Measures to ensure new Openreach delivers 13 July 2017
Progress towards network division becoming legally separate from BT
Ofcom explains how new company will be measured and monitored
Ofcom has today announced how Openreach will be held to account, as it becomes legally separate from BT, to ensure it delivers for phone and broadband users.
We expect the reformed Openreach to engage with industry to deliver widespread fibre networks, offering fast, reliable broadband. The new company should provide a good service to meet the needs of all the people and businesses who rely on its network, together with a step change in quality of service.
BT agreed in March 2017 to Ofcom's requirements for the biggest ever reform of Openreach, its network division. The changes mean Openreach becoming a distinct company with its own staff, management and strategy, and a legal purpose to serve all its customers equally. [1]
Ofcom will closely monitor BT's compliance with its new commitments, and how effectively Openreach serves the whole industry. We will measure how far Openreach is improving its network and helping to deliver better quality of service.
Should it become clear the new Openreach was not working, or BT was failing to comply with its commitments, Ofcom would revisit the model and consider new measures to address any concerns.
Progress so farSince March, BT and Openreach have taken positive steps towards implementing the new commitments, which we welcome. Openreach has a new Chairman and Board, with the majority of members having no affiliation with BT Group.
Openreach has set up its own compliance committee, and is consulting publicly on a new process for engaging with telecoms companies on planned services and investments.
How Ofcom will measure resultsOfcom will examine whether all UK consumers and businesses using Openreach's network are receiving decent speeds, and the right service to meet their needs. We will measure, and report on, Openreach's contribution to growing fibre broadband networks, including full-fibre' lines which are currently available to only around 2% of UK premises.[2]
We expect Openreach to be responsive to different models of investment proposed by its customers, including co-investment and risk sharing.
We also want to see a step change in telecoms quality of service. So we will report on Openreach's repair and installation times, and whether engineers are turning up on time.
How Ofcom will monitor complianceOfcom is establishing a dedicated Openreach Monitoring Unit, to monitor whether the new arrangements are implemented successfully.
The unit will assess whether new governance rules are being observed, and whether Openreach is acting more independently of BT, making its own decisions, and treating all its customers equally.
It will consider whether BT and Openreach are living by both the letter and the spirit of the commitments, and creating a successful culture that values Openreach's independence.
Ofcom will publish its findings six months after the commitments come into effect, and then every year.
This will include BT's delivery on commitments in Northern Ireland, where Openreach does not operate. A new protocol will govern the relationship between Northern Ireland Networks and BT Group, to ensure people and businesses in Northern Ireland benefit from the new arrangements in the same way as the rest of the UK.[3]
Sharon White, Ofcom Chief Executive, said: The new Openreach will be built to serve all its customers equally, acting independently and taking investment decisions on behalf of all its customers.
BT has made positive progress towards implementing the reforms. Once they are complete, Ofcom will keep a careful eye on whether Openreach is working for telecoms users, ensuring BT and Openreach live by the letter and spirit of their commitments. If we see problems emerging, we won't hesitate to act.
Next stepsCompleting reform of Openreach is dependent on the Government amending the Crown Guarantee, which underwrites the BT Pension Scheme, so that it maintains pensions protection for members of the scheme who transfer to the new Openreach. The Digital Economy Act introduced a power to enable this change, and the Government is drafting secondary legislation to implement it.
After that, BT's pension trustees would need formally to agree that Openreach will become a participating employer in the pension scheme. BT must also complete a consultation process for the transfer of employees to the new Openreach.
Once these are achieved and the new commitments come into effect, Ofcom has today confirmed that it will release BT from its past undertakings'.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
The reforms are designed to address Ofcom's concerns that BT has previously retained control of Openreach's decisions, while other telecoms companies that rely on its network have not been consulted sufficiently on investment plans.
By contrast, full-fibre broadband to the premise is available to around one fifth of homes in the US, and around three quarters of homes in Spain and Portugal.
For example, Northern Ireland Networks will become virtually separate from BT. Under the protocol there will be equal treatment of its customers, including around confidential information, and BT branding will be removed from Northern Ireland vans and engineers' workwear.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
03/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...
03/07/2026
Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
02/07/2026
BLAST, a competitive entertainment company focused on esports, has announced more than $133 million in revenue for 2025, representing more than 40% year-over-ye...
02/07/2026
Riedel Communications has announced official SKAARHOJ panel support for SimplyLive production workflows, enabled through the SimplyLive 2.1 release. The integra...
02/07/2026
The Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic has deployed LiveU video-over-bond...
02/07/2026
Gravity Media USA has announced the appointment of Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development, effective July 1, 2026. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Bosto...
02/07/2026
TwelveLabs, a video intelligence company, has announced $100 million in Series B funding co-led by NEA and NAVER Ventures, with participation from Amazon, Radic...
02/07/2026
The Pro Padel League (PPL) has announced a broadcast partnership with USA Sports that will air five PPL championship matches on CNBC during the 2026 season, the...
02/07/2026
LiveLike, a digital fan engagement platform, has announced eight confirmed FIFA ...
02/07/2026
Cobalt Digital has received Future's Best of Show Award, presented by AV Technology at InfoComm 2026, for its blueCORE family of standalone signal processor...
02/07/2026
Synamedia has announced the appointment of Dr. Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transition...
02/07/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) and Sony Group Corporation have announced an expanded collaboration for the Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC), taking place in Paris, Fra...
02/07/2026
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. ( Z') has announced exclusive broadcast and digital rights for the Bundesliga in India for five years, beginning with the...
02/07/2026
An effort uniting News, Sports, Local, and Telemundo, the 50+-camera live produc...
02/07/2026
Zoey Deutch, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, and Ben Wang appe...
02/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
02/07/2026
A new era in unmixing and spectral editing
The latest version of Steinberg's spectral audio-editing software has just arrived, building on the strength...
02/07/2026
Aims to simplify additive synthesis
Sine Machine is the debut launch from Melatonin, a Vienna-based developer who have spent the past six years creating wha...
02/07/2026
Products to remain fully active & supported
Following the news of Native Instruments joining the inMusic brand line-up, Academy and Emmy Award-winning visua...
02/07/2026
What you missed!
Last weekend, Saturday 27 June 2026, saw the debut of Sound On Sounds new GearExpo UK event, the largest dedicated pro-audio event to take ...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Following the successful launch of its inaugural APAC Mentoring Programme last month, the Rise AV APAC Regional Council will bring the conversation around mento...
02/07/2026
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Used to Shoot Director Takahisa Zeze's Cry Out
Brie Clayton July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Highly mobile camera supports tense and de...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions acquires BFE, expanding its lead in European broadcast, medi...
02/07/2026
Berklee Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's 250th Anniversar...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions GmbH, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is acquiring BFE Studio und Medien...
02/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has extended the ingest facility at leading Brazilian sports company LiveMode, work...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
Measures to ensure new Openreach delivers 13 July 2017 
