2005/10/04

OfcomWatch

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And again on Ofcomwatch ...

BT OpenReach - LLU Smoke and Mirrors? - Digital-Lifestyles.info

BT OpenReach - LLU Smoke and Mirrors? - Digital-Lifestyles.info

An article I wrote about BT Openreach.

BBC NEWS | Business | NTL seals $6bn Telewest takeover

BBC NEWS | Business | NTL seals $6bn Telewest takeover: "NTL seals $6bn Telewest takeover

NTL and Telewest plan to take on BSkyB in the UK Britain's biggest cable company NTL is to take over rival operator Telewest for about $6bn (£3.4bn). "

This has been on the cards for a long-time and now it's happening. There are still going to be major hurdles that the combined company is going to have to overcome. Integration is not going to be easy.

One of the biggest issues may be that the combined company could be seen to have SMP (significant market power) which means they'd be regulated in the same light as BT - which they obviously don't want (it also means they'd have to provide 3rd party access to their network). Their argument will be that they are competing with BT and therefore they don't have SMP, but in terms of an access medium (i.e. cable) they will.

If Ofcom force NTeLewest to open their network, it will add costs, which they wont want and may still scupper the deal.