Reform market to deliver fast broadband in the UK

Sir, Every home and business in Britain deserves fast and reliable broadband access. It is essential if Britain is to fulfil its potential to be the world’s leading digital economy. Unfortunately, today’s broadband market is letting customers, businesses and Britain down. It is time we considered radical reform.

Ofcom is conducting the most fundamental review of the communications market in a decade, and has identified serious problems with the ownership of the national telecoms network by BT Openreach. These include a conflict of interest in the role of BT, poor quality of customer service and difficulties in enforcing the existing regulatory regime. The result is a substandard experience for millions of customers and diminished opportunity for alternative providers to compete effectively.

There is an urgent need for increased competition so that alternative providers are encouraged to invest and innovate to solve the challenges ahead. These include investment to deliver broadband coverage in hard-to-reach areas, improved service quality and reliability, fibre products suitable for Britain’s SMEs and new ultrafast broadband services (September 14).

We do not believe the fundamental problems identified by Ofcom can be addressed by tinkering with the regulatory framework. Ofcom has done a good job of delivering competition on the old copper network, but the powers given to it are insufficient for the new superfast world.

It is therefore crucial that Ofcom moves as quickly as possible to ask the Competition and Markets Authority, with its far reaching powers, to undertake a full market investigation. Only the CMA, with the support of Ofcom, can address the structural barriers to competition that will unlock the next wave of investment in communications infrastructure that the country urgently needs. We cannot afford to wait.

Chris Bryce

Chief Executive, Association of

Independent Professionals and the Self

Employed

Chris Pateman

Chief Executive, Federation of

Communication Services

Malcolm Corbett

Chief Executive, Independent Networks

Cooperative Association

Simon Walker

Director-General, Institute of Directors

Jeremy Darroch

Chief Executive, Sky

Dido Harding

Chief Executive, TalkTalk

Jeroen Hoencamp

Chief Executive, Vodafone UK

Letters in response to this letter:

Truth is, Openreach is best kept as part of BT / From Gavin Patterson

Rural England should be a test of broadband policy / From Roy Perry