Freeserve slams Oftel's BT broadband 'stitch-up'

NEWS Freeserve has accused Oftel of handing BT another tool to build a broadband monopoly and using spin-doctoring techniques to cover it up. The ISP has reacted angrily to Oftel's decision to allow BT Retail to charge for its no-frills internet access product on the 'blue bill' it sends out to its telephone customers. Freeserve sees the ability to charge for broadband on the blue bill as a significant competitive advantage, which will restrict the ability of other ISPs to compete. Freeserve said in a statement: "This fait accompli has been achieved without any industry consultation and with no apparent safeguards in place." "The blue bill, which supports BT's near-monopoly fixed-line phone business, is not available at wholesale and as such is a privilege of BT and BT alone." "This is a clear example of BT being allowed by the regulator to leverage a dominant market position in fixed line telephony to establish a position in broadband." Freeserve has already criticised BT of unfairly favouring its own ISP, BTopenworld, over other ISPs which are not part of the BT group. The angry ISP also criticised the way that Oftel combined the billing announcement with a decision preventing BT Retail from using data about its telephone customers to build targeted marketing campaigns for broadband. It said: "Oftel has used this piece of old news to bury in its press release the fact that it has gifted to BT the anti-competitive advantage of using its blue bill to charge for its own broadband service." "Under physical separation rules, BT is already prevented from using customer information to market its own internet access services." A BT spokesman welcomed the announcement about the blue bill, and conceded that the decision about cross-marketing had been expected. "That's always been the case," he said. An Oftel spokeswoman justified the blue bill decision on the basis that it was a convenience for customers and denied that the regulator had been dabbling in the black arts of spin. "Oftel has recognised that it is important to update and clarify the position on billing and marketing for BT retail. There are two main points in the release and I don't think it's fair to say that we have buried anything," she said.