Ofcom Proposes to Open BT Fiber for Business Lines

By Ian Walker

LONDON--Ofcom, the U.K. telecoms regulator, said Friday BT Group PLC (BT.A.LN) must give competitors physical access to its fiber-optic cables and proposes new, minimum quality of service performance requirements on Openreach.

In addition, Ofcom said Openreach must meet the original installation dates it promises customers in 80% of cases by 2016, and then 90% by 2018.

"Since 2011, the average time between a customer's order and the line being ready has increased from 40 to 46 working days. The first new quality of service rule would require Openreach to return this average to 40 working days by 2017, and maintain it thereafter," the regulator said.

Openreach is BT's unit that installs and maintains connections to BT's network on behalf of competing providers.

"Today's proposals should help businesses across the U.K. 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," Ofcom Competition Group Director Jonathan Oxley said.

The measures are part of Ofcom's business connectivity market and are subject to consultation which closes on July 31. Ofcom expects to publish its final decisions in the first quarter of 2016, taking effect in April 2016.

Write to Ian Walker at [e-mail]; @IanWalk40289749

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