Posted: 17th Jun, 2004 By: MarkJ
The Communications Workers Union (CWU) and Connect have spoken out against the separation of BT's wholesale and retail arms:
Said Adrian Askew, general secretary of Connect: "Ofcom have asked if the question of whether to separate BT's retail and wholesale arms is still relevant. We are saying resolutely that it is not. "Not only would it be an immense challenge in technical and political terms, it would also undermine investment in the national telecom network and significantly hamper the roll out of nation-wide broadband provision."
In a joint submission to Ofcom, the unions set about demolishing the argument peddled that the break-up of BT would lead to greater competition.
"It is one thing to contemplate separation of the incumbent when it is wholly or partially owned by the Government; it is entirely another thing in the case of BT which is a wholly private-owned company. Both institutional and small shareholders alike - and there are 1.7 million of them - would be angered by such a break-up for no obvious competitive gain."More @
The Register.