Original article ISPreview UK:
At the start of this week ISPreview revealed that a number of rival broadband networks had raised competition concerns with the UK telecoms regulator after Openreach introduced a new discount on upgrades to full fibre lines (here). Ofcom has now responded to these concerns via a new open letter, which largely rejects them but remains “alive” to the concerns.
The issue concerns proactive migrations, which arise where an internet provider (ISP) proposes to upgrade your older broadband service (ADSL, FTTC etc.) to FTTP and, at the same time, books an appointment for an engineer to carry out the upgrade. The end user can then confirm, reject or select a different appointment. This forms part of Openreach’s efforts to eventually retire their old copper-line based network, services and exchanges.
Openreach’s new offer essentially enabled customers to potentially be upgraded to their faster “1000/115Mbps [download/upload], 550/75Mbps and 330/50Mb bandwidth tiers for the rental price of 80/20Mbps” – lasting for up to 24 months (details). Suffice to say that this was quite a significant discount and would make upgrading much more attractive to some consumers and ISPs.
However, a number of alternative networks (altnets), and the related Independent Networks Co-operative Association (INCA), told ISPreview that they viewed the new promotion (due to be run between 10th October 2025 and 9th April 2026) as being potentially anti-competitive.
The Two Key Concerns Expressed by Rivals
• The level of pricing in the offer is below the costs of a reasonably efficient operator, and so could have an adverse impact on the development of sustainable network competition; and
• The limited duration of the offer, in combination with the price levels, incentivises accelerated mass migration by ISPs from copper to FTTP, foreclosing the market to rival network operators in circumstances where wholesale agreements are not yet operational, or in areas where altnets have not yet extended their network footprint.
The regulator has now published a public response to this via a new Open Letter, which sees Ofcom conclude that they “do not at this point in time have prima facie concerns that would lead us to decide to investigate the offer in further detail.” For those who may be unfamiliar with the Latin term, prima facie usually means “at first sight” or “on the face of it“. But the regulator said they do “remain alive” to some of the concerns going forward and “will continue to assess future offers both individually and cumulatively“.
Ofcom’s Statement
We recognise that the lower prices available under this offer may increase commercial pressure on altnets insofar as it sharpens competition between networks. However, this alone is not a reason for intervention, nor does it automatically mean those prices raise competition concerns. We have therefore carefully considered whether the offer presents prima facie competition concerns that would lead us to decide to investigate it in further detail before it enters the market. In doing this, we have considered the potential competition concerns set out in the WFTMR 2021 Statement and the March 2025 TAR Consultation.
This offer is specifically targeted at proactive migrations – those initiated by the ISP rather than the customer – which currently account for a small proportion of all new connections to Openreach’s FTTP network. Under the offer, ISPs migrating customers from legacy copper services to the 1000/115Mb, 550/75Mb and 330/50Mb tiers in the offer window will pay the 80/20Mb rental price for 24 months. The offer runs from 10 October 2025 until 9 April 2026.
Regarding concerns about the level of prices, we have considered the potential impact of the offer on Openreach’s average FTTP price and how this compares to our estimates of the costs of a reasonably efficient operator (the “REO range”). This is consistent with the approach we applied in Equinox 2 and our proposed approach in the March 2025 Consultation. This tests whether an altnet that sets the same average FTTP rental charge could do so profitably. Although not a bright-line test, it provides a guide as to whether altnets are able to compete in practice.
Openreach’s current average FTTP price is above the top end of our REO range estimates.4 Based on the information we have, we expect this to remain the case under the offer across both its entire FTTP base and for new connections, even allowing for a potential impact on volumes. This includes the fact that proactive migrations represent a small proportion of all new connections to Openreach’s FTTP network, and that the offer is time-limited, which limit the application of this offer to a narrow segment of Openreach’s customer base.
While the specific price levels included in this offer fall within the REO range,5 we do not consider looking at individual prices to be informative as a prima facie indicator of competition concerns in this case. This is because FTTP networks compete across a significantly broader range of services and customers than covered by this specific offer, and non-uniform pricing is common in the market.
Indeed, differential pricing can be a legitimate way for all fibre network operators to test the market and drive take-up.
We are mindful of the potential cumulative impact of multiple offers on overall pricing levels. Given the scope of the recently announced offers – for example, new to network as well as proactive migrations – this does not currently change our view. We expect the cumulative impact on Openreach’s average FTTP price to be limited. However, we remain alive to this risk going forward, and will continue to assess future offers both individually and cumulatively.
We have also considered whether this offer could incentivise accelerated migration. In our March consultation, we set out a new concern: that Openreach could use commercial terms to encourage ISPs to significantly accelerate the migration of their existing customer bases on legacy broadband services to Openreach’s FTTP network, before ISPs are able to migrate their bases to an altnet instead. We are still considering stakeholder responses on the scope of this concern. However, we note that we identified offers that were conditional on ISPs hitting certain targets related to the migration of their legacy customer base as raising the greatest concern, as they can create strong incentives for rapid migration. This offer does not contain such conditions.
For the reasons set out above, we do not at this point in time have prima facie concerns that would lead us to decide to investigate the offer in further detail.
However, Ofcom said they would be carrying out more work on this, such as to understand the impact of this offer on Openreach’s average FTTP price levels and ISPs’ behaviour “over the coming months“. This will include considering the impact of the offer both individually and cumulatively with other Openreach offers.
“Informed by our monitoring, we will decide whether any conduct or actions by Openreach might change our current position, including under competition law, and stand ready to respond quickly if we deem it necessary to do so,” although they won’t publish their final decisions on this until March 2026, when their new Telecoms Access Review 2026 (TAR) is due to have completed.
On the flip side, Openreach is heavily regulated and have been bleeding broadband lines to rivals, albeit mostly from locations where they’ve yet to build FTTP. But the incumbent often feels as if it shouldn’t be restricted from being able to compete with smaller rivals, especially in competitive areas, and often indicates that doing so may also be unfair to consumers who might otherwise benefit from lower pricing.
A spokesperson for Openreach previously said:
“Competition works when it delivers better outcomes for customers – and that’s exactly what we’re focused on.
As we lead the UK’s transition to Full Fibre, this offer is all about listening to our customers and helping them make that leap from older copper-based services to faster, more reliable broadband.
Of course, Ofcom keeps a close eye on everything we do, and rightly so – but we’re allowed to compete, and we’ll continue to do so, in the interest of customers and the country.
We strongly reject any suggestion that it’s anti-competitive.”
As usual, the regulator has the difficult task of trying to balance such concerns, while at the same time needing to recognise the importance of not obstructing the move away from legacy copper-line based services.
