Ofcom wants BT to open up dark fibre network to rival ISPs
UK TELECOMS WATCHDOG Ofcom wants BT to open up its dark fibre network to rival operators in a bid to fuel competition and innovation in the ‘leased lines’ market.
BT, which has long come under fire for its broadband market ‘monopoly’, is already required to sell wholesale leased line products to its competitors, and a new proposal from Ofcom would force the company to allow rival ISPs to access the ‘dark fibre’ cables directly with their own equipment, rather than relying on BT to do so.
Ofcom said that today’s proposals will make for faster installation times and promote “competition and innovation” in the leased line market – dedicated high-speed data links used by large businesses and mobile and broadband operators to transfer data on their networks.
The lines also provide links for schools, universities, libraries and other public bodies. Take-up is growing as consumers use more data on smartphones, tablets and connected televisions, and companies use sophisticated internet services.
Ofcom competition group director Jonathan Oxley said: “High-speed fibre optic leased lines are invisible to most people. But they form a critical building block in the UK’s infrastructure that underpins people’s personal and working lives.
“Today’s proposals should help businesses across the UK who rely on high-speed data lines. We want to see more innovation, faster installations and more competition, by providing operators with the opportunity to deploy the technologies of their choice.”
BT said in a statement that the current systems are “level and fair”, and that dark fibre presents new problems.
“Openreach’s current offer creates a level playing field and a vibrant, competitive market with hundreds of competing companies, large and small,” a spokesperson told The INQUIRER.
“Mandating dark fibre risks favouring a few companies that have the greatest capability to deploy it, to the disadvantage of all other firms.
“It will undermine investment – as a number of service providers have warned – and it would also increase costs, divert resources and add more complexity just when we’re beginning to make progress on improving service.”
While the news hasn’t gone down too well with BT, Greg Mesch, CEO of CityFibre, welcomed Ofcom’s proposal.
“CityFibre welcomes Ofcom’s proposal that BT is compelled to make dark fibre available by April 2017 as part of its Business Connectivity Market Review,” he said.
“Dark fibre has been validated worldwide as the only infrastructure platform to deliver cost-effective, future-proof digital connectivity fit for purpose in the decades to come.
“As one of the UK’s largest independent suppliers of fibre infrastructure, CityFibre has long championed making dark fibre widely available in the UK, placing it at the core of our Gigabit City projects in York, Peterborough, Coventry, Aberdeen and Edinburgh over the last three years.”