Ofcom has fined BT for GBP 94,823,000, saying it overcharged competitors for using its network, the Telegraph reported. Cable & Wireless, BSkyB, Talk Talk, Virgin Media and Verizon will all get pay outs “for the full amounts by which it [BT] has overcharged them,” the UK regulator said. Ofcom said BT had overcharged for “certain wholesale ethernet services” going back as far as 2004. The prices are regulated but Ofcom found in favour of complaints filed in 2010 and 2011 that BT had set a level that was “not cost orientated”. It acted after attempts to negotiate the price down failed.
BT said it was “disappointed” and rejected Ofcom’s findings. It has two months to decide whether to appeal. “We have provided evidence to Ofcom that shows we complied with our regulatory obligations and that we kept them informed of our pricing decisions throughout the period being disputed,” a spokesman said. “The market for ethernet services has grown strongly over the period and there is no evidence of economic harm to support Ofcom's findings,” he added.
The degree to which it overcharged and which of its rivals were hit hardest was kept confidential.
