16 May 2016

British telecoms, FCS and INCA providers propose improvements to BT's Openreach in 10-point plan to Ofcom

Telecoms providers, Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone UK and two industry associations, the Federation of Communication Services (FCS) and the Independent Networks Cooperative Association (INCA), are challenging Ofcom to deliver on its promises to reform BT’s Openreach subsidiary and future-proof Britain’s voice and broadband capabilities.

In an open letter this morning (published below), the signatories present Ofcom CEO Sharon White with a 10-point road-map to ensure Openreach is fit to equip the nation for future challenges.

“We believe it’s vital the people who decide what ‘good’ looks like should be Openreach’s customers,” says Chris Pateman, CEO of the Federation of Communication Services, whose members specialise in serving Britain’s 5 million business customers. “Frankly, FCS was disappointed Ofcom’s review of digital communications stopped short of recommending the complete structural separation of Openreach from the BT Group. Ofcom believe improvements can be delivered without the hassle and delays of a full separation: our 10 point plan represents the industry’s proposals on how this can be accomplished.

"Importantly, as our plan makes clear, we believe this can be accomplished swiftly and cost-effectively, using well-proven corporate governance principles. And it can be benchmarked against experience from other regulated utilities, both in the UK and overseas.