A U.K. ISP coalition is to meet with the country’s telecom regula...
A U.K. ISP coalition is to meet with the country’s telecom regulator today (Fri.) about a British Telecom (BT) proposal to raise prices on some business broadband products. The incumbent telco this month announced higher wholesale prices on its…
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IPStream end-to-end services. That prompted dismay from some 70 small ISPs, which formed the U.K. Internet Federation (UKIF) to fight the increase. In teleconferences this week and previously, UKIF and BT tried to settle their differences but failed, UKIF said, because BT continues to blame the Office of Communications (Ofcom) for the higher price. Ofcom is reviewing the wholesale broadband access market -- BT’s DataStream products -- and has floated the idea of a “margin rule” under which the telco would be required to maintain a pricing gap between IPStream and DataStream products to spur competition. At today’s meeting, UKIF members will criticize Ofcom’s consultation as flawed because “hardly any organisation” affected was aware of it, the group said. It will also contend Ofcom misapplied its regulatory framework. UKIF is “confident” Ofcom will “appreciate the immediate and very real damage which increases in IPStream will bring to the UK broadband market,” it said.