Vodafone contest that ‘bold structural changes’ need to be implemented by Ofcom

In their submission to Ofcom for their once a decade digital communications review Vodafone have argued that to combat discrimination and improve investment for consumer benefits BT must be structurally separated from Openreach.

Incremental tweaks, they argue, will not resolve the deep-seated issues that ultimately undermine the UK’s ability to be thought leaders in the global telecoms market. Rather Vodafone has listed the following actions they identify will create a sustainable long-term market for the UK telecoms industry;

• Addressing discrimination and improving pro-competitive investment with the structural separation of BT Openreach;
• Implementing a framework for multi-operator investment by improving access to BT’s ducts and poles, ensuring BT must also use these products on the same basis as other providers;
• Making it easier for consumers to switch suppliers across multiple services such as Pay TV, broadband and mobile; and
• Ensure fair access to exclusive premium TV content and evaluate future auction processes to prevent consumer exclusion from viewing key sporting events.

Driving direct comparisons with the technological advances seen in the highly competitive mobile network market against the relatively lacklustre developments in the broadband market, Vodafone highlights the high profitability of BT against with the widely evidenced poor quality of the network.

For their full submission and further arguments click here.