21st Oct 2014 09:24
LONDON (Alliance News) - UK telecoms regulator Ofcom Tuesday confirmed that there are "no grounds for action" against BT Group PLC over allegations of margin squeeze in superfast broadband pricing, concluding an investigation launched last year after a complaint from TalkTalk Telecom Group PLC.
TalkTalk had alleged that BT had operated a squeeze in the margin between its virtual unbundled local access wholesale prices and superfast broadband retail prices.
Ofcom had provisionally concluded there was no grounds for action in June, and reiterated this in its final decision. However, BT is not out of the woods yet, as at that time it also proposed new requirements for BT to promote competition in the growing superfast broadband market, requiring it to maintain a "sufficient margin" between wholesale and retail prices to allow other operators to match its prices profitably.
The regulator expects to publish its final statement on its decision regarding BT's superfast broadband margin later in the year.
Shares in BT Group are trading up 0.2% at 364.05 pence Tuesday morning, while shares in TalkTalk are trading up 0.5% at 276.30 pence.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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