UK telecoms regulator moves to block BT Openreach discount scheme

LONDON: Britain’s Ofcom proposed blocking a new BT Openreach discount scheme on Tuesday, marking the regulator’s first intervention over a pricing offer it said threatened competition.

Ofcom said discounts of up ‌to £9.50 over 30 ⁠months in ⁠the emerging fibre broadband market targeted customers that providers such as CityFibre and Hyperoptic rely on to grow.

Openreach’s offer was not “fair and reasonable and could harm the development of network competition”, said Ofcom, adding that Britain’s dominant network could undermine its rivals through “aggressively discounted pricing”.