BT frustrated by broadband regulatory delays

According to the Financial Times, BT Group is unhappy about what it sees as unnecessary delays by the British telecoms regulator Ofcom regarding the company’s GBP1.5 billion (USD2.2 billion) plans for high speed fibre-optic broadband network. First announced in July 2008, BT stated that the project would be conditional on a regulatory framework that allowed for a return on its investment that it was satisfied with, and the group had hoped that Ofcom would have finalised the framework by the end of 2008. However, it appears unlikely that the framework will be finished until 2009, after the regulator published its most recent consultation paper in September this year. BT’s primary concern is understood to link to the competitive advantage that rival Virgin Media may gain if the fibre rollout is delayed; Virgin is set to roll out speed of up to 50Mbps by the end of 2008.
Commenting on the issue, Ian Livingston, BT’s chief executive, said, ‘In terms of Ofcom, it is fair to say we have been talking in depth, and Ofcom has been very open and engaged but we do have to make some decisions.’ Ofcom are believed to be considering legislation that would omit price controls on certain fibre-based wholesale products.