Caves to pressure from Ofcom and wider industry,Networks,Telecoms ,BT,OfCom
Openreach will become a separate business after BT bowed to ongoing pressure from Ofcom and industry rivals. However, BT will still legally be the owner of the company and set the budget Openreach is given each year.
The move marks the end of years of debate and disagreement over how Openreach should be managed, with rivals to BT such as Sky, TalkTalk and Vodafone saying it should be an independent company.
Once the split is completed, Openreach will be a fully independent entity within the wider BT Group that will have sole focus on managing the fibre and copper broadband infrastructure that all broadband providers, including BT Retail, use to deliver services.
Some 32,000 staff from Openreach are expected to move from BT to the independent Openreach and it will be run by a CEO and report to the board that oversees Openreach, separate to BT. It will also have its own logo without any BT branding.
However, as noted, BT will still set the budget for Openreach each year. But it will have no say in how Openreach uses this budget while Openreach must consult with those that it serves such as Sky and TalkTalk before beginning any major infrastructure projects.
Sharon White, Ofcom chief executive, said the deal was a significant moment for the UK telecoms sector and should led to improved services for all.
“The new Openreach will be built to serve all its customers equally, working truly independently and taking investment decisions on behalf of the whole industry – not just BT,” she said.
