Ofcom tells BT to open up local access network to competitors

After a thorough review of the UK communications market, Ofcom concluded that access to BT’s local access network remains critical for those companies seeking to compete in the delivery of services such as broadband and traditional voice services.

On the basis of that finding, Ofcom has imposed a number of regulatory obligations on BT, designed to support investment and competition in super-fast broadband.

The new regulatory model will allow competitors to deliver services over BT’s new Next Generation Access (NGA) network.

Not only will BT competitors be able to deploy their own NGA infrastructure between the customer and a local exchange, they will also be able to use BT’s duct and pole infrastructure and physically take over (or share) BT’s copper lines between a customer and a local exchange.

The moves will allow BT’s competitors to roll out super-fast broadband to areas where BT does not plan to deploy its fibre network and to target specific areas earlier than BT’s roll-out.