Broadband boom saves BT from break-up

By Graeme Wearden, ZDNet.co.uk, 17 July, 2002 10:45

NEWS

The recent surge in broadband take-up in the UK has saved BT from the threat of being forced to split its retail and network operations. UK telecoms regulator Oftel published its response to the Culture Media and Sport Committee report on communications on Wednesday, and ruled out breaking up BT. It insists that it has enough powers to deal with anti-competitive behaviour. "Because Oftel has sufficient regulatory powers to develop a competitive broadband market, the option of breaking up BT is therefore not on its current agenda. Competition in the broadband market continues to increase, with prices cheaper in the UK than in France or Germany," said Oftel. Key to Oftel's decision is the boom in the number of people signing up for broadband, following the price cuts made by BT earlier this year. "The UK is on course for 750,000 broadband connections by the end of July," added Oftel. On 1 May the Culture Media and Sport Committee has recommended that Oftel, or its successor Ofcom, should consider separating BT's network business from the rest of the company. Such a move, the select committee claimed, would increase competition in the UK's broadband market. Cable & Wireless told the committee that BT was to blame for the poor take-up of broadband in the UK compared to other countries, and urged that action be taken against it. The select committee held its hearings in the first few months of this year, and since then there has been a significant improvement in the health of the UK's broadband market -- largely thanks to a change of heart at BT. Soon after becoming BT's chief executive at the start of this year, Ben Verwaayen announced a new policy towards broadband. Slashing the wholesale cost of ADSL, to £14.75 (exc. VAT) per month from £25 (exc. VAT) per month, allowed ISPs to offer broadband for less than £30 per month. As ZDNet UK reported last week, broadband take-up is now booming. At the time the select committee was hearing evidence only 126,000 customers were using BT Wholesale's ADSL -- six months on, there are at least 280,000 ADSL end-users. BT has been accused many times -- including at the select committee hearings -- of obstructing the process of local-loop unbundling (LLU) so as to ensure it monopolised the wholesale broadband market. BT has denied making it difficult for its rivals to install equipment at its exchanges to they can offer their own wholesale services -- and there is evidence that LLU may be reviving. Easynet said earlier this month it was making a good progress with its LLU rollout, while Bulldog -- formerly one of BT's most strident critics -- has teamed up with the incumbent telco to launch an SDSL service for London businesses.

See the Broadband News Section for the latest on cable modems, ADSL, satellite and other high-speed access technologies, including a comprehensive guide to the best deals out there. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the Telecoms forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

ZDNet UK Live

Make that 13 people now - I got refused today at Manchester airport. I thought I was up to date on this legislation - I knew of the EU ruling from...

1 hour ago by bootlegger on UK airport body scans will not be opt out

Don't forget to check out apps like GoodReader or SlideShark either, they're indispensible for people on the go in presentation situations. Best...

4 hours ago by tinycg on Four top iPad apps for people on the move

Well it seems there is something a number of us agree on. Why is the Ubuntu Unity launcher so ugly? I thought perhaps it was something to do with...

8 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Duplicate comments are not made intentionally. Its very good to know that now you are keeping check on this problem because sometimes a commenter...

18 hours ago by Freebies202 on Microsoft fixes blog comments, speeds up blogs with open source

"the very significant number of users" and "many (most) of us" - you have no evidence for these statements. It is a fact that most users are saying...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Another grammar faux pas is the improper use of "you". When sitting down down in a restaurant, for example, I get cringe when the waitress...

1 day ago by via Facebook on 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid

And NOW, folks, for Canonical's next trick... Kubuntu is late. Here's a pencil. Draw your own conclusions. cf.:...

1 day ago by zdnetukuser on Linux Minterface

@kevinmchapman. The discussion here reflects the very significant number of users who really do like the traditional menu system and who wish to...

1 day ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Er, no... It is an efficient means of finding the application/file/setting you need in one place. The icons are a simply a fallback for when you...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

1 day ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

2 days ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

2 days ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

2 days ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

2 days ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

2 days ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

2 days ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

2 days ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Broadband boom saves BT from break-up

Daily Newsletters

Topics

Related stories

Broadband prices to halve by 1 April

Broadband take-up doubles in six months

MPs push for regulatory action against BT

Select committee told that BT must lose local loop

BT throws down broadband gauntlet

Post your comment

ZDNet UK Live

Latest in IT Strategy

Heart of England NHS begins massive digitisation plan

Hard-drive woes hit PC shipments in fourth quarter

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

PHP Web Developer - html, css, javascript

Java Developer, Online Gaming, London

Quant Dev, Hedge Fund, FX, Excel VBA

Inside ZDNet UK

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

BlackBerry Bold 9790

Make faster, smarter decisions using BI

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault

News & Analysis

Reviews

Blogs

Resources

About Us

Member Services

Special Features

Advertising Features

ZDNet UK / News and Analysis / Business of IT / IT Strategy

Broadband boom saves BT from break-up

Daily Newsletters

Topics

Related stories

Post your comment

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

Latest in IT Strategy

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Inside ZDNet UK

Resources

About Us

Member Services

Special Features

Advertising Features