INCA Oppose Ofcom UK Proposals on Openreach Wholesale Broadband Pricing

The Independent Networks Co-operative Association (INCA), which represents many of the UK’s alternative broadband networks, has today warned Ofcom “not to relinquish statutory price regulation” on Openreach via recently proposed changes (here) to their Wholesale Local Access (WLA) pricing remedies under the 5-yearly Telecoms Access Review 2026 (TAR).

Just to recap. The regulator recently proposed an alternative approach to setting charge controls for Openreach’s regulated 80Mbps broadband product. “Openreach has suggested that, rather than Ofcom imposing charge control regulations on its 80/20 product, they instead amend their contracts with customers to achieve the same outcome,” said Ofcom, which views the proposal as being “likely to achieve similar outcomes to the charge control and therefore could be a more proportionate way of meeting our objectives.”

However, INCA is naturally wary of any change that would relinquish statutory price regulation in favour of relying on Openreach’s private contractual mechanisms, which they claim “amounts to the regulator stepping back from its duty to enforce fair pricing and support competition in the UK broadband market“. But Ofcom contends that the outcome for consumers and ISPs would be similar to the regulated approach.

Nevertheless, INCA believes this shift would reduce regulatory certainty, as “contract-based mechanisms are not directly enforceable by Ofcom in the way statutory price controls are“. But Ofcom’s consultation stated that Openreach would have “no ability to unilaterally change” the conditions during Ofcom’s 5-year market review period, until 2031.

Paddy Paddison, Chief Executive of INCA, said:

“This proposal asks the entire market to place trust in the incumbent. BT Openreach has no incentive to promote competition, yet Ofcom appears willing to rely on a contract-led workaround rather than the statutory powers designed to protect consumers and ensure a level playing field.

INCA also notes a broader pattern in recent consultations, where major changes have been introduced late in the process based largely on submissions from the incumbent operator. INCA believes that such late-stage adjustments, without adequate time for industry scrutiny, risk creating unnecessary uncertainty for investors and operators.

INCA has further highlighted concerns about the cashflow effects of Equinox’s quarterly refund structure, which requires operators to carry costs for several months before discounts are applied – an arrangement that can disproportionately impact Altnets.

Our intention is to work constructively with Ofcom. We want to ensure that any new approach supports competition, continued investment and strong consumer outcomes that Altnets provide.”

Ofcom has yet to make a final decision on what approach they will take, but the outcome is expected to be revealed alongside their final TAR statement in March 2026.