The overhead is a technical term within the industry to describe telegraph poles. It's not immediately obvious to an outsider.
When the next "here today gone tomorrow" bunch of cowboys set up Wondercom who install a mast outside your front door and run some wires above your property to get from the roadside to a customer backing onto your property then you can thank
OFCOM and HMG (for) get(ting) their fingers out of their ****
.
Reluctance on behalf of HMG is largely driven by what has gone before. No doubt you will recall that the cable TV companies did such a wonderful job in hiring the cheapest available contractors for installing their network. Besides the damage to water pipes, gas mains, pavements etc. they chopped through a number of tree roots, killing many in the process. They quickly became known as squirrels. as what do they have in common ?
They both f@ck up trees.