Ofcom Blocks BT's Discounted Openreach Broadband Offer to Rivals

Britain's telecom regulator Ofcom has blocked BT's infrastructure division Openreach from offering rival broadband providers discounts of up to £9.50 per month for access to its network, ruling the plan "not fair and reasonable." Ofcom said on Sept. 28, 2026, that the offer, aimed exclusively at new customers of providers such as Vodafone, Sky and TalkTalk, would undercut "alt-net" start-ups building competing full-fibre networks and could harm sustainable competition. The decision followed complaints from Virgin Media O2, which accused BT of "choking off" competition. Ofcom approved two related Openreach proposals: a £50 one-off discount in VMO2-covered areas and a cap on new high-speed connection charges.