UK regulator finds no competition issues with Openreach's fiber offer

Ofcom Finds No Competition Concerns with Openreach's Fiber Pricing

(Reuters) -Britain's telecom and media regulator Ofcom on Thursday said it found no immediate competition concerns with Openreach's special offer, which allows internet service providers to upgrade customers to high-speed fiber connections at discounted rates.

"We do not at this point in time have prima facie concerns that would lead us to decide to investigate the offer in further detail," Ofcom said in a statement.

The decision comes as Britain pushes to ramp up ultrafast broadband rollout as rival networks invest billions into fibre networks, intensifying price competition.

Competing providers have argued that Openreach’s discounted offer prices fiber services below the costs of a reasonably efficient operator and risks locking them out of the market before their networks are ready.

Openreach, owned by Britain’s largest broadband provider BT Group, has launched a discount scheme allowing internet service providers to upgrade customers to full fibre while paying the lower 80/20 Mbps rental rate from October 10 to April 2026.

Ofcom said Openreach's average fiber-to-the-premises price remains above its estimated cost range for an efficient operator even with the new offer factored in, and noted the discount applies only to a narrow segment of proactive customer migrations that internet providers initiate rather than customers request.

The regulator said it will use formal information-gathering powers to monitor the offer's impact on pricing and provider behaviour, and stands ready to intervene quickly if necessary while considering the evidence when setting rules for 2026-2031.

Ofcom said it is still reviewing responses from its consultation and plans to publish final decisions in March 2026. 

(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)