Close scrutiny will have to be an essential part of the new Openreach if the future of broadband is to be assured Malcolm Cochrane/BT/PATough new monitoring measures will be required to ensure that an agreement on the future of BT’s Openreach arm triggers essential big investments in Britain’s broadband network, industry chiefs warned yesterday. Many bosses were sceptical that the deal would be as effective as Ofcom hoped, amid concerns that BT will continue to retain huge influence over Openreach, which remains part of the overall group. Mark Collins, director of strategy at CityFibre, a rival provider, expressed disappointment that the settlement contained no firm requirement for Openreach to increase investment or improve broadband speeds. “The real story here is the UK’s shocking ‘fibre gap’,” he said. “Whilst it is welcome that these time-consuming negotiations seem to be at an end, there is nothing in this announcement to…

Source: The Times March 11, 2017 00:03 UTC