BT rivals ask government to intervene on prices

BRITISH TELECOM'S rivals have pleaded with the UK government to intervene over the prices it charges for renting access to its network infrastructure.

The Internet service providers (ISPs), many of which are dependent on BT's network, said that BT is charging four or five times its underlying costs, which they believe is unfair.

Prices for duct sharing are £0.95 per metre every year, while overhead pole sharing as part of BT's Openreach costs £21 a year for a single pole attachment, which Virgin Media believes is more costly than building its own duct and pole network. The ISPs say these prices are too high and have written to communications minister Ed Vaizey to register their complaints.

BT claims its prices are reasonable, saying they "compare very well with European averages". It challenged its rivals' track records and said it was ironic that it is being criticised by companies that provide "little or no wholesale access to their assets", according to the BBC.

BT also said it was disappointed that the media found out about the complaints before it did, suggesting it might have been caught off guard.

It remains to be seen if the government will step in to force BT to lower its prices, but arguably this would be benefit consumers across the board, providing of course that the ISPs pass those savings on. µ