BT agrees to legally separate Openreach from the company

Published: 10th March 2017 | Source: BBC News | Author: Mark Campbell

BT agrees to legally separate Openreach from the company, ensuring that Openreach treats all of their customers equally and provide better service to all ISPs.

Openreach is the company that controls all the backbone of the UK's broadband infrastructure, selling access to this infrastructure to companies like TalkTalk and Sky. This company is owned and run by BT, creating what Ofcom, a Government approved independent regulator and competition authority for television, radio and telecommunications, has seen as a huge conflict of interest for some time.

BT has now agreed with Ofcom that Openreach should be separated into a separate legal entity, allowing the company to create its own independent strategy and treat all of their customers equally. This will also allow the company to upgrade their infrastructure freely and in ways that benefit all of their customers, preventing BT from exerting any of their influence to harm their competition.

Below is a statement from Ofcom, which says that they are delighted by this decision and that there is no longer a need to force this change with new, potentially restrictive, regulations.

BT has agreed to all of the changes needed to address Ofcom’s competition concerns. As a result, Ofcom will no longer need to impose these changes through regulation. The reforms have been designed to begin this year.
To implement this agreement with the smallest possible effect on BT’s pension scheme, the existing Crown Guarantee would need to be maintained for Openreach staff who are members of BT’s pension scheme.1
The new Openreach will have the greatest degree of independence from BT Group possible without incurring the delays and disruption – to industry, consumers and investment plans – associated with structural separation or the sell-off of Openreach to new shareholders.

BT agrees to legally separate Openreach from the company

These changed will ensure that Openreach will be able to act without the influence of BT, allowing them to treat all of their customers equally. Hopefully, this will allow the company to accelerate their plans to upgrade and further invest in their infrastructure in ways that will benefit all of their customers.

You can join the discussion on BT's plans to make Openreach an independent company on the OC3D Forums.

Most Recent Comments

10-03-2017, 13:23:27

Shingara

On paper this looks good but i worry how this will effect costs etc and how the government will have oversight on fibre and where it runs.Quote

10-03-2017, 13:32:22

Wraith

I'm more concerned about line rental going up, as openreach will now need to boost their profits.Quote

10-03-2017, 13:39:38

Shingara

Well thats what i was meaning with costs, but alot of the cash is via goverment spending. But its things like virgin firbe, see if its in your area andif your like me its not available.

One thing i do wonder, how will this effect the upto advertised speeds. As it stands they are done that way because bt basically controlled it, now openreach is solo could that mean that our upto speeds could change.

As in lets say sky were advertising they had to basically take what bt were taking and go with that, now sky, virgin and the others will be dealing directly with openreach to place there infrastructure.

Doubt it but can always dream.Quote

BT agrees to legally separate Openreach from the company