UK should keep price competition to drive fibre roll-out, regulator says

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain should keep competition in fast broadband to drive full-fibre coverage to 96% of premises by 2027, while capping the price BT's Openreach can charge for slower speeds up to 80Mbit/s, up from 40Mbits/s today, Ofcom said on Thursday.

Four years ago, the regulator encouraged companies to build gigabit-capable networks by promoting competition and by making it easier for new entrants to use ducts and telegraph poles owned by Openreach, the national network provider.

The measures helped drive the roll-out of full fibre networks from less than a quarter of premises to nearly seven in 10, Ofcom said.

It proposed keeping the price of high speed products free from regulation for five years from 2026, while protecting consumers using copper-fibre connections of up to 80Mbit/s by capping the price Openreach can charge to retail providers such as Sky and TalkTalk.

In the most remote parts of the country where new commercial networks were less viable, it said it would promote investment in full-fibre build by Openreach.

Shares in BT opened up 0.5% on Thursday.

Ofcom will consult on its proposals until June 12, and intends to publish its decisions in March 2026.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Sarah Young)