Ofcom Plans to Make BT's Openreach Network Available to Rivals
April 20 2017 - 6:10AM
Dow Jones News
By Razak Musah Baba
LONDON--The U.K.'s telecoms regulator set out plans Thursday to
make BT PLC's (BT.A.LN) Openreach infrastructure network available
to competitors, enabling them to build fiber broadband networks
more cheaply.
The Office of Communications, commonly know as Ofcom, said the
plan would make it easier for competitors to access BT's existing
telegraph poles, ducts and underground tunnels that carry telecoms
cables.
Ofcom is proposing that other telecom providers should be able
to lay fiber using BT's ducts and poles as easily as BT itself. It
said the cost to BT for providing this access should be spread
across all users.
The regulator is also calling for Openreach to repair faulty
infrastructure and clear blocked tunnels where necessary for
access.
Ofcom said it expected to publish its final decisions in early
2018, with new rules taking effect on April 1 next year.
-Write to Razak Musah Baba at razak.baba@wsj.com; Twitter:
@Raztweet
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 20, 2017 05:55 ET (09:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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