U.K.’s Fiber Ambitions Stoke Growing Conflict With BT Group
- New government funding gives lift to emerging broadband rivals
- Review of former telecom monopoly’s Openreach network is next
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The U.K. government’s decision to place communications infrastructure at the center of its post-Brexit economic strategy exposes growing strains with BT Group Plc, the former state-owned monopoly that still controls the country’s biggest telecom network.
A big part of the more than 1 billion pounds ($1.24 billion) of digital infrastructure funding announced Wednesday by U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond will go to BT competitors like TalkTalk Telecom Group and CityFibre Infrastructure Holdings Plc that are building their own fiber-optic networks. The government will contribute 400 million pounds in matching funds for emerging fiber-broadband providers wanting to scale up.