OfCom Chief Executive Sharon White cited BT’s ultrafast fibre broadband to the premises (FTTP) penetration – resting at 3% – as one example of a slower service compare to mainland Europe.

In a recent speech White said: “While most of us rely on decades-old copper connections, seven in 10 people in Spain and Portugal can access full fibre broadband. To catch up, we need still bolder commitments. And the biggest player remains BT. We welcome Openreach’s commitment to reach two million homes with full fibre by 2020.

“The company has also outlined plans to reach 10 million by the mid-2020s, but dependent on up to £7 a month being added to broadband bills. We expect BT to go further, and make a reality of the ambition it has set itself to be – and I quote – ‘a national champion with the scale and expertise to meet Britain’s future communications needs’.”

She added: “We recognise, of course, the competing priorities that any major operator faces – be it investing in sports or other content rights, dividends, pensions or its broadband infrastructure.

“But the national priority is clear.”

*Article first appeared on https://digit.fyi/ 4 Dec 2017