Ofcom highlighted a series of failings in BT’s efforts to ensure fair access to its network in a report released yesterday, a year after the former telecoms monopoly agreed to legally binding measures to open its exchanges.
The report is the latest in a series of critical reports on BT’s efforts. Last week, Peter Black, the independent telecoms adjudicator, expressed severe concerns about the company’s progress.
Ultimately, if BT is found to have breached any of the 250-odd legally binding undertakings that it agreed to last year, it could face legal action or even be broken up.
Ofcom said that Openreach, the BT unit set up to ensure that competitors have the same access to the network as BT, had performed poorly across a range of products and that the promised improvements have ‘not always been fully delivered or maintained’.