UK Regulator Sets Out Plans to Boost Fiber Broadband Competition
March 29 2019 - 7:04AM
Dow Jones News
By Adria Calatayud
U.K. telecommunications regulator Ofcom on Friday laid out plans
to promote competition and investment in fiber broadband
networks.
Ofcom said it will take different approaches in different parts
of the country, depending on the intensity of network
competition.
In urban areas where there is higher competition, Ofcom will
only set prices for entry-level superfast services, giving
providers the option to set prices for higher-speed and
higher-quality services.
In more rural areas where there is no prospect of networks
competing, Ofcom will allow BT Group PLC's (BT) infrastructure arm
Openreach to spread the costs of fiber investments across a wider
group of consumers, it said.
Ofcom proposed opening up access in rural areas to Openreach's
so-called dark fiber--unused fiber optic cables--so competitors
have physical access to Openreach's fiber cables based on costs,
including a return on Openreach's investment.
The regulator said it plans to help Openreach move customers to
fiber from its copper networks, once the business has built its
full-fiber networks. The regulator will allow greater flexibility
for Openreach in setting prices for copper-based broadband products
to allow a managed transition to fiber services, it said.
The proposals will be open to consultation until June 7, Ofcom
said. The regulator plans to launch a wider set of proposals,
including market definition, market power and remedies in December,
it said.
Write to Adria Calatayud at
adria.calatayudvaello@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 29, 2019 06:49 ET (10:49 GMT)
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