Broadband and home phone prices set to fall

Regulator Ofcom challenges BT to lower wholesale costs of line rental.

The price of broadband is likely to fall after regulator Ofcom set out new caps on the wholesale price that BT can charge for line rental.

BT’s Openreach division currently provides copper lines for a variety of phone and broadband providers.

It’s now capping the cost of a broadband and telephone line at £87.41, down from £91.50. The price of a broadband line will decrease from £14.70 to £11.92 and the price of a home phone line from £103.68 to £98.81.

It’s also proposing further inflation-linked decreases in 2013.

Under legislation, Ofcom has to submit its proposals to the European Commission for review.

If they’re approved, competitors such as Sky and TalkTalk are likely to pass the savings on in the form of lower broadband and home phone costs.

However, BT has indicated that it may appeal the Ofcom costings. A final decision is expected in early March.

Meanwhile, BT has announced that it will be able to offer 300 Megabits per second (Mbps) broadband from next year. It has committed to delivering superfast broadband to two-thirds of UK business premises by the end of 2014.  

The Government defines superfast broadband as having an access speed of greater than 24Mbps.

If you want to look for a better broadband deal, you can compare broadband providers at our partner broadbandchoices' site here.

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