Companies news March 2017

Ofcom developments:

Ofcom announced that BT is to be fined £42m for breaching contracts with telecoms providers in relation to compensation payments for delays in connecting high speed Ethernet services. Ofcom found that, between January 2013 and December 2014, BT misused the terms of its contracts to reduce compensation payments owed to other telecoms providers for failing to deliver Ethernet services on time. BT must compensate all the telecoms providers who faced financial loss because of its conduct within twelve months and will be fined a further £300K for failing to provide accurate and complete information to Ofcom. BT issued a statement in response to Ofcom’s ruling.

Ofcom also announced new measures to encourage investment in full fibre networks and promote competition, in relation to its Wholesale Local Access Market Review. Ofcom proposes to maintain its policy of pricing flexibility for Openreach’s fastest broadband products, including those based on BT’s own network investments in full-fibre and its new G.Fast technology. Competition will be promoted by cutting the wholesale price that Openreach can charge telecoms companies for its superfast broadband service, with the expectation that savings are passed on to consumers.

The proposals also include stricter requirements on Openreach to repair faults and install new broadband lines more quickly. Ofcom’s consultations close on 9 June 2017 and Ofcom expects to publish its final decisions in early 2018, with new rules taking effect on 1 April 2018. As part of this market review, Ofcom will also consult soon on detailed plans to open up BT’s network of telegraph poles and underground tunnels to competitors.

Also this month from Ofcom:

• A  consultation on proposals to reform Openreach, further to BT’s agreement to the legal separation of Openreach earlier this month. Ofcom is proposing that BT should be released from the Undertakings that it offered to Ofcom in 2005 under which Openreach was originally created.
• A consultation on new compensation proposals for landline and broadband customers when things go wrong. Customers would be entitled to automatic compensation whenever their landline or broadband is not fixed quickly enough, or their new landline or broadband service is not up and running on the day promised, or when an engineer misses a scheduled appointment. The new measures will also provide more transparency in service delivery for SMEs.

Further BT developments this month:

• Openreach announced an expansion of its engineering workforce with plans to recruit 1,500 trainees as part of its drive to improve customer service and invest in the operation of its network.
• Free ultrafast Wi-Fi, mobile charging, calls and local information kiosks are to be deployed in Southwark, in partnership with Intersection and Primesight. The service will be called LinkUK, with more than 100 kiosks expected to be installed, funded by revenues from advertising.
• Cable reported that a family-run business in Gillingham, Kent, has become the first paying customer to sign up to Openreach’s G.fast broadband service.
• ISP Review reported on cuts to Openreach’s 100Mbit/s and 1Gbit/s Ethernet prices and also that BT’s fibre to the premise (FTTP) service now covers 435,000 premises.

Other companies news this month:

• Virgin Media announced that it is to offer 100Mbit/s services as standard in future, with its top speed rising to 300Mbit/s.
• BBC News and the Telegraph reported that Virgin Media overstated its Project Lightning broadband expansion; the company has suspended four members of staff and begun an investigation.
• ISP Review reported that Virgin Media and Vodafone have reopened talks regarding a possible asset swap.
• The Telegraph reported on the launch of broadband services by First Utility, which supplies gas and electricity to around 900,000 households.
• ISP Review reported on plans by Optic Networks to roll out a new 10Gbit/s capable fibre optic broadband network in the UK.