CityFibre asks watchdog to level playing field after BT-EE merger
High speed fibre optic firm CityFibre has attacked BT, saying its planned acquisition of EE would “stifle innovation” and “deliver little tangible benefit for consumers”.
CityFibre revealed the objection this morning, saying that it submitted a formal complaint to the Competition Markets Authority (CMA) on Friday.
The company demanded Ofcom be allowed to enforce extra regulatory measures on BT should the acquisition be allowed to proceed in order to deliver a “level playing field.”
CityFibre is currently in a contract with 3 to roll out its fibre optic network and has had ongoing discussions with Vodafone regarding supporting their enterprise customers.
The complaint coincides with the CMA’s recent scrutiny of £12.5bn merger, with calls from some operators and networks – including CityFibre – for the watchdog to look into the separation of BT from its broadband service Openreach.
A spokesman for BT dismissed the concerns raised, saying: “BT is the most heavily regulated telecoms company in the world and there is a level playing field as a result. That won’t change as a result of BT acquiring EE.”