Openreach wholesale price cuts will push providers to increase superfast broadband take-up
Commenting on Openreach cutting the price which its wholesale customers pay for FTTP and FTTC broadband services, Richard Neudegg, head of regulation at Uswitch.com, says: “Openreach’s decision to cut the price that its wholesale customers can pay for FTTP and FTTC services is a positive step, as it goes beyond the regulations imposed by Ofcom earlier in the year.
“The key here is that in order to benefit from these cost savings, providers using Openreach infrastructure will have to increase the number of their fibre customers.
“Several recent announcements by Ofcom and the DCMS have been aimed at boosting the availability of faster broadband networks, but customers won’t actually benefit from these unless they take-up the service.
“Today’s news means that there is an increased incentive on providers – who have no obligation to pass these cuts on to customers – to encourage more of the four million standard broadband out-of-contract customers to jump across to superfast services.
“Superfast broadband is often cheaper for customers to upgrade to when they are out-of-contract and on standard broadband services – in fact broadband customers are currently spending £222 million annually to stay on slower speeds.
“For these customers who are firmly in the slow lane, anything that can help them benefit from a more reliable service is very welcome.”
Uswitch’s Connectivity without Complexity campaign has been looking at these key issues and exploring their impact on consumers. We believe it’s time the industry gave the facts – being open and upfront with the information that matters, removed the needless hoops that consumers are made to jump through and worked to ensure the road to faster, more reliable connectivity is a journey for all. To find out more, visit www.uswitch.com/connectivity.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Rory Stoves
Phone: 020 3872 5613
Email: rory.stoves@uswitch.com
Twitter: @UswitchPR
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