Bt Share Discussion Threads

[christh] 01/12/2016 10:02

is ofcom a corrupt organisation?

It seems that is one sided always attacking BT.
SKY, Virgin, Vod,Talk-Talk,O2 are getting away all the time.
All these are BT customers, they are using BT's network to supply broadband to their customers,long distance telephony and data,links to other IP's.
In theory BT has no obligation to offer them any part of its network.
They should go and install their own cables, their own equipment but expect to use BT and have it for free.
BT needs to address these issues with those operators and make them pay dearly.
BT operates the network, maintains it, upgrades it and updates it .
The cost has to be included to the charges of these operators.

I am hoping the new chairman of Openreach, an ex-ofcom director, will shift views and move ofcom's attitude.
see here

[montyhedge] 01/12/2016 09:39

Ofcom and Sharon White it seems want BT to be a non profit making company. 800,000 sharesholders, 364,000 BT pensioners don't agree with her. Line rental will now be under attack.

[excell1] 01/12/2016 09:32

Thanks for the link tonoi. Actually BT comes out well in that article being the company to increase it's charges more modestly.Sky charges are unreal. Luckily I am with BT and pay my land line charges annually and receive a decent discount for doing so.

[christh] 01/12/2016 09:29

dirty politics.
This is what it is.Who's hiding behind it?

Who's pulling the strings?

BT will overcome these ripples and rise to 500p.
Fortunate are those with money that they can top up big time.

[montyhedge] 01/12/2016 09:23

That's the next thing Sharon White will go on about line rental, does that stupid woman want BT to be a non profit making organisation.

[tonio] 01/12/2016 09:20

Well it's been around a while excell1 - Sky being the worst allegedly!
From Feb. 2016

[dipso] 01/12/2016 09:19

Over on the FTSE 250, Talk Talk is the biggest faller on the FTSE 250. It has fallen 5.8% to 150.5p following a downgrade by JPMorgan from "neutral" to "underweight".

The review into landline charges announced today by Ofcom hasn't helped either.

Talk Talk shares have fallen by a third this year.

[excell1] 01/12/2016 09:04

Just another threat in the ongoing dispute.All will be resolved soon.

[tonio] 01/12/2016 09:03

Morning oh great Oracle, whither BT today then?

[montyhedge] 01/12/2016 08:52

Ofcom really dislike BT.

[tonio] 01/12/2016 08:35

From BBC Business Live:
'Ofcom is reviewing the retail market for landline telephone services. Although competition in the telecommunications sector remains strong, the watchdog says all major landline providers have increased their line rental charges by between 28% and 41% in real terms in recent years, Ofcom has found, despite a 25% fall in wholesale costs.

Jonathan Oxley, competition group director at Ofcom, says: “Our evidence shows that landline providers have been raising the price of line rental, even as their costs have been coming down. We’re particularly concerned for older and vulnerable customers, who rely on their landline and are less likely to change provider.” '

Oh dear, doesn't the rental reflect the cost of maintaining the system by Openreach and presumably, I dunno, some contribution towards the cost of extending it with all that wonderful fibre stuff?
I must say good old Plusnet still seems to give a decent 1-year upfront deal.
Whatever, as an old and vulnerable customer all I want is 10Mb/s on copper wires
so I can stream in HD to my heart's content. Good old Ofcom - a real role at last - champion of the old and vulnerable!

[excell1] 30/11/2016 17:59

Would be easy for BT to throw a few gremlins into the current broadband system i.e.
via some unforeseen hacker and see how the likes of Ofcom sort that lot out.You would have the likes of TalkTalk etc.begging BT to get it fixed.

[spendalot] 30/11/2016 17:49

don't think miss white et al are gonna get what think they are, poss a game being played with Ofcom, just my thoughts.

[toon1966] 30/11/2016 08:52

The 'new' broker notes this morning are reiterations of previous assessments, no change in price targets, take this as positive. I notice Deutsche Bank are consistent as ever with their 'sell' note.

[mornington crescent] 30/11/2016 08:39

"Making Openreach more independent is something both BT and Ofcom agree on "

what rubbish

BT clearly do not agree but are being forced to drink from the trough

Ofcom with balls !

Long overdue

[excell1] 30/11/2016 08:17

Think it means a share price of £5.40 if Sharron White is convicted.

[tonio] 30/11/2016 08:11

I love those conviction buys - has a buy ever led to a conviction?

[excell1] 30/11/2016 08:09

New broker notes this morning HSBC BUY £4.70 and Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy at £5.40

[montyhedge] 30/11/2016 08:07

I do see BT back over 400p coming months, it could have been worst, uncertainty out the way.

[montyhedge] 30/11/2016 08:04

So Sharon White caved in to Sky and Talk Talk.

[spendalot] 30/11/2016 06:42

yep BT will come to an agreement, question being who says OR have to accept Sky or TT as customers.

[pacemaker1000] 29/11/2016 23:04

beat me to it Jenny...
expect an announcement soon that BT have now come to an agreement with Ofcom on the terms of legal seperation

[pacemaker1000] 29/11/2016 19:43

Shofip..you're either a Talktalk/Sky mole or have been blinded by their propaganda. Come back when you know what you're talking about.

[jenny tulwought] 29/11/2016 19:35

The Union's take on today's developments:



Ofcom Digital Communications Review 29th November 2016
Ofcom has issued a further interim statement today about the Digital Communications Review (DCR). They have announced that they are pressing ahead with their proposals for the ‘separate legal incorporation’ of Openreach. This is not new – this is what Ofcom proposed back in July when they published their interim findings. In that July report, they proposed that Openreach should become a wholly owned subsidiary of BT, with its own Articles of Association, and that is essentially what they are still proposing. The issues for our members – particularly our members in Openreach – are what would this mean in practice, how would it be done and what would the implications be, particularly for pensions, job security and terms and conditions of employment?
The union, together with Prospect, has expressed a series of concerns and made a series of points to Ofcom about this, in the evidence we submitted to Ofcom in response to their July statement. You can read that evidence here (CWU / Prospect Submission). From this evidence, you will see clearly what our concerns are. In summary, we have said the following:
• The transfer of assets from BT to Openreach (eg: ducts, buildings, exchange equipment etc) would be impossible in engineering terms and could therefore only be done in a wholly arbitrary way. It would be endlessly complex and expensive to accomplish and would do nothing for customer service or in itself add a penny to the amount BT could invest in the network. In fact it could reduce the amount available because it would in itself be a very expensive thing to do. A transfer of assets would, in a legal sense, also make it very hard for us to avoid a TUPE of Openreach’s employees to the new subsidiary -Openreach, which would give us great cause for concern – see below.

• Separate legal incorporation could well be problematic. A key issue would be, who exactly would be making decisions and who would the CEO of Openreach actually be accountable to? But, for the unions, this is perhaps not the most significant issue of all in Ofcom’s proposals. Note that BT has tacitly accepted separate legal incorporation, and has today announced the appointment of a new independent Chair of an Openreach Board. In itself, this aspect of Ofcom’s proposals is not that significant to us and to our members.

• A key issue for us is where everyone in Openreach has to TUPE transfer to Openreach. If, for example, this resulted in our members in Openreach no longer being able to be active members of the BTPS this would be ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE to both CWU and Prospect. But in fact Ofcom do seem to understand the deep significance of this to our members, and say they are seeking to ensure that there is a framework to enable membership of the BTPS to continue. We would also be concerned about job security and terms and conditions of employment in the context of any TUPE – and we have been very clear with Ofcom (and with BT) about this. Our very strong preference would be to ensure that any massive TUPE is avoided, and again we have been very clear with Ofcom about that.


• Any proposals from Ofcom which undermined the BT Pension Scheme Covenant (the ability of BT to stand behind the BTPS as the scheme’s sponsor) would be unacceptable to us, and would also be an own goal for Ofcom, as it would result in the BTPS deficit becoming in our view substantially larger, and that would in itself potentially massively undermine investment in the network. You will see from our evidence that we have pressed Ofcom very hard on this. The BTPS Trustee has also submitted evidence on this and has made exactly the same point.

Contrary to some of the headlines that the press has published today, this process is not at an end. In process terms, what Ofcom has actually said is that it is taking a twin track approach:
• On the one hand, it hopes to reach an agreement with BT about the nature of this separate legal incorporation of BT (this is not a change from its position in July, when it was saying exactly this)

• On the other hand, it is also preparing for a situation where no agreement is reached, in which case it would need to issue a ‘Notice’ to the European Commission effectively asking for the EU’s agreement to its proposals. Should no agreement be reached, the issue goes to the European Commission, which would then need to embark on its own consultations – where one of the bodies it would formally consult would be the trade unions, as that requirement is written into the European legislation. This is not new either. This was exactly what Ofcom was saying in July.

We and Prospect will continue to make representations to Ofcom, and continue to remain in close contact with BT over this issue. Whilst this issue is now moving to a conclusion, it has not reached that point just yet. When it does, we will of course communicate further.
Yours sincerely

Andy Kerr
Deputy General Secretary (T&FS)