Last ditch attempt to stop BT split

BT’S boss has made a last ditch defence of its Openreach arm ahead of the publication of a regulator report tomorrow which could see the infrastructure division broken up.

Speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Gavin Patterson, chief executive of the telecoms firm, told an audience of industry heavyweights that BT should not be split from Openreach.

Although it is part of BT, fibre cables laid by Openreach are relied upon by other broadband providers for much of the UK’s broadband coverage.

Ofcom is considering whether BT (down 7.6p to 459.85p) gets an unfair advantage by owning Openreach as it gets access to government subsidies. Rivals also bemoan the allegedly poor service they receive from Openreach as wholesale customers.

Patterson said: ‘Openreach is the only national player and it is very heavily regulated.

‘We believe having Openreach as a unit within the BT group is good for investment and for research and development, and insures you get a national service at competitive prices. If it’s ever separated, would you see the same investments being made? I very much doubt you would.’

It is thought that Ofcom is likely to suggest changes to Openreach in its current form.

Ofcom’s chief executive Sharon White revealed last year that she expected the probe’s outcome to be one of three options: separation, further deregulation, or stepping up service requirements expected from Openreach. Patterson’s comments followed 11th hour attacks from rivals in favour of separation earlier this week, including Sky’s chief executive Jeremy Darroch and Vodafone’s boss Vittorio Colao.