BIG welcomes the news that Ofcom has fined BT a record amount of £42 million for cutting compensation payments to telecoms providers over delays to installing Ethernet services. The fine has been imposed on Openreach, an arm of BT that provides services to telecoms providers to develop and deliver their networks across the UK.
An Ofcom investigation found that BT failed to pay sufficient compensation to telecoms providers such as Vodafone and TalkTalk following delays to installing Ethernet services. Moreover, a penalty of £300,000 has also been imposed on BT for failing to provide clear and accurate information to Ofcom during the course of the investigation.
Grant Shapps MP, Chair of BIG, said, “BIG welcomes the move by Ofcom to fine BT £42 million for cutting compensation payments to telecoms providers after failing to deliver Ethernet services. However, Ofcom needs to go further in ensuring that telecoms customers are also adequately compensated for poor broadband speeds and services.”