Ofcom UK Reject Competition Concerns over Openreach’s FTTP Upgrades Offer
At the start of this week ISPreview revealed that a number of rival broadband networks had raised competition concerns with the UK telecoms regulator after Openreach introduced a new discount on upgrades to full fibre lines (here). Ofcom has now responded to these concerns via a new open letter, which largely rejects them but remains “alive” to the concerns.
The issue concerns proactive migrations, which arise where an internet provider (ISP) proposes to upgrade your older broadband service (ADSL, FTTC etc.) to FTTP and, at the same time, books an appointment for an engineer to carry out the upgrade. The end user can then confirm, reject or select a different appointment. This forms part of Openreach’s efforts to eventually retire their old copper-line based network, services and exchanges.
Openreach’s new offer essentially enabled customers to potentially be upgraded to their faster “1000/115Mbps [download/upload], 550/75Mbps and 330/50Mb bandwidth tiers for the rental price of 80/20Mbps” – lasting for up to 24 months (details). Suffice to say that this was quite a significant discount and would make upgrading much more attractive to some consumers and ISPs.
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However, a number of alternative networks (altnets), and the related Independent Networks Co-operative Association (INCA), told ISPreview that they viewed the new promotion (due to be run between 10th October 2025 and 9th April 2026) as being potentially anti-competitive.
The Two Key Concerns Expressed by Rivals
• The level of pricing in the offer is below the costs of a reasonably efficient operator, and so could have an adverse impact on the development of sustainable network competition; and
• The limited duration of the offer, in combination with the price levels, incentivises accelerated mass migration by ISPs from copper to FTTP, foreclosing the market to rival network operators in circumstances where wholesale agreements are not yet operational, or in areas where altnets have not yet extended their network footprint.
The regulator has now published a public response to this via a new Open Letter, which sees Ofcom conclude that they “do not at this point in time have prima facie concerns that would lead us to decide to investigate the offer in further detail.” For those who may be unfamiliar with the Latin term, prima facie usually means “at first sight” or “on the face of it“. But the regulator said they do “remain alive” to some of the concerns going forward and “will continue to assess future offers both individually and cumulatively“.
Ofcom’s Statement
We recognise that the lower prices available under this offer may increase commercial pressure on altnets insofar as it sharpens competition between networks. However, this alone is not a reason for intervention, nor does it automatically mean those prices raise competition concerns. We have therefore carefully considered whether the offer presents prima facie competition concerns that would lead us to decide to investigate it in further detail before it enters the market. In doing this, we have considered the potential competition concerns set out in the WFTMR 2021 Statement and the March 2025 TAR Consultation.
This offer is specifically targeted at proactive migrations – those initiated by the ISP rather than the customer – which currently account for a small proportion of all new connections to Openreach’s FTTP network. Under the offer, ISPs migrating customers from legacy copper services to the 1000/115Mb, 550/75Mb and 330/50Mb tiers in the offer window will pay the 80/20Mb rental price for 24 months. The offer runs from 10 October 2025 until 9 April 2026.
Regarding concerns about the level of prices, we have considered the potential impact of the offer on Openreach’s average FTTP price and how this compares to our estimates of the costs of a reasonably efficient operator (the “REO range”). This is consistent with the approach we applied in Equinox 2 and our proposed approach in the March 2025 Consultation. This tests whether an altnet that sets the same average FTTP rental charge could do so profitably. Although not a bright-line test, it provides a guide as to whether altnets are able to compete in practice.
Openreach’s current average FTTP price is above the top end of our REO range estimates.4 Based on the information we have, we expect this to remain the case under the offer across both its entire FTTP base and for new connections, even allowing for a potential impact on volumes. This includes the fact that proactive migrations represent a small proportion of all new connections to Openreach’s FTTP network, and that the offer is time-limited, which limit the application of this offer to a narrow segment of Openreach’s customer base.
While the specific price levels included in this offer fall within the REO range,5 we do not consider looking at individual prices to be informative as a prima facie indicator of competition concerns in this case. This is because FTTP networks compete across a significantly broader range of services and customers than covered by this specific offer, and non-uniform pricing is common in the market.
Indeed, differential pricing can be a legitimate way for all fibre network operators to test the market and drive take-up.
We are mindful of the potential cumulative impact of multiple offers on overall pricing levels. Given the scope of the recently announced offers – for example, new to network as well as proactive migrations – this does not currently change our view. We expect the cumulative impact on Openreach’s average FTTP price to be limited. However, we remain alive to this risk going forward, and will continue to assess future offers both individually and cumulatively.
We have also considered whether this offer could incentivise accelerated migration. In our March consultation, we set out a new concern: that Openreach could use commercial terms to encourage ISPs to significantly accelerate the migration of their existing customer bases on legacy broadband services to Openreach’s FTTP network, before ISPs are able to migrate their bases to an altnet instead. We are still considering stakeholder responses on the scope of this concern. However, we note that we identified offers that were conditional on ISPs hitting certain targets related to the migration of their legacy customer base as raising the greatest concern, as they can create strong incentives for rapid migration. This offer does not contain such conditions.
For the reasons set out above, 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.
However, Ofcom said they would be carrying out more work on this, such as to understand the impact of this offer on Openreach’s average FTTP price levels and ISPs’ behaviour “over the coming months“. This will include considering the impact of the offer both individually and cumulatively with other Openreach offers.
“Informed by our monitoring, we will decide whether any conduct or actions by Openreach might change our current position, including under competition law, and stand ready to respond quickly if we deem it necessary to do so,” although they won’t publish their final decisions on this until March 2026, when their new Telecoms Access Review 2026 (TAR) is due to have completed.
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On the flip side, Openreach is heavily regulated and have been bleeding broadband lines to rivals, albeit mostly from locations where they’ve yet to build FTTP. But the incumbent often feels as if it shouldn’t be restricted from being able to compete with smaller rivals, especially in competitive areas, and often indicates that doing so may also be unfair to consumers who might otherwise benefit from lower pricing.
A spokesperson for Openreach previously said:
“Competition works when it delivers better outcomes for customers – and that’s exactly what we’re focused on.
As we lead the UK’s transition to Full Fibre, this offer is all about listening to our customers and helping them make that leap from older copper-based services to faster, more reliable broadband.
Of course, Ofcom keeps a close eye on everything we do, and rightly so – but we’re allowed to compete, and we’ll continue to do so, in the interest of customers and the country.
We strongly reject any suggestion that it’s anti-competitive.”
As usual, the regulator has the difficult task of trying to balance such concerns, while at the same time needing to recognise the importance of not obstructing the move away from legacy copper-line based services.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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Every query/complaint of this type from the altnets to OFCOM seem to end up in this outcome.. have they ever previously sided with the altnets?
In fairness, whenever we (EE/BT) do it, it’s with no change to the customer’s terms or contract end date – hence the “up to 24 months” in the Openreach offer.
I guess the altnets only like competition when it benefits them.
Yeah, in my mind the only major concern here would be if an ISP took the opportunity to extend the customer’s minimum committent — hopefully everyone will “play fair” and won’t use a proactive upgrade as an opportunity to “lock in” customers.
It’s nothing to do with the retail side so not sure what the relevance of contract lengths is. The issue is more Openreach offering the discount to try and build their install base by incentivise retailers to use them instead of an altnet. Getting your fibre into a home first matters.
Is it a heavy use of their market position and incumbency to edge out competition? Absolutely. No-one else could do this.
Still if Ofcom say it’s fine it’s all good, evidently. Openreach now know what they can get away with and it leaves lots of opportunities for anticompetitive behaviour.
@Polish Poler:
“The issue is more Openreach offering the discount to try and build their install base by incentivise retailers to use them instead of an altnet.”
As stated in the article, this is a proactive upgrade offer that is only available to existing customers of the relevant ISP.
‘As stated in the article, this is a proactive upgrade offer that is only available to existing customers of the relevant ISP.’
I genuinely have no idea what your point is. I’m aware of the above and that’s exactly my point.
@Polish Poler:
That is evident from your comment.
So the dominant player of Openreach/BT in the broadband marketplace allegedly abuses its historical advantage position of aggressive pricing, and their mates in Ofcom agree without an investigation?
The CMA should study this and break up the BT group.
Presumably OFCOM can reach their decision quickly because its such a tenuous claim, it doesn’t warrant the time and the cost investigating any further. Government bodies being able to act quickly and without unnecessary bureaucracy and cost is something to be encouraged. If the Altnets feel they have a strong case, there are other avenues available to them.
ISPs have the option of moving their customers to altnets, where and when available. The 24 month discount does not appear to be a 24 month lock-in, though clearly there would be resistance to moving to an altnet if a customer has OR FTTP installed already.
Openreach should be permitted to entice ISPs to move customers to its FTTP network and it is great to see that sanity is prevailing on planet Ofcom.
At some point that industry has to stand on its own two feet rather than relying on unsustainably low pricing backed by VC/PE cash and assuming that Ofcom will continue tying Openreach’s hands together. The party’s coming to an end.
If you can show me the altnet with providers offering 20 million customers service on their network they can discount to retain I’ll agree with you.
This is literally the definition of exploiting incumbency. Ofcom are supposed to prevent this but politics is a thing.
This is an offer to existing customers; are you claiming that Openreach and the relevant ISP can not make the offer to existing customers? Would you rather that Openreach and its clients just surrender all of their customers to the competition?
@Polish Poler:
“This is literally the definition of exploiting incumbency.”
No it isn’t.
20 million? lol.
The largest altnet, and the only one with a wholesale operation worth talking about, sits at around 4 million homes passed. Subtract the customers of ISPs who will never be forcibly moved to another network (BT Group, Virgin, mobile broadband, altnets that vertically integrate) and the number gets smaller still.
‘No it isn’t.’
I’m not sure which planet you’re on but hopefully this will reach you.
The incumbent is offering a discount to retain wholesale customers on existing copper lines by offering reduced pricing on FTTP. This would be impossible without the existing relationship. There would be no existing relationship without incumbency. Therefore…
You make Ivor seem even-handed. Either you’re connected with Openreach or you’re really, really upset with altnets over something.
@Polish Poler:
I am not connected in any way to Openreach, and I do not need to resort to assigning ulterior motives to defend a flawed standpoint.
Indeed. Stubborn ignorance and refusal to even for a moment entertain other points of view is a much stronger defence of flawed opinions.
The idea Openreach are doing this out of the kindness of their own hearts to assist customers in moving is either astonishingly naive or indicative of robust bias.
They saw Sky putting in cancellation requests moving customers from their copper to CityFibre, CityFibre having put the systems in place to permit this and manage en masse migrations, this was the response.
A reminder Openreach don’t sell to end users, they sell to wholesalers. They have the option to bank the extra margin, offer discounts or some of both. Bumps up the Equinox higher tier take up rate too. Openreach get their fibre into the property either way and the barrier of the initial install is overcome.
This is from people in Openreach, not my mind, but please carry on thinking Openreach are a cuddly teddy bear company going out of their way to help customers. Then watch some of the panels from Connected Britain’s keynotes if they’ve been recorded and perhaps rejoin reality.
@Polish Poler:
To suggest that Openreach can not act in the interests of its existing customers is silly nonsense.
I do like altnets as it gives people more choice and better pricing in the areas where they cover but all this complaining and attempts to block OR discounts is very selfish as all it does is make it unfair for people who only have OR as a choice and this is there chances to get better deals.
Without competition no-one gets better deals and the monopoly provide what they want and charge what they want.
If you want to see how that works out check the prices in much of the United States.
… it is also a sign of desperation.
the US is a poor example as their problems stem from deregulating monopolies, and arguably no one held their telcos to account where they were still regulated, such as the kafkaesque approach other ISPs faced in taking up their version of LLU. Fibre services have essentially never been regulated.
No one is saying that Openreach should be deregulated in areas where they still hold the monopoly, and that has been the UK precedent (eg the old market A/B system where BT was given more freedom where LLU and cable competition existed).
There may even be an argument for time-limited restrictions in areas where an altnet received a government subsidy to build out. But it is entirely reasonable that they should be able to act like a competitive business where they actually face competition, especially when the “competition” gets a huge leg up through low cost access to their physical assets.
‘especially when the “competition” gets a huge leg up through low cost access to their physical assets.’
Still impossible regardless of efficiency to match Openreach build costs. They don’t use their own PIA system.
I mean you can disagree with my characterisation of things but suggesting it’s a level playing field if there’s no intervention is absurd. Openreach have a pretty specific plan in mind and this is the first part of implementing it. The plan does not involve a competitive market by the end.
I highly recommend speaking with people in the know about Openreach plans to shift the market and rely on average pricing to conceal predatory pricing in the area they want to push their customers to.
If you want an open market with innovative products and competitive pricing that should merit concern. If you’re a fan of a random telco all is wonderful.
There’s nothing to stop altnets making the same offer to ISPs on their networks or doing it themselves. Proactive upgrades of any customer currently on an Openreach copper product at the same price as the copper product.
Just because there’s no single Altnet as large as Openreach doesn’t mean that they can’t all collectively make a similar offer.
@Polish Poler:
There are some who would seem to be of the opinion that Openreach is not allowed to compete – even to improve the service offered to existing consumers of its services.
@ 125us:
Recent news suggests that some of the AltNet network providers are offering service upgrades (in the form of speed increases) to ISPs, but on the whole, the AltNets do not have the imperative to migrate customers of the heritage copper network, given that most consumers of their services will already have fibre connections.
‘but on the whole, the AltNets do not have the imperative to migrate customers of the heritage copper network, given that most consumers of their services will already have fibre connections.’.
This makes no sense. The imperative is they get customers by migrating them off the copper network. It’s literally where most of their customers are coming from, not Openreach FTTP.
If you meant the people using altnet wholesale Sky aren’t migrating customers off copper for the lols, they have robust incentives much as TalkTalk and Vodafone did.
Talking about my flawed opinions and you post stuff like this.
125us altnets have been taking business from Openreach copper. It’s not about them matching any deals this is a targeted attempt to suppress their profit margins in a specific area.
@Polish Poler:
“The imperative is they get customers by migrating them off the copper network.”
The conversation is about existing customers, who, in this case, will, in the main, already be on full-fibre connections. It’s not hard.
The question being, How much of the reduction from Openreach will the consumer see from the ISP’s?
The benefit is from a higher quality service for the same price as their existing service.
Crying for giving customers discounts, alt nets are seriously annoying at this point.
Cool. So let’s let Openreach do whatever they want. What do you think happens to prices and service when they’re the only one left?
@Polish Poler:
I agree; Openreach should be deregulated to restore full competition to the market. This would put an end to the zombie businesses that are undermining more efficient businesses by lowering prices via the reliance on debt funding.
Not only would the major players welcome this, so towouldagood number of the more efficient AltNets.
I’d rather Openreach than some altnet with a silly name take me from FTTC to FTTP. There’s too much competition in some areas, and no competition in others. The idea of all these altnets running their own cables to each and every house is ridiculous. I know areas which have been disrupted 5 times by this way of working.
Openreach’s method here is beneficial to its customers and competition (provided we all agree that FTTP is preferable to ADSL/FTTC).
When taking out, say, a 74Mbps SOGEA contract with an Openreach ISP, it will include a free, optional, FTTP install when that technology becomes available. The install is free, with no change to the customer’s terms or contract end date. Upon install, the customer can choose to either stay on 74Mbps for the remainder of their deal but with the consistency and stability benefits of FTTP, or recontract onto a faster package whenever they wish.
This is actually more competitive (as the end user still has the original contract end date and the freedom to switch thereafter) than the current system of building the FTTP network and then marketing it to the end user who is forced to recontract to get the benefits from it.
Of course, the fact that the FTTP connection is cheaper than the copper one for the retail ISP could be seen as of no benefit to the customer, but as Openreach’s line losses are highest where FTTP is not available, and that they are the only network builder not planning on ignoring 70% or more of the nation, that strikes me as hardly relevant.
The pre-emptive install isn’t the issue it’s the discounting.
The comments on competition the issue is with wholesale competition not end customers.
ISPs can move customers to FTTP either through Openreach or altnets they might use without extending contracts, this is irrelevant.
ISPs can likewise hold customers to contracts until they run out: this doesn’t force them to offer FTTP, they have to place the order with Openreach to start the process.
The proactive process doesn’t entitle an end user to anything. Your contract is with your ISP. Any terms Openreach offer them are irrelevant.
This exists because Sky are moving customers off Openreach copper to CityFibre and Openreach want to stymie that flow before anyone else joins the party, nothing else. It’s not remotely beneficial to competition it’s the incumbent taking advantage of their install base.
I can understand the AltNet cooperative trying to fight their corner, because come the debt/banking crisis, a good number of them are likely to disappear.
How many different complaints and appeals have the altnets raised about anti-competitive behaviour by Openreach now? Have any of them been found to be true? It’s basically a defamation campaign. They just continue to sling mud so people will eventually believe there’s no smoke without fire.
There should be a penalty for wasting Ofcom’s time and resources (funded by us, the taxpayer) on these baseless investigations.
A unsurprising decision, OR are rolling out at pace, I expect Ofcom feel the altnet’s have served their main purpose.
I usually side with the Altnets as I detest the damage that BT has done the UK with their monopoly and their delay in deploying FTTP due to lack of competition. But in this case I think the OFCOM decision is fair. For start these customers are already Openreach so Altnets are not losing anything. Yes these customers could potentially become Altnet customers but I don’t expect that to happen in most of these cases. If the said customer taking this offer already had an Altnet available but never decided to change then this upgrade offer is unlikely to change that. If there was no Altnet available then there is a posibility that this might be prevented in the future. But I doubt the customer was that interested in FTTP since they were pushed by the ISP to upgrade so they are clearly not really bothered by being in a slow service (ADSL/VDSL/FTTC). Those who are bothered check for options and would have migrated at their first opportunity. To add to this the offer is time limited after which the customer will be charged regulated prices. And at the end of the day we want more houses to be connected to FTTP if this makes some customers move then that’s great. Finally the fact that they are in Openreach FTTP doesn’t mean Altnets can not “steal” that costomer in the future. That will be true competition, not one dictated by the availability of faster service.
The Altnets themselves come up with offers to try to retain their existing companies so can hardly complain about BT doing the same
Presumably any ISP that uses Openreach can also benefit. It seems to be a legitimist marketing tactic to try to drive up the transition to FTTP
In many cases the Altnets are charging prices that can’t be sustained in the long term, as an incentive to join their networks, therefore shouldn’t complain when Openreach offer a discount to help customers move away from copper to Fibre!
Looks like the problem is that Openreach appear to be considered a reasonably efficient operator and the altnets have business plans that have problems with competing with such.
It is somewhat ironic that INCA, an organisation that represents service providers that offer services at a significant discount, complains about a competitor that is offering discounts at below cost pricing.
Err if it were below cost with the intent of cornering the market not only is that an issue Ofcom should look at it’s also illegal. Given your gloating over the impact this may have on altnets you seem quite content it’s going to have an impact. With that in mind not really so ironic.
You are apparently quite relaxed about the law being broken if Openreach are doing it, but still claim no ulterior motive. Oki doke.
@polish Poler:
The offer is for existing customers; how does that corner the market?
@Polish Poler:
There is no gloating on my part. I dohowever, find the hypocrisy – from various sources -somewhat amusing and transparent.
@Polish Poler:
What law do you think is being broken?
P.S. I have no connection to Openwave.
The issue isn’t the competition, it’s the complete and utter ineffectiveness and waste of money which is OFCOM.
Indeed.
The broadband market would be in a healthier state if it were not for the unbalanced interference of Ofcom.