[jfman]

It’s not a healthier market to have a large number of debt saddled players barely able to service that debt. Those are costs ultimately paid for in consumer bills.

The need to flip for “inflated profit” (as you put it) is ultimately the view of a rational private equity investor. If that’s the model for Burnham’s Britain investors need to know that the state will play fair, and give them reasonable opportunity to make a return on that investment. Gutting the value of every other altnet to suit one set of investors, in particular a set of investors linked to Burnham’s time in Manchester, would be an atrocious look.

It’s particularly noteworthy that the Greater Manchester Combined Authority has taken a keen interest in pushing CityFibre lines to the CMA. None of the other major (or even minor!) cities responded, none of the devolved nations. It’s absolutely grubby.

Despite their keen interest in competition in the telecommunications market the GMCA didn’t respond to the OFCOM Telecoms Access Review.