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UK: BT and Virgin Media team up against Ofcom regulation

By  |  April 5, 2015

BT and Virgin Media have written a joint letter to Ofcom asking the regulator to abandon plans to open up high-speed broadband networks to rivals.

The Financial Times reports that the two parties argued any attempt to allow smaller rivals to access networks would decrease investment and raise prices for consumers, claiming that the “significant regulatory uncertainty” would “undermin(e) the return on sunk investments and therefore disincentivis(e) future infrastructure investments.”

The unlikely pair claimed to be “very concerned” by calls for regulation, adding that “allowing multiple operators to tamper with the physical network will cause service faults for customers”.

The letter implored Ofcom not to abandon its current approach, arguing that “effective and growing competition in retail business connectivity markets, where there is little remaining regulation required.”

 

Full Content: The Financial Times

 

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