Commenting on the announcement that BT has agreed to Ofcom’s requirements for the legal separation with Openreach, Richard Neudegg, Head of Regulation at Uswitch.com, says: “This is not the full structural separation many of BT’s retail rivals – including providers served by Openreach’s network – have campaigned hard for.
“What it does is offer a middle ground that gives Openreach independence, while still being owned by BT. It is a step further than the functional separation that led to the creation of Openreach in the first place.
“The industry should now draw a line under the debate on the structure of Openreach, and focus on actually delivering the better service everyone wants to see. Most consumers won’t be bothered whether or not ‘a BT Group business’ is written on the side of Openreach vans, what matters is the UK’s digital infrastructure actually getting better in practice.
“Of course, the legal setup of Openreach won’t solve some customers’ frustration with broadband services alone. Ofcom needs to act across the board to ensure competition and service improvements. This includes universal service obligations, quality of service requirements on regulated products, sorting out industry switching processes and automatic compensation when providers fail to deliver.”
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Claire Jones
Phone: 020 7148 4663
Email: Claire.Jones@uswitch.com
Twitter: @uswitchPR
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