The good news is that the report has made it into the light of day – a remarkable achievement given the tensions between the stakeholders who contributed. The reason for it not containing any earth-shattering surprises also reflects this need to accommodate the tensions between the stakeholders. One observer noted, cynically, that it was not a very encouraging sign that the report was welcomed by both Ofcom and the DTI.

The CMA pushed out an immediate news release to flag the importance of the ninth recommendation – the absurd irrelevance of the old Universal Service Obligation and the need for a fresh approach to Universal [broadband] Access. Under the current requirements ‘functional Internet access’ is apparently pegged at 28kb/s – several rungs short of a complete broadband ladder.

Another big theme is the need to remove barriers to investment in fibre. Other countries seem to have tackled this without difficulty but the UK seems beset with umpteen ‘jobs-worth’ snags – from the regulation of street-works to the frankly weird local government rating issues that apply to optical fibre but not to copper.