Ofcom has published draft statements in respect of the Business Connectivity and Physical Infrastructure Market Reviews (BCMR and PIMR). For the most part Ofcom have decided to impose the remedies proposed during the consultation phase. Below we have flagged the key changes.
The BCMR has a troubled past: Ofcom’s last review of business connectivity markets came into force in 2016. The regulation imposed in that review was due to be in force for three years, but it was overturned in 2017 following a successful appeal by BT. Ofcom then put in place temporary regulation which expired on 31 March 2019. The main point of interest here is around dark fibre.
On dark fibre: Ofcom have refined the scope of their dark fibre remedy (see Section 12). BT will not be required to provide dark fibre from 566 BT Only exchanges with a rival network within 100m. Ofcom have also provided guidance on appropriate distance limits. In addition, they have changed the timeframe for the implementation of the dark fibre remedy. There will now be a ‘soft launch’ of dark fibre no later than six weeks after the conditions of this statement come into force, with a ‘full launch’ by 1 January 2020 (see Section 12 and Annex 17).
On ducts and poles: The key point of interest from the PIMR is access to ducts and poles. Here, Ofcom are introducing unrestricted duct and pole access. This means companies will have greater flexibility to lay fibre networks that serve residential or business customers and help lower the up-front costs for fibre investment. BT has stressed that ducts and poles have been open to other companies since 2011, and recognised that unrestricted access was a natural next step so had volunteered to get on with that.
Next steps: The draft statements will be sent to the European Commission for review. Ofcom will then finalise its conclusions taking account of any comments from the Commission and publish a Final Statement expected before the end of June 2019. The new regulation will then be in force form July 2019 (PMIR) and August 2019 (BCMR) until the end of March 2021.
