Campaign to break up BT launched by ISPs

TalkTalk-led pressure group aims to get consumers to back BT break-up

A number of internet service providers (ISPs) have started a campaign to persuade regulators and the government to break up BT - and they are hoping to gain widespread public support for the move.

Unfortunately, though, the campaign is being led by TalkTalk, one of the few ISPs that arguably has a worse reputation than BT.

The aim is to tap into widespread disillusion over BT's rollout of high-speed internet in the UK, especially with its hard-headed reluctance to rush out fibre to every nook and cranny of the country, as well as its resistance to ripping up copper local loops and replacing them with much faster fibre connections to homes and offices.

The ISPs hope to persuade policy makers that the UK would be better off if Openreach were set free from BT's ownership and control, and able to make investment decisions unencumbered by BT's wider business interests.

It follows the unveiling yesterday of Ofcom's restructuring plans for BT, which would provide further independence for Openreach, BT's network infrastructure arm, but stopped short of finishing the job and recommending BT's break-up.

TalkTalk CEO Dido Harding, who has presided over a series of security fiascos, was nevertheless keen to stick her neck out in support of the campaign.

"For too long, UK businesses have been let down by the nation's broadband infrastructure, receiving poor speeds and even poorer service. How is the UK economy supposed to grow and compete with the rest of the world with one hand tied behind its back by failing broadband?" Harding asked.

She continued: "Ofcom's proposals simply don't go far enough, and we know many people up and down the country feel the same way. This is a once-in-a-decade opportunity for them to tell the regulator directly they don't want a halfway house for another decade, they want truly radical change now."

Other participants in the campaign include Vodafone and Sky Broadband, as well as the Federation of Communication Services, whatever that is.

The campaign is encouraging ordinary internet users to sign a petition to Ofcom demanding the break-up of BT.

Last week, MPs added to the growing chorus of voices demanding BT's break-up, telling it to either shape up or be broken up. That had followed a similar call in January in the run-up to Ofcom's review.

Ofcom eventually decided against breaking up BT, recommending instead that rivals should be given more access to Openreach infrastructure in order to be able to roll out their own networks alongside BT's.