{"id":47301,"date":"2026-07-12T08:43:33","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T07:43:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?p=47301"},"modified":"2026-07-13T14:01:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T13:01:52","slug":"bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/07\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html","title":{"rendered":"BT and Virgin Media O2 in Competition Spat Over \u00a350 UK Broadband Discount UPDATE"},"content":{"rendered":"

Remember when Openreach<\/a> (BT<\/a>) recently announced that it was going to give broadband ISPs on its network an extra \u00a350 rebate for winning incremental new “full fibre<\/em>” (FTTP<\/a>) customers in areas where it competes with Virgin Media<\/a> (here<\/a>)? Well, the latter isn’t very happy, naturally, and has accused the incumbent of trying to “choke<\/em>” off competition in the market.<\/p>\n

“From 1st October 2026, in addition to the national Incremental New to Openreach<\/a> customer offer, Openreach<\/a> will give providers an extra \u00a350 rebate for winning incremental new FTTP<\/a> customers in areas where it competes with Virgin Media<\/a> O2<\/a>. The offer only applies to customer wins above baseline levels, so it\u2019s designed to drive genuinely incremental new end customer wins<\/em>,” said Openreach’s briefing at the time.<\/p>\n

The somewhat controversial discount was announced by Openreach at the start of June 2026 alongside a number of other incentives, all designed to boost take-up of their Fibre-to-the-Premises<\/strong> (FTTP<\/a>) broadband lines among partner ISPs in an already highly competitive market. But the CEO of Openreach, Katie Milligan, later acknowledged that they were also trying to “test the waters<\/em>” of Ofcom<\/a>’s new market regulation via the recent Telecoms Access Review 2026<\/strong><\/a> (TAR) changes.<\/p>\n

Ofcom<\/a> are currently consulting on the new discounts, which are a positive development for consumers, but which rival networks will clearly want to raise a few concerns over. The Telegraph<\/a> (paywall) highlights how VMO2 is particularly upset over Openreach’s targeted approach and they may have a point.<\/p>\n

Lutz Sch\u00fcler, CEO of VMO2, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cFor many, [the TAR] was seen as a welcome sign of Ofcom<\/a> providing stability and being prepared to keep the incumbent in check. For BT<\/a>, it seems Ofcom\u2019s conclusions were heard as a dinner bell to start feasting on fibre challengers as it launched a platter of hefty discounts.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

Ofcom should approach these offers as a serious threat to the emergence of long-term network competition, not as routine pricing proposals.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Katie Milligan, Openreach CEO, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Ofcom has said that Openreach should be allowed to compete, and we agree … We realise competition is tough for some but, like any business in a competitive market, we regularly develop offers to support customers and investment. We\u2019ll continue to compete hard, but fairly, and our track record shows we consistently follow the regulator\u2019s pricing rules.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

An Ofcom spokesperson said:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are assessing whether any of these offers raise competition concerns that require intervention, and are carefully considering all responses to our call for input. We will publish our consultation later this month.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Suffice to say that VMO2 would like Ofcom to block Openreach’s proposed discounts and warned that the regulator would be setting a “dangerous precedent<\/em>” if they allowed it. The move has come at a particularly sensitive time for VMO2, which via nexfibre<\/a> is in the process of trying to acquire rival network operator Netonmia for \u00a32bn and has pledged to build a more significant scaled-wholesale competitor to Openreach.<\/p>\n

The aforementioned deal is currently subject to a sensitive competition review (here<\/a>), but the CEO of rival network CityFibre<\/a>, Simon Holden<\/strong>, warned that the proposed agreement could \u201csignificantly reduce competition and the choice available to consumers, as well as force hundreds of thousands of Netomnia<\/a> customers back to VMO2<\/em>\u201d \u2013 potentially raising the prospects of the UK returning to a duopoly between Virgin\/nexfibre<\/a> and Openreach.<\/p>\n

One other challenge is that, so far, VMO2\/nexfibre<\/a> have not been able to attract any non-group retail ISPs to their growing consumer wholesale network, despite plenty of effort (example<\/a>). The competition watchdog (CMA) will be taking factors like this into account as they review the deal, which could have consequences for their final decision. Ofcom’s recent \u00a328m fine of VMO2 for customer service failings might not have helped (here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

As usual, all the main players will be speaking from the position of their own vested interests, which is something that Ofcom will have to balance before reaching their final decision on Openreach\u2019s new discounts.<\/p>\n

UPDATE 13th July 2026 @ 1:58pm<\/strong><\/p>\n

The CEO of VMO2 has now posted his full statement on this.<\/p>\n

Lutz Sch\u00fcler, CEO of Virgin Media<\/a> O2<\/a>, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n

“As the infamous 1990s BT<\/a> advertising strapline said: \u201cIt\u2019s good to talk.\u201d But while Britain\u2019s telecoms incumbent still enjoys the dominance it did when Bob Hoskins was on our screens, it seems the modern-day monopolist would now quite like the market to fall silent.<\/p>\n

Even with billions of pounds of investment over the past decade, the UK\u2019s fibre landscape is now more fragmented and unstable than ever, with around 100 struggling alternative networks, many backers looking for the fire exit and still no national-scale alternative to BT\u2019s Openreach.<\/p>\n

While the green shoots of meaningful competition are starting to emerge, it\u2019s clear the next stage of the UK\u2019s fibre story will be about consolidation to improve economics and create a genuine challenger to the incumbent. That will result in proper network choice at scale for other operators and in turn better services for consumers and businesses.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year Ofcom published the conclusions of its major broadband market review, which largely echoed this sentiment. The regulator was clear that rules on Openreach must remain, as it takes time for other networks to \u201cachieve scale and for competition to become established\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ofcom stressed that it would \u201crestrict Openreach\u2019s ability\u201d on certain offers unless they gain consent and reemphasised concerns on other terms that could undermine network competition.<\/p>\n

For many, this was seen as a welcome sign of Ofcom providing stability and being prepared to keep the incumbent in check. For BT, it seems Ofcom\u2019s conclusions were heard as a dinner bell to start feasting on fibre challengers as it launched a platter of substantial discounts.<\/p>\n

Given Ofcom waived through previous pricing packages, you can\u2019t blame BT for trying, but these offers are different and come at a crucial time. The carefully designed proposals encourage providers to lock in and move more customers on to the Openreach network through a series of interrelated discount structures, amounting to two years of free fibre line rental in some cases.<\/p>\n

In areas where Virgin Media O2<\/a> operates, Openreach is going further by geographically incentivising the poaching of customers in an attempt, to quote its chief executive, \u201ctest the waters\u201d and then elbow drop the biggest future competitive threat it faces.<\/p>\n

While the soundbite of lower rates may sound great on the surface, and Openreach will spin this as benevolently passing on efficiencies, don\u2019t be fooled. BT\u2019s behaviour is a prime example of a dominant force flexing its muscles to squeeze out emerging competition and then raise prices later.<\/p>\n

The big issue here is that the incumbent is repeatedly drip-feeding new offers into the market in a tactical way, so providers rely on the Openreach discount drug and think twice about making commitments with other networks. This is not a fair playing field. It creates uncertainty for investors and goes against the direction Ofcom set for the market in March. At a time when Britain\u2019s fibre market is wobbling, we have a window to act, and that moment is now.<\/p>\n

In the short term, Ofcom should stick to the principles of its telecoms market review and stop BT using its significant power to harm emerging wholesale competition by blocking these offers. But the longer-term solution here is structural.<\/p>\n

The CMA is currently reviewing Nexfibre\u2019s acquisition of Netomnia<\/a> \u2013 a landmark deal that kickstarts necessary consolidation, unlocks \u00a33.5bn of investment into the UK, accelerates fibre access and leads to a wholesale fibre competitor covering 20 million homes. It\u2019s crucial that this transaction is cleared at pace, so BT Openreach faces the scaled competition it clearly fears. That\u2019s what real, fair challenge looks like.<\/p>\n

The UK telecoms industry faces a fundamental choice \u2013 keep the status quo of a BT Openreach network monopoly or ensure this dominance is broken once and for all. While it\u2019s good to talk, now is the time for action.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Remember when Openreach (BT) recently announced that it was going to give broadband ISPs on its network an extra \u00a350 rebate for winning incremental new “full fibre” (FTTP) customers in areas where it competes with Virgin Media (here)? Well, the latter isn’t very happy, naturally, and has accused the incumbent of trying to “choke” off […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[56,32,36,69,475],"class_list":["post-47301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk_isp_news","tag-fttp","tag-o2","tag-ofcom-regulation","tag-bt-openreach","tag-virgin-media"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/@ispreview\/116905889991010672","error":""},"yoast_head":"\nBT and Virgin Media O2 in Competition Spat Over \u00a350 UK Broadband Discount UPDATE - ISPreview UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Remember when Openreach (BT) recently announced that it was going to give broadband ISPs on its network an extra \u00a350 rebate for winning incremental new\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/07\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BT and Virgin Media O2 in Competition Spat Over \u00a350 UK Broadband Discount UPDATE - ISPreview UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Remember when Openreach (BT) recently announced that it was going to give broadband ISPs on its network an extra \u00a350 rebate for winning incremental new\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/07\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ISPreview UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ispreview\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ispreview\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-12T07:43:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-13T13:01:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/nggallery_import\/Lutz-Schuler-CEO-of-Virgin-Media-O2-UK.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Jackson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ispreview\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ispreview\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Jackson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mark Jackson\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/de66a8b4e937c21c80e443d1bf9c35d5\"},\"headline\":\"BT and Virgin Media O2 in Competition Spat Over \u00a350 UK Broadband Discount UPDATE\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-12T07:43:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-13T13:01:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html\"},\"wordCount\":1347,\"commentCount\":13,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/nggallery_import\\\/Lutz-Schuler-CEO-of-Virgin-Media-O2-UK.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"FTTP\",\"O2\",\"Ofcom Regulation\",\"Openreach\",\"Virgin Media\"],\"articleSection\":[\"ISP News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html\",\"name\":\"BT and Virgin Media O2 in Competition Spat Over \u00a350 UK Broadband Discount UPDATE - ISPreview UK\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/nggallery_import\\\/Lutz-Schuler-CEO-of-Virgin-Media-O2-UK.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-12T07:43:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-13T13:01:52+00:00\",\"description\":\"Remember when Openreach (BT) recently announced that it was going to give broadband ISPs on its network an extra \u00a350 rebate for winning incremental new\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/nggallery_import\\\/Lutz-Schuler-CEO-of-Virgin-Media-O2-UK.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/nggallery_import\\\/Lutz-Schuler-CEO-of-Virgin-Media-O2-UK.webp\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"Lutz-Schuler-CEO-of-Virgin-Media-O2-UK\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BT and Virgin Media O2 in Competition Spat Over \u00a350 UK Broadband Discount UPDATE\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/\",\"name\":\"ISPreview UK\",\"description\":\"Top Broadband ISP and Mobile Provider Information Site\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"ISPreview.co.uk\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/ispreview_uk_logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/ispreview_uk_logo.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"ISPreview.co.uk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/ispreview\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/ispreview\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/mjack\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/bsky.app\\\/profile\\\/ispreview.bsky.social\",\"https:\\\/\\\/mastodon.social\\\/@ispreview\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/de66a8b4e937c21c80e443d1bf9c35d5\",\"name\":\"Mark Jackson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/nggallery_import\\\/Mark-Jackson-96x96.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/nggallery_import\\\/Mark-Jackson-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/nggallery_import\\\/Mark-Jackson-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Mark Jackson\"},\"description\":\"By Mark Jackson 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.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/ispreview\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/ispreview\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/markj\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BT and Virgin Media O2 in Competition Spat Over \u00a350 UK Broadband Discount UPDATE - ISPreview UK","description":"Remember when Openreach (BT) recently announced that it was going to give broadband ISPs on its network an extra \u00a350 rebate for winning incremental new","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/07\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"BT and Virgin Media O2 in Competition Spat Over \u00a350 UK Broadband Discount UPDATE - ISPreview UK","og_description":"Remember when Openreach (BT) recently announced that it was going to give broadband ISPs on its network an extra \u00a350 rebate for winning incremental new","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/07\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html","og_site_name":"ISPreview UK","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ispreview","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ispreview","article_published_time":"2026-07-12T07:43:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-13T13:01:52+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/nggallery_import\/Lutz-Schuler-CEO-of-Virgin-Media-O2-UK.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Mark Jackson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ispreview","twitter_site":"@ispreview","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark Jackson","Estimated reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/07\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/07\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html"},"author":{"name":"Mark Jackson","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/de66a8b4e937c21c80e443d1bf9c35d5"},"headline":"BT and Virgin Media O2 in Competition Spat Over \u00a350 UK Broadband Discount UPDATE","datePublished":"2026-07-12T07:43:33+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-13T13:01:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/07\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html"},"wordCount":1347,"commentCount":13,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/07\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/nggallery_import\/Lutz-Schuler-CEO-of-Virgin-Media-O2-UK.webp","keywords":["FTTP","O2","Ofcom Regulation","Openreach","Virgin Media"],"articleSection":["ISP News"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/07\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/07\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html","url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/07\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html","name":"BT and Virgin Media O2 in Competition Spat Over \u00a350 UK Broadband Discount UPDATE - ISPreview UK","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/07\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/07\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/nggallery_import\/Lutz-Schuler-CEO-of-Virgin-Media-O2-UK.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-12T07:43:33+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-13T13:01:52+00:00","description":"Remember when Openreach (BT) recently announced that it was going to give broadband ISPs on its network an extra \u00a350 rebate for winning incremental new","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/07\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/07\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/07\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/nggallery_import\/Lutz-Schuler-CEO-of-Virgin-Media-O2-UK.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/nggallery_import\/Lutz-Schuler-CEO-of-Virgin-Media-O2-UK.webp","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"Lutz-Schuler-CEO-of-Virgin-Media-O2-UK"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/07\/bt-and-virgin-media-o2-in-competition-spat-over-50-uk-broadband-discount.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BT and Virgin Media O2 in Competition Spat Over \u00a350 UK Broadband Discount UPDATE"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/","name":"ISPreview UK","description":"Top Broadband ISP and Mobile Provider Information Site","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#organization","name":"ISPreview.co.uk","url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ispreview_uk_logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ispreview_uk_logo.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"ISPreview.co.uk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ispreview","https:\/\/x.com\/ispreview","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/mjack\/","https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/ispreview.bsky.social","https:\/\/mastodon.social\/@ispreview"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/de66a8b4e937c21c80e443d1bf9c35d5","name":"Mark Jackson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/nggallery_import\/Mark-Jackson-96x96.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/nggallery_import\/Mark-Jackson-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/nggallery_import\/Mark-Jackson-96x96.jpg","caption":"Mark Jackson"},"description":"By Mark Jackson 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.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ispreview","https:\/\/x.com\/ispreview"],"url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/author\/markj"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}