https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/10/07/openreach_trials_new_tech_to_bring_fibre_to_rural_areas/

BT's duct-off broadband arm Openreach is trialling "a range of new tools and techniques" to deploy full-fibre in 13 rural locations - in what it says is a first response to £5bn of promised government funds.

Some 11 million people in the UK, or approximately 17 per cent of the population, live in rural areas, according to government stats.