The UK regulator has launched its programme to monitor how Openreach, now legally separated from BT, complies with its new commitments.
Background: BT agreed to a voluntary legal separation of Openreach in March 2017, after Ofcom identified competition concerns in its Strategic Review of Digital Communications. Openreach is still part of the BT Group, but now has its own staff, management, and strategy.
What’s new? Ofcom has now formally released BT from the undertakings it had signed up to in 2005, and has established an Openreach Monitoring Unit (OMU). The OMU will monitor the commitments stemming from the voluntary agreement of 2017, which aims to improve access to Openreach’s network for BT’s competitors.
What’s next? Ofcom will produce a report on how BT Group and Openreach are complying with the new commitments during 2019. Annual reports will follow.
