UK Next Generation Access and the Conservative policy for ‘nationwide superfast broadband’
20 July 2010
The Conservative policy for broadband involves replacing
Labour’s proposed line rental tax with a portion of the TV licence fee, together with measures to encourage passive access to BT’s network and the use of alternative infrastructure
The policy sounds negative for BT, equivocal for VMed and
positive for Sky and TTG, but is unlikely to have a significant direct impact in the near term in the event of a Conservative government
We view as more significant the likely indirect impact on
Ofcom’s upcoming access market reviews. In the longer term, the development of alternative infrastructure could be significant, such as that already being deployed by Fibrecity in partnership with the water companies