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Originally Posted by andyl
Chris, with respect I disagree. The origins of a monopoly are largely an irrelevance and many would argue that taxpayers were shortchanged by the BT privatisation anyway. If a hugely dominant player is allowed to emerge and operate untethered, customers, who ultimately pay those shareholder dividends, will suffer. By giving access to the network - for which a merged NTL/Telewest would no doubt reap access fees - there will be greater choice and the possibility of both better value and service. That may include, for example, the dropping of the requirement to take an NTL phone line as part of the package!
Andy
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I don't think the origins of BT's position are in any way irrelevant. I completely agree that taxpayers were shortchanged by the privatisation (which is why Brown tried to claw some of it back shortly after Labour won power in 1997 - remember the one-off 'Windfall Tax' on privatised utilities?), but this only serves to illustrate my point. Taxpayers were shortchanged, because it was taxpayers that built the BT network. Now BT owns the network that we built, it is fair and equitable that we should force BT, by means of statute and regulation, to give us some say over how we use the network - namely by allowing us to use a BT line to access third party telephone and data services.
NTL, on the other hand, is a completely different proposition. For a start it is not a monopoly, and can never be. It may become the only cable TV company, but it is not a monopoly TV provider as it already plays second fiddle to Sky and will face increasing competition from Freeview/Top-Up TV. It may be the second-biggest fixed-line telephone network in the country, but it plays second fiddle to BT there, and let's not forget the small but growing number of people who have no fixed line at all. They therefore also face competition from the mobile companies.
Yes, customers suffer when a hugely dominant player develops, but NTL does not fit this description and it never will. If you don't like their TV service, get Sky. If you don't like their telephone service, get a BT line (whose rental is a mere £1 a month more expensive) and then take your pick of service providers. Or ditch fixed-line altogether and use a mobile. Your customer choice is in no way compromised by the perfectly fair and reasonable desire of a private company to protect its investment and earn a return on it.