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VIRTUALISATION Broadband surge in UK shows need to breakup Telstra, says CCC
VIRTUALISATION Broadband surge in UK shows need to breakup Telstra, says CCC | Broadband surge in UK shows need to breakup Telstra, says CCC |
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| by Stuart Corner | |
| Wednesday, 12 August 2009 | |
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Ofcom attributed this surge in the number of broadband services supported by unbundled local loops to "a set of legally-binding undertakings that Ofcom agreed with BT Group plc in September 2005." These undertakings required BT to set up a new division, called Openreach, to provide services to rivals. At the time, according to Ofcom, "there were just 123,000 unbundled lines in the UK and the majority of people could only get their broadband and landline telephone service from one provider - BT." According to CCC executive director, David Forman, "Ofcom directly credits greater competition resulting from these reforms for the dramatic improvements in broadband price and availability. The UK has gone from a laggard to a leader in five years thanks to the separation of BT's retail and network business, and consumers have been the big winners," he said. He noted that "Over 65 percent of households and small businesses now have broadband, up from 37 percent in 2005 when the reforms were introduced. But more dramatically, prices for broadband services [have] fallen by a dramatic 40 percent, from ₤23.30 a month to ₤13.61 for the same service...The UK has gone from a laggard to a leader in five years thanks to the separation of BT's retail and network business, and consumers have been the big winners." However the reality is not quite so simple. Although an Ofcom press release did attribute the outcome solely to the BT undertakings, the explanation given in the report itself suggested other factors as being significant.
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