17th Mar 2026 10:48
(Alliance News) - UK telecommunications regulator Ofcom on Tuesday said it will cap the price that BT Group PLC's subsidiary Openreach can charge retailers to access its 80 megabit-per-second broadband network.
The change, which will take effect on April 1 and last until 2031, comes at the end of a consultation on broadband pricing and infrastructure access which began in October.
The regulatory changes also include quality of service protections surrounding speed and repairs in less populated areas of the UK, as well as flexibility for Openreach to transition customers to its full-fibre networks as it gradually phases out the legacy telephone exchanges running on copper wires.
Competitor access to Openreach's ducts and poles at cost-based prices has instead been maintained so they can deploy their own networks across the country.
In areas where there is a potential for a sustainable competitive market to develop, or where is unlikely to develop, Ofcom will allow a GBP1 per month uplift within its inflation-indexed charge control for fibre-to-the-cabinet rental services offering download speeds of up to 80 megabits per second and upload speeds of up to 20 megabits per second.
The charge control measure currently applies to speeds up to 40 megabits in download.
Openreach should also not incur in "unnecessary costs" by running two parallel networks, and has been granted the retainment of the current transfer regulations set in 2021 which progressively move from copper to fibre services.
Ofcom said it is supportive of Openreach's objectives of moving existing copper customers to the fibre network, and is in consultation on determining the specific conditions when charge control measures will stop apply to the legacy network.
Ofcom will determine in 2031 if sustainable competition will still be emerging in its next review, and said it will regulate the market accordingly.
Should price controls be forced upon Openreach, the company "would have the opportunity to earn a return above the cost of its investment over time", otherwise, Ofcom could drop price controls altogether as there would be no need "to regulate beyond access to ducts and poles".
Ofcom Group Director for Infrastructure and Connectivity Natalie Black said: "Five years ago, we put in place new rules to drive competition between networks and get them building full-fibre broadband, which now reaches nearly eight in 10 homes and offices across country".
"[Now] we're creating the right conditions for the fibre rollout in its final phase. Our review of the rules has been an extensive and complex undertaking given the nature of the market, and we appreciate the considered engagement from the sector," she added.
Ofcom said 87% of the UK now has access to gigabit-capable networks, and full-fibre coverage stands at 78% compared to 6% in 2018. It expects full-fibre to reach almost 29 million properties by the end of next year.
BT Group shares were up 2.2% to 219.23 pence each on Monday morning in London.
By Martin Miraglia, Alliance News reporter
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