Better broadband

On the face of it, the media regulator Ofcom has failed to make BT pay the price demanded by aggrieved customers, MPs and commercial rivals as a punishment for the company’s inadequate investment in its broadband service. They wanted BT’s Openreach division to be sold off but Ofcom has declined to go this far.

Instead, BT has been ordered to give more independence and investment powers to Openreach, which owns the fibre and copper wires that run from telephone exchanges to homes and businesses. Ofcom also wants the division to be run as a legally separate company within BT Group, with its own board, an independent chairman and its own brand. Sharon White, Ofcom’s chief executive, said forcing BT to sell the division would take years of legal wrangling whereas this was a practical plan that could be implemented within months.

A plan is certainly needed. Nearly six million people do not get the minimum download speeds stipulated by the regulator and just 2 per cent of the country receives ultrafast broadband delivered via fibre-optic lines. In Spain and Portugal, coverage is up to 50 per cent, rising to 70 per cent in Japan and South Korea. The British figures are unacceptable given that BT has a monopoly over the network’s infrastructure.

While ownership is important because it encourages competition – and Brexit may bring new opportunities to break free of EU laws that may have deterred Ofcom from stronger action – what matters most for millions of people is that their service improves. If Ofcom’s plan fails to deliver early signs of success then this decision must not be the end of the matter.