BT has branded a study published by a group of 121 British MPs that criticises the incumbent’s rollout of high-speed broadband as “misleading and ill-judged”. The report named ‘BroadBad’, lays into BT and its Openreach division for not investing enough to bring superfast internet connections to 5.7 million people, despite receiving £1.7bn (US$2.4bn) in government subsidies.
BT (LON:BT) has branded a study published by a group of 121 British MPs that criticises the incumbent’s rollout of high-speed broadband as “misleading and ill-judged”.
The report, named ‘BroadBad’, lays into BT and its Openreach division for not investing enough to bring superfast internet connections to 5.7 million people, the majority of whom live in rural areas, despite the operator receiving £1.7bn (US$2.4bn) in government subsidies.
BT rejected the findings, pointing out that “data from Ofcom, the EU and others repeatedly place the UK number one for broadband and superfast broadband when compared to other large EU countries”.
BT’s point was backed up at the weekend by the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which said the UK was on track to have 95% superfast coverage by 2017. BT also disputes the £1.7bn subsidies figure, saying it has only received around half that amount.
Led by Grant Shapps, the former minister who resigned in November for failing to act on allegations of bullying within the Conservative Party, the MPs called on Openreach and BT to be separated.
“Formally separating BT and Openreach into two fully separate companies would be of immense value to the UK digital economy,” the MPs said, without laying out a vision for what Openreach’s future ownership structure might look like.
BT took umbrage at the suggestion of a split, saying: “The idea that there would be more broadband investment if BT’s Openreach infrastructure division became independent is wrong-headed.”
“As a smaller, weaker, standalone company, it would struggle to invest as much as it does currently.”
Communications regulator Ofcom is currently conducting a strategic review of the UK’s digital communications, which includes an examination of BT’s ownership of Openreach and a potential structural separation of the infrastructure unit.
The government has previously been sceptical of proposals to split Openreach from BT. Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey has previously said a separation would be an “enormous undertaking, incredibly time consuming” and there was lots of potential for it to “backfire”.
