Britain’s telecom regulator paves way for UK’s rapid upgrade to fibre broadband

Britain’s telecommunications regulator, Ofcom, has paved the way for a massive investment in full-fibre broadband networks by the industry in a move that is also likely to result in higher prices to fund the upgrade. BT will more than quadruple the size of its full-fibre network to 20 million homes by the end of the decade after Ofcom unveiled a long-term plan designed to stimulate a rapid upgrade to the nation’s broadband infrastructure. Openreach -- BT’s network that is used by companies including Sky, Vodafone and TalkTalk to offer consumer broadband -- will now accelerate the speed of its network upgrade having been unshackled from price controls. The shake-up represents a shift from the previous regulatory regime whereby Openreach was heavily regulated, but Ofcom stopped short of setting a rate-of-return range for BT.