Industry calls for greater intervention to facilitate 5G rollouts, but urges caution around changes to the existing regulatory framework for fibre
BT does not consider the Three/Vodafone merger will boost overall capex levels
On 17 July 2025, Assembly participated in the Westminster eForum event on the future for broadband and mobile connectivity in the UK. In discussing contrasts in the country’s fixed and mobile markets, Clive Carter (Director, Regulatory Affairs, Competition, Economics and Compliance, BT) pointed to growth in investment in, and availability of, both fibre and 5G. However, he argued that the merger of Three and Vodafone would do nothing to increase overall capex by the industry, only that it creates a larger grid of sites and efficiency gains that will deliver network improvements. Carter also acknowledged the investment challenge presented by the real-terms decline in revenue and called for more support from policymakers in areas such as spectrum, planning and net neutrality. He stated that he saw a “burgeoning competitive environment” at the wholesale level for fixed and mobile services, adding that BT sees much more competition than is reflected by Ofcom’s Telecoms Access Review (TAR) consultation. With the complex PSTN switch-off on the horizon and the copper retirement likely to begin in 2028, he urged industry and the Government to plan ahead, work together and communicate the benefits to end users of migrating from legacy networks.
Planning rules were cited as the single greatest barrier to mobile network deployments
The following panel focused on supporting growth in the mobile market, which Hamish MacLeod (Chief Executive, Mobile UK) described as the “Cinderella of policymaking”. He argued that major regulatory and policy changes to attract investment in fibre have shifted the UK from “a global laggard to global respectability”, but that mobile has not seen the same collective push. MacLeod called for full implementation of the PSTI Act and for a reduction in annual licence fees (ALFs) to enable mobile operators to plug the gap between the commercial and public values of network rollouts. Sean McHenry (Head, Town Planning, Cornerstone) agreed while highlighting planning rules as the biggest deployment challenge currently. He welcomed the Government’s promise of a call for evidence on changes to planning laws, stating that the system needs to be made fit for purpose, including expanding and aligning permitted development rights across the UK. George Robinson (Head of Government Affairs, VodafoneThree) considered that the state of the country’s mobile rollout was “not good enough”, especially given the Government’s growth ambitions, but he disputed Carter’s assertion that the merger won’t mean more investment. He stated that VodafoneThree has already started implementing its joint network plan, although barrier busting remains a key priority in order for investment to happen as soon as possible. On recent improvements to Ofcom’s mobile coverage checker, Robinson considered that the regulator had taken a step in the right direction, but that the tool could be made more accurate with additional and more granular data. MacLeod stated that he was worried about some of the data underpinning the ‘Map Your Mobile’ checker and operators would be working constructively with Ofcom to enable updates and improvements.
Confusion over some of the proposals in Ofcom’s TAR consultation
Focusing on fixed broadband, Alex Blowers (Director, Regulatory Affairs, CityFibre) stated that Ofcom’s statement of intent in its Digital Communications Review (DCR) in 2015/16 and measures it has implemented, including around ducts and poles, “lit the fuse” for fibre investment, which should be seen as an infrastructure success story. However, he questioned the market definitions proposed by Ofcom in its TAR consultation, finding the potential changes to the geographic boundaries for leased lines the most “puzzling”. Blowers also stated that wholesale pricing could be a tricky issue for Ofcom to navigate, with the regulator needing to avoid decisions that could lead to perverse or destabilising effects in the market, which could reinforce Openreach’s dominant position, without removing flexibility and resorting to “micromanagement”. Kevin McNulty (Group Strategy Director, ITS Technology) similarly considered that Ofcom‘s proposed changes to Area 3 were “hard to understand” and also called for a longer term agreement about Openreach’s physical infrastructure access (PIA) products. James Tickel (Director, Regulatory Policy and Strategy, Openreach) stated that Openreach had “leaned into” the desire of Ofcom to open up ducts and poles, and that a conversation about long-run certainty regarding PIA is something that he would be willing to explore. Tickel echoed comments from Carter that the current level of wholesale competition has not been reflected sufficiently in the TAR consultation, and expressed concern that its proposals would tighten rules on Openreach. He also considered that the lack of proposals to support the copper retirement process represented a missed opportunity, adding that anything that hinders the migration from copper to fibre networks – whether that be in Openreach’s or in altnets’ favour – is simply bad policy.
Ofcom is keen that regulation remains stable over the next five years, giving time for effective competition to materialise
Ben Harries (Director, Competition Policy, Ofcom) provided a history lesson on how the current regulatory framework came to be, suggesting that it was driven in part by an incumbent that was reluctant to invest in fibre and was facing limited competitive threats at the network level. He described PIA as the “foundational remedy” that has enabled market entry, adding that Ofcom doesn’t want to just see further network build but it also wants effective competition to emerge – something that will take time given the need for altnets to overcome the incumbency benefits of existing players. Harries stated the regulator has not proposed “sweeping changes” in the TAR consultation and that stakeholders have welcomed its overarching aims, but views differ on how exactly those should be met. With 37 responses to the consultation across more than 1,500 pages, Harries identified five issues that Ofcom will need to think about carefully over the coming months:
Ofcom’s definition of established competition and whether any locations are seeing that play out;
Whether Ofcom is correctly reflecting investment and competition in the business market (an area where the regulator is gathering new evidence);
PIA pricing and whether that ensures a level playing field for all users of the product;
Support for copper retirement and exchange exit, including being mindful of the suggestion to take into account altnet coverage; and
Quality of service (QoS) standards on Openreach’s fibre network.
