After rivals objected, Britain’s telecoms regulator said it needed two more months to review BT’s wholesale price offer.
Ofcom advised BT (BT.L) not to deploy Equinox 2 on April 1 until it made a final judgment to offer confidence and stability.
Sky, Vodafone, and TalkTalk seek incentives from BT to move consumers to its national fiber network.
Virgin Media, O2, and hundreds of ailments spend billions on developing competitive networks.
Ofcom concluded the plan was not anti-competitive and would not restrict the former monopoly provider from launching it.
BT CEO Philip Jansen’s February Financial Times article, “BT boss worries Openreach fibre drive would ‘end in tears’ for rivals,” raised “serious alarm” within the regulator.
In a Friday letter to Jansen, Ofcom Chief Executive Melanie Dawes pledged network competition.
“We would take regulatory action if BT is able to distort competition in the market,” she warned.
Jansen’s reaction, released by Ofcom, argued the report and title misrepresented his statements.
Ofcom’s consultation responders cited Jansen’s statements.
CityFibre disputed BT’s Equinox wholesale price offer, but Ofcom didn’t act.
Virgin Media O2, BT’s biggest network rival, said Equinox 2 required a thorough assessment to ensure Openreach wasn’t abusing its market dominance to discourage network switching.
BT shares fell 1.3% early.
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