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Author Topic: Ofcom Aid Full Fibre Broadband by Stopping Targeted BT FTTC Price Cuts  (Read 1265 times)

Bowdon

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https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2017/12/ofcom-aid-full-fibre-broadband-stopping-targeted-bt-fttc-price-cuts.html

Quote
The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has opened a new consultation on a change to help foster the roll-out of “full fibre” (FTTP/H) broadband networks by preventing BT from reducing its wholesale charges for slower hybrid fibre (FTTC) connections in areas where rivals are building new networks.

The somewhat 11th hour move forms part of the regulator’s on-going 2017 Wholesale Local Access Market Review (WLAMR) and follows concerns raised by a number of alternative network operators, most of which are currently trying to roll-out some very expensive new FTTP/H services.

In recent months a number of independent fibre optic providers, such as Hyperoptic, Gigaclear, Cityfibre and Vodafone, among others, have announced significant deployments of Gigabit capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) style networks (examples here and here). Not to mention that Openreach and Virgin Media also have their own FTTP expansion plans and aspirations.

Quote
Ofcom’s Statement

This will make clear that BT is prohibited from targeting areas of competitive entry by varying its wholesale rental prices by geography for this review period. In effect, this would require BT to maintain its uniform national pricing approach for Openreach’s GEA-FTTC rental services and G.fast.

While we are trying to promote competition in superfast and ultrafast broadband services, we recognise that the benefits of this provision could be undermined if BT were able to target price cuts to services currently used alongside GEA-FTTC to deliver SFBB and UFBB (i.e. MPF and WLR). We are therefore also proposing that the restriction would apply to the copper bearer necessary for any GEA-FTTC service.

We do not propose that this measure should extend to BT’s GEA-FTTP services. We consider that extending the policy to GEA-FTTP services would do little to help nascent network investment by rivals. This is because BT could not quickly change prices for FTTP services because it would itself need to deploy an FTTP network, and in any case given BT’s current limited plans for FTTP it is likely that any overlap with competitor FTTP would be small. In contrast, it could rapidly change prices for existing services and for new services such as G.fast, which are quicker to deploy than FTTP.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-2/wla-competition-superfast-ultrafast-broadband

What are you guys opinions on this move? I know from reading the threads that it was mentioned a few times about how isp's offering low prices was holding investment back in future technologies i.e. fttp.

Is this helpful in the right way?
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ejs

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Re: Ofcom Aid Full Fibre Broadband by Stopping Targeted BT FTTC Price Cuts
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2017, 06:14:26 PM »

I thought that the Ofcom imposed regulated prices for 40/10 FTTC were going to be so low that I wouldn't have thought BT would be cutting those any further anyway. So only Ofcom is allowed to cut BT's prices.
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Dwight

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Re: Ofcom Aid Full Fibre Broadband by Stopping Targeted BT FTTC Price Cuts
« Reply #2 on: January 12, 2018, 08:43:31 PM »

I am Guessing this is what PlusNet refer to as Low price areas!
But you would of thought that once OR have installed the FTTC infrastructure. The price would gradually fall to the market force, but that would be below the infrastructure cost for FTTP even though city wise this is probably a lot less than village/small town level of cost.
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