Broadband Price Rises Possible
Remember our broadband experiment? Well now our colleagues at Have Your Say are exploring national variations in broadband provision.
When we looked at the issue most people were unhappy with their service. So you will be interested to learn that a review of the way infrastructure is priced may mean you end up paying more for your broadband.
, the company in charge of the local access network - the last mile of cabling and exchanges, can charge for access to it's lines. Early indications from Ofcom are that prices will go up. And if broadband providers costs go up, so, unless they absorb the rise, does the amount they charge consumers like you and me.
Naturally some of the suppliers who will . For its part say:
We are encouraged by Ofcom's approach to the review, both the proposed timescales and its intention to open all the key issues to consultation. Ofcom's acknowledgement that prices for certain key copper access products need to be realigned with costs is also welcome; the current charge ceilings, with prices fixed in nominal terms, are not sustainable indefinitely.
Or in plain English, BT Openreach say they need the extra money to cover their costs. The companies who will have to pay for the rises, as you would expect, have a different view of the issue.