BT wants to re-establish monopoly according to Talk Talk

Communications and broadband giant Talk Talk has claimed that BT is using the provision of fibre based broadband services in order to try and re-establish a monopoly in the communications sector.

It has been claimed by broadband giant Talk Talk that rival provider BT is using the provision of fibre based broadband services in order to try and re-establish a monopoly in the communications sector. Talk Talk said that as a result of this the UK will be left with a poor broadband infrastructure that will be nowhere near as good as that in other developed countries.

TalkTalk’s group commercial director, David Goldie, said: “At all times BT is thinking about how it can recover the monopoly position that it lost many years ago. I don’t think that is going to represent good value for the British taxpayer.” These concerns have also been echoed by rival broadband giant Virgin Media recently.

BT has already promised to invest £2.5bn in fibre optic networks and technology for two thirds of the UK’s homes. However, it is also bidding for a further £360m of government subsidy, which it wants to use to try and get high speed fibre based broadband services to rural areas, which are generally considered notoriously difficult to reach.

An official from BT said: “BT has provided reciprocal wholesale access to its fibre network from the outset. This allows other operators to piggyback off our investment, while encouraging competition and the take-up of fibre services to thrive. We’ve also volunteered to provide additional forms of wholesale access via our ducts and poles. We expect to announce revised pricing for such access shortly.”

Source – Guardian