Press & PR

Telecoms giant BT has won a preliminary review from industry regulator Ofcom that will consider whether the company can raise the price it charges other broadband suppliers to use its network.

Currently, much of the UK broadband infrastructure is controlled by BT and it charges other suppliers to access its networks in order to supply their own service.

The process is known as local loop unbundling and BT has approached Ofcom to allow it a greater degree of flexibility in how it sets charges.

A restructuring of the current pricing plan would spark a bitter row between BT and other suppliers, the Times reports.

Ultimately, consumers may see their broadband bills rise as internet service providers (ISPs) try to cover the costs of the price hike.

BT also recently announced its intention to raise the price of its telephone services. It announced late last week that customers will now have to pay an extra 23 per cent to make daytime calls.

Many people are finding that VoIP services are a cheaper alternative to traditional telephone lines, with Vonage offering users unlimited calls throughout the UK for just £5.99 a month on its V-Plan 1 package.