By Graeme Wearden, 18 November 2004 09:30
NEWS
Ofcom has admitted that BT is still failing to give its retail rivals fair and equal access to its telecommuncations network, and threatened the telco with a full legal investigation.
In a damning indictment of the performance of the former telecoms regulator, Ofcom said on Thursday that competition in the UK telecommunications market is "fragile", despite two full decades of regulatory intervention.
Ofcom is proposing that BT changes its existing mechanisms and processes to give its competitors the same access to its wholesale network, at the same price, as BT's own retail arm.
If BT doesn't play ball, Ofcom will launch an investigation under the Enterprise Act, which could result in the Competition Commission getting involved.
BT has argued in the past that it provides a level playing field - but many rivals have disputed this claim.
Ofcom chief executive Stephen Carter said: "Twenty years after liberalisation, the market has made good progress. However, its foundations are unstable in parts, overly dependent on intrusive regulation and with limited sustainable competition."
Carter's comments were delivered in the phase two proposals of Ofcom's Strategic Review of Telecommunications, which was published on Thursday morning.
This review is a major investigation into the UK telecoms market. It has concluded that the market is flawed in two ways - its structure is "unstable" and dominated by BT, and 20 years of regulation have resulted in a "complex regulatory mesh".
BT said early on Thursday morning that it was still examining Ofcom's full report and recommendations, and is expected to respond soon.
Graeme Wearden writes for ZDNet UK.
Comments
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1. Simon
Wow, it's taken 20 years to figure that out !
With the size of BT, they couldn't NOT dominate and control the whole area even if they tried - and you really cannot blame them for doing everything they can within the regulatory framework to protect their own business.
We've seen a whole catalogue of sub-obtimal and protectionist policies over the last two decades : ISDN crippled to prevent it decimating leased lines, ADSL crippled to prevent it decimating leased lines, and ADSL wholesale services priced (with the active support of Oftel) to the point where Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) simply ceased to be viable.
So where does that leave us ? 'Broadband' si defined by a narrow range of wholesale services provided by BT, because (with a couple of exceptions) there simply is not the commercial possibility to get out there and provide innovative, or even different, alternatives. For the majority of us not in London or places served by cable, the choice of broadband is "which BT wholsesale package with an ISPs branding" do you want.
Imagine if cars were like internet access ... "Yes sir, would you like your Ford Escort with a Ford badge ? Or would sir prefer to buy it from another dealer with a different badge on it ?"