Telecommunications giant BT expected to avoid being broken up from Openreach, in verdict due this Thursday February 21, 2016 BT is expected to avoid having its infrastructure arm Openreach carved out this week, following months of campaigning for a split by the company’s rivals. City A.M. understands the decision will be announced on Thursday in Ofcom’s Digital Communications Review, though will reportedly include requirements for minimum-service standards between Openreach and BT’s rivals Vodafone, Sky, and [...]
Economic think tank calls for Openreach to be carved out from BT as Ofcom deadline looms February 17, 2016 BT faces fresh calls for its broadband infrastructure arm Openreach to be hived off today, after economists at the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) found the UK is falling behind international competitors. The CPS also has warned Britain's current broadband infrastructure market appears anti-competitive and Ofcom should refer the issue to the Competition and Markets Authority [...]
Three owner Hutchison pledges five-year price freeze to ease competition concerns over merger with O2 February 4, 2016 Tens of millions of UK mobile phone customers could see their costs frozen for the next five years, as CK Hutchison tries to sway competition watchdogs over Three’s merger with O2. As Three’s parent company, Hutchison has pledged a #5bn investment to ease concerns over its proposed takeover of O2. Together, the two would create [...]
BT’s share price rises as it reveals new structure after EE acquisition – and the mobile brand is staying (for consumers at least) – as revenues reach seven-year high February 1, 2016 BT has unveiled sweeping changes to its structure, following the completion of its £12.5bn takeover of EE last week, as the business reports its best revenues in more than seven years. Although some had predicted the demise of the EE brand, the mobile firm will continue in its current form as far as "the consumer market [...]
BT’s share price climbs as it completes EE deal – creating UK’s biggest telecoms firm – but Ofcom’s decision on Openreach yet to be made January 29, 2016 BT's share price climbed this morning as it completed its £12.5bn takeover of EE today, in a deal that makes it the biggest telecoms firm in the UK. The deal, which gives BT instant access to around one in three mobile phone customers in the UK, is expected to help pave the way for the [...]
Channel 4’s new chairman named as Charles Gurassa by Ofcom to replace Lord Burns as privatisation question mark hangs January 26, 2016 Charles Gurassa, the deputy chairman of EasyJet has been named the new chairman of Channel 4, succeeding Lord Burns. “I am delighted that we have appointed a chairman of Charles’ calibre to Channel 4. He brings with him a wealth of experience built up across a broad range of sectors," said Ofcom chairman Dame Patricia Hodge. The [...]
Cross-party report says BT should be forced to sell Openreach January 23, 2016 A report backed by 121 cross-party MPs says that BT should be forced to sell Openreach due to poor performance. The report, published by the cross-party British Infrastructure Group (BIG), said that Openreach, the country's leading broadband provider, had only partially extended superfast broadband, despite £1.7bn of government money. Read more: BT Openreach boss Joe Garner steps down [...]
Advertising Standards slams telcos over broadband prices January 21, 2016 Apparently Britons are struggling to work out the cost of broadband contracts – but don’t worry, it’s not entirely due to a lack of mathematical ability. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has teamed up with the communications watchdog Ofcom to censure broadband providers over the way they advertise their services. According to research commissioned by [...]
BT creating 1,000 new UK jobs in bid to move criticised customer services back to the UK January 18, 2016 BT announced today it would be creating 1,000 new jobs in the UK, as the telco giant works to move its criticised customer services back to the country. BT’s goal is that at least 80 per cent of customer calls are answered from within the UK by the end of the year, and to that [...]
Reactions to BT-EE merger: Telco rivals TalkTalk and Vodafone lash out after Competition and Markets Authority waves through £12.5bn merger deal January 15, 2016 Telco rivals have lashed out furiously, after the UK’s competition watchdog waved through BT and EE’s £12.5bn merger, which was given the final green light early this morning. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the takeover was unlikely to cause “significant harm to competition or the interests of consumers” as the UK mobile market is so [...]