings for laptops, tablets or phones, personal safety equipment like face shields and glasses, medical devices, and from headlights, taillights and interior trims in the automotive industry.

The move aligns with Openreach’s Let’s Reach Zero strategy to reduce carbon emissions and waste – including its commitment to remove 100 tonnes of plastic from its supply chain.

Zyxel’s ONTs use built-in Secure Boot technology and incorporate Airoha’s next-generation chipset, helping them meet all the requirements of the Telecommunications Security Act (TSA).

For this rollout, Zyxel created a bespoke ONT specifically for Openreach, designed to make it easier for service providers to move customers onto full fibre with speeds of up to 1.8Gbps.

James Harris, Head of EMEA at Zyxel Communications, said: “As Openreach continues to expand its fibre network across the UK, speed, reliability, security and sustainability are all important factors.”

“We’ve engineered our ONT portfolio to meet these exact standards, enabling Openreach to rapidly scale its multi-gigabit services and continue connecting millions of homes and businesses with confidence.”

“We are pleased to support Openreach’s ‘Let’s reach zero’ strategy. Through close collaboration, we have delivered a customised ONT design that significantly reduces the amount of plastic required in its manufacturing process.”

Trevor Linney, Network Technology Director at Openreach, said: “We’ve already passed more than 22 million homes and businesses to our broadband network, and more people across the UK are choosing Full Fibre as they rely on fast, reliable connectivity more than ever.

“As we continue connecting communities to our network, it’s essential we do so in a way that reduces our environmental impact as well as delivering world‑class technology. A great example of this is moving to 2.5G Ethernet by default, avoiding future truck rolls as customers seamlessly move to higher speeds.”

Abby Chicken, Openreach Head of Sustainability, added: “With Zyxel, we have a partner that shares our focus on reducing the environmental impact of our build - from using recycled materials in the equipment to cutting plastic in packaging - while still supporting secure deployment at scale.”

Openreach has a long tradition of working with suppliers to reduce the amount of plastic and components and a target to remove Single Use Plastics (SUPs) from its top 25 most consumed lines.

Notes to Editors

For additional information, Zyxel will be attending the FTTH Conference 2026, taking place 14–16 April at ExCeL London. Attendees can meet with Zyxel at Booth G22 to discuss Zyxel’s full fibre portfolio and learn more about the Openreach partnership.

About Openreach

We’re the people that make the net work.

Our wholesale broadband network – the UK’s largest – supports more than 680 service providers like BT, SKY, TalkTalk, Vodafone and Zen to provide broadband, TV, phone, data and mobile services to their customers.

Any company can access our network through equal pricing, terms and conditions, and our team of around 28,000 people help deliver services to every community in the UK.

Right now, we’re investing £15bn to build a new Full Fibre broadband network to 25 million homes and businesses by the end of 2026. Work is on track, with the company intending to go even further - to as many as 30 million premises by the end of the decade - assuming conditions for investment remain supportive.

We’ve already reached 22 million premises and we’re passing thousands more every week. And we're retraining thousands of our existing engineers to help build, connect and maintain the new network.

Our new network will help Openreach and its customers to dramatically cut emissions, with research suggesting nationwide Full Fibre broadband could save 400 million commuter trips every year. We're also switching our commercial fleet - the UK's second largest - to zero emissions by 2031.

We’re a wholly owned and independent subsidiary of the BT Group and for the year up to the end of March 2025, we reported revenues of £6.157bn.

Find out more at www.openreach.com.

About Zyxel Communications

Zyxel Communications has been connecting people and networks for over 35 years. Our comprehensive and flexible portfolio helps service providers stay ahead of the competition. With a strong local presence and global reach, we deliver fixed and mobile broadband solutions alongside AI-powered network management solutions that set new standards for the industry.

Follow us on LinkedIn to see what’s happening next.

¹The manufacturing process uses the maximum amount of recycled plastic that can be used (95 per cent) without compromising the structural integrity and strength of the ONT casing.

²Gigabit Passive Optical Network

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