Openreach Reduces 100Mbps and 1Gbps Ethernet Access Direct Prices

Openreach (BT) has published another round of price reductions for their Ethernet Access Direct (EAD) products, which primarily focuses upon the connection fees for their 100Mbps service and 1Gbps rental prices. The cuts should start from 1st October 2017, assuming Ofcom’s policy doesn’t change.

Full details of the planned changes can be found here and it’s worth noting that charges for 1Gbps services on WES, WEES and BES will also make corresponding changes from 1st October 2017. The big caveat in all this is that Openreach has warned they may “change and/or withdraw this price notification at any time” because of the uncertain state of Ofcom’s related 2016 Business Connectivity Market Review.

Readers may recall that BT challenged a key part of Ofcom’s review (i.e. its market definitions for the United Kingdom) via the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), which was aimed at tackling concerns over the proposed Dark Fibre Access (DFA) product. The CAT ruled in BT’s favour and Openreach has since cancelled next month’s planned DFA launch (here).

The successful challenge has left the foundation for Ofcom’s review in a difficult position, which could conceivably require the regulator to re-run the whole process and that may disrupt some of the review’s other changes, some of which have influenced today’s reductions.

In practice the regulator and Openreach will probably find a way to make the less contentious changes work, although some doubt will no doubt linger until Ofcom has seen the tribunal’s full reasoning and made a decision about their response.