Ofcom is calling for BT to reduce the price it charges telecoms providers that use it network to offer broadband and phones services.
At present BT's wholesale arm, BT Openreach, charges £91.50 per year for both a broadband and phone line, while a net connection only is priced at £14.70. However, under proposals submitted by Ofcom to the European Commission, these could fall to £87.41 and £11.92 respectively. If approved, the price reduction will come into force in April.
This is the third time Ofcom has forced BT to lower the price it charges. However, the telecoms firm is unhappy with the proposals.
"Whilst the prices are within the range outlined by Ofcom in November, we disagree with some of the underlying assumptions that they have used to determine these charge controls," BT said in a statement.
"Our primary concern throughout this process is to ensure that we are able to achieve a fair rate of return in order to continue our investment in the future of the UK's communications infrastructure. We will consider all options available to us, including appealing, after Ofcom confirms its final decisions."
TalkTalk, one of the firms that uses BT's network said it was "pleased" with the proposals.
"We are pleased that the charges are being reduced - this reflects that BT's charges have been excessive in the past," a spokeswoman said.
Comments
Lites33d said: OFCOM keep reducing BT Openreach wholesale prices and that is a good thing BUT they are missing the other side of this story Openreach apparently you are not supposed to refer to them as BT Openreach even though BTs name and logo are splashed all over every van fibre poster and paperwork and overalls just to make sure you know BT still owns them BTOpenreach are a total monopoly No one else can do work in their exchanges and I personally would not want any Tom Dick or Harry inside the exchanges However because of this they act like a monopoly Huge gaps in time from fault to job completed Jobs not completed signed off as completed resulting in a fault Which then counts as another job Failure to make and keep appointments timely Can turn up anytime between 8 and 1 and 1 and 6 But if you are not there at 801 they f off and it takes days to get another appointment Make people who dont start work till 9 have to open at 8 and then the engineer comes at 1255They need stricter legislation on their performance and when they do not deliver on those performance standards they need severe fines
John said: BT should have a 2 tier pricing policy Customers who are unlikely to get a fast broadband let alone a super fast broadband connection in the near future say 12 months shoul pay a sum of say 25-50 of Infinity pricesWe in the parts of the country that have SLOW BRADBAND are second class citizens