BT Open Up Ducting - Look To Use Virgin's

[Ignitionnet]

Yes sir.

LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - British telecom carrier BT (BT.L) plans to allow its competitors to use its underground tunnel network to run high-speed broadband, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

The key part for Virgin is this:

"Open access to all ducts, not just ours, might help BT and others extend coverage and so we would like to see a future government support such a move," he said.

Be interesting to see how Virgin react to the now inevitable pressure. BT opening up their duct network leaves Virgin in a precarious place of looking like the 'bad guy' for trying to keep their ducting and network to themselves. Indeed in Paris ducting is open and there are multiple fibre operators. European law is gearing towards requiring open ducting and Virgin are dead set against offering wholesale access let alone access to their physical assets.

The obvious defence is that BT's network was built with public money which in the case of a lot of the ducting is true, but also true is that that network was purchased with private money. VM cannot claim to be impoverished, they are paying down their debt, have a great debt - EBITDA ratio, and are a profitable company now in terms of actual cash flow.

I can't see a problem with this and would very much like to see VM along with BT and other operators open up their ducting to one another. It would inevitably improve choice and the quality of our services as in some areas at least operators would be diving into VM's ducting with fibre optics and supplying full fibre to the home giving some real competition.

Thoughts?

[webcrawler2050]

I can see why Virgin want to keep their network theirs!!!

[*sloman*]

Originally Posted by webcrawler2050

I can see why Virgin want to keep their network theirs!!!

nor can i open it up like BT/LLU and earn a percentage for each line... simples

[Toto]

Originally Posted by *sloman*

nor can i open it up like BT/LLU and earn a percentage for each line... simples

Well...........not so simples if it has capacity issues, but hey, its all good.

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by webcrawler2050

I can see why Virgin want to keep their network theirs!!!

So can I though I don't agree with it.

[*sloman*]

Will BT only offer to Open theirs if VM do the same. Not fair if VM can access BT duct but they cant access VM's?!?!?

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by *sloman*

Will BT only offer to Open theirs if VM do the same. Not fair if VM can access BT duct but they cant access VM's?!?!?

No - they are going to open up their network anyway but they will certainly use that they are opening up their network to try and prod the powers that be into compelling Virgin to do so.

[Pierre]

It depends what part of the network and how much, also questions on the ownership of the cable and duct and who maintians it. etc.

Fibre/Duct sharing, purchases, leasing etc. on Core Backbones has gone on for years, since the telecoms revolution of the early nineties.

The ownership and rights of the duct and cable are distinctly noted and responsibilities in regards to maintenance are clear.

This may not be so easy if you open up the last mile to everyone.

[Turkey Machine]

Probably the ducting to the telegraph poles. Or rather I'd hope.

[broadbandking]

Can see VM doing this soon than later, as will bring in more money for leasing the duct/network, which in turn will help maintain the network better, MORE MONEY = BETTER NETWORK.

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by broadbandking

Can see VM doing this soon than later, as will bring in more money for leasing the duct/network, which in turn will help maintain the network better, MORE MONEY = BETTER NETWORK.

You assume that the money will go into the network which it won't. VM spend as little as possible on the access network one only has to look at the DOCSIS 3 rollout for evidence of that.

It should also be noted that those who would wholesale the network will be taking money out of VM's retail business, VM would probably take something of a hit on this financially overall just as BT did through unbundling of their network.

[m419]

For a start Virgin Media,Colt,Cable and Wireless,Verizon and Thus are private companies whose aim is to generate revenue to make a profit and to gain as much custom as they can, they are not charities nor co-operatives they PLC's. Large companies with many shareholders. They are under no obligation to provide services to anyone, they can turn you away,they can let you in, its a free market.

BT however is different, the company was formerly publicly owned and was built to offer basic but essential telecommunication services, in 1984, the conservative goverment stupidly privatised it, in other words, sold OUR telecoms network to private investors and individuals. But to keep people happy and to create a free market and boost competition and to ensure everyone has a right to a phone service, they brought in the Universal conditions. Which means they have to do what the goverment would have done if it was to be still publicly owned.

In Germany and various other countries, they don't have that privilage, Deutsche Telekom is very strict on third parties selling telecoms services down its network. If BT was to trade over there like offer Carrier services over the Deutsche Telekom network, they would make it very difficult.

If you don't like the way the telecoms industry is in the UK, then it shouldn't have been privatised and other companies should not have been granted licences to compete with BT or Cable and Wireless, both were publicly owned and sold off by Maggie.

If BT and Cable and Wireless was still publicly owned and were the only services around, we wouldn't have such a outdated internet service. BT would be able to afford upgrades, BT have lost a lot of revenue and custom due to competitors such as Cable companies and other PLC's. Not forgetting, the shareholders, also want to make a profit, so that also comes first before investments on the network.

[on in an hour!]

Originally Posted by broadbandking

Can see VM doing this soon than later, as will bring in more money for leasing the duct/network, which in turn will help maintain the network better, MORE MONEY = BETTER NETWORK.

,sorry to laugh,but have you seen the state of the biggest percentage of VM ducts?? crews are struggling daily to pull VM siamese cables through them with the small No of 'uncabled' addresses they are pulling to these days.

[*sloman*]

if this happens it can only be a good thing for us the customer

[m419]

In the long run, it might be better for Virgin Media to keep it as it is for now, if they open up there network for others to use, they will charge less and Virgin Media will loose custom from its own customer base and possibly revenue.

Example:

Virgin Broadband 10MB alone: £18 per month

Then Virgin Media then allow say Easynet or TalkTalk to use the same network for the wholesale price of £5. Obviously Easynet and TalkTalk will sell it for £10, and Virgin will see customers flee to them and although technically, Virgin Media are still generating revenue from the customer by being on the network, Virgin Media will only get the wholesale rate and not the retail price as well.

Its just like BT, when Virgin Media refreshed its Virgin Media National services in 2007,loads of BT customers drifted away from BT to Virgin Media to the point where there was a backlog of customers waiting to be transfered over, there is an article on this somewhere in Cable forum and I think on 'The Register' website.

The same happened when Sky,Orange and TalkTalk launched its so-called free broadband and bundled services.

And the next threat to BT is mobile broadband, its getting better year by year and many people are taking mobile broadband up simply because you don't need a phone line and don't have to be in a Virgin Media Cabled street and also don't need to go through a credit check because there is a pre-pay option available, thats probably why BT have retained its mobile broadband service even though it pulled out of the mobile phone market in 2008.

Apart from that, since BT has a wider coverage area and since its fibre optic service will be national eventually, who cares if Virgin Media and other companies such as Smallworld Media open there networks, there is a national network regulated by Ofcom that allows competition and national services and thats all BT's rivals care about.

Can you really see Virgin Media working with the likes of Easynet(Sky) and Colt, they will purposely charge them a fortune to prevent competition.