BT dealt a blow as Ofcom rules rivals could get control of its fibre-optic cables
BT could be forced to hand over control of its fibre-optic cables to rivals, as regulator Ofcom insisted this would increase competition.
At the moment, rivals such as Vodafone and TalkTalk lease lines from BT’s Openreach network, which is designed for companies, mobile-phone and broadband firms to use. They depend on BT to provide the service.
But Ofcom wants BT to give access to its so-called “dark-fibre” lines, so they can be directly controlled by rivals.
The name comes from the idea that they are not “lit up” by BT but by someone else.
It is a victory for BT’s rivals who criticised its £12.5 billion takeover of EE and demanded interventions from the regulator to reduce the risk of the former monopoly having an unfair advantage.
BT said Openreach creates a level playing field, adding: “Mandating dark fibre risks favouring a few companies that have the greatest capability to deploy it, to the disadvantage of all other firms.”
It comes in the week BT handed out £78 million worth of shares to 1000 employees in bonuses, including chief executive Gavin Patterson, who pocketed nearly £2 million worth.
