British Regulator Plans Measures to Increase Fiber Broadband Investment
February 23 2018 - 4:46AM
Dow Jones News
By Adria Calatayud
The U.K. communications regulator published Friday a set of
draft measures aimed at increasing investment in fiber broadband
networks, and eased its price-control proposal on how much BT Group
PLC (BT.A.LN) should charge rival providers for using its physical
infrastructure.
The Office of Communications, or Ofcom, said it would set a
monthly cap for BT network division Openreach's basic superfast
broadband service of 11.92 pounds ($16.6) by 2021. In March 2017,
Ofcom had proposed setting that price at GBP11.23.
Shares in BT rose in early trade following the news and were up
3.3% at 0915 GMT, while TalkTalk Telecom Group PLC (TALK.LN) was up
2.7%.
The new rules will halve upfront costs of building ultrafast
broadband networks, Ofcom said. BT's broadband infrastructure will
be open to rival providers, which will reduce by half costs of
laying fiber cables and accelerate installation, Ofcom said.
Competing providers will invest in building their own networks only
if this is more attractive than buying wholesale services from BT,
the regulator said.
BT won't be allowed to cut prices in areas where rivals are
starting to build new networks, Ofcom said.
The announcement by the regulator comes on the heels of a series
of plans by U.K. broadband providers that would increase fiber
coverage in the country to up to 20% by 2020 from 3%.
BT, Vodafone Group PLC (VOD.LN) in partnership with CityFibre
Infrastructure Holdings PLC (CITY.LN), TalkTalk and KCOM Group PLC
(KCOM.LN) are among those that have rolled out plans to deliver
fiber connectivity.
Write to Adria Calatayud at
adria.calatayudvaello@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 23, 2018 04:31 ET (09:31 GMT)
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