Major UK telecommunications network company, BT, has signed an agreement allowing multi-media organisation, Sky, to access its infrastructure of poles and ducts for the installation of Sky’s own high-speed fibre-optic broadband cable lines.
The deal between BT and Sky follows a recent direction from UK telecommunications regulator, Ofcom, instructing BT to open up its network to other potential suppliers in order to encourage competition regarding the supply of broadband cable. It is anticipated that other companies may soon follow Sky’s lead in negotiating access to the BT network.
The move will of course give Sky a valuable slice of the revenue paid by internet service providers (ISPs) who need broadband cable networks to bring their business and private internet customers on-line.
The increased competition will also, it is hoped, help speed up the provision of broadband facilities across the UK, particularly in rural areas where broadband provision is far less extensive than in urban and city locations.
Such access is particularly sought after by companies across the UK keen to introduce broadband-enabled technologies such as business VoIP (voice over internet protocol), as this could drastically reduce their monthly phone costs.
Business VoIP could be made available very easily in any location via the services of a remote hosted business VoIP provider or VoIP reseller, provided there is already access in the area to a reliable broadband connection.
The news regarding the deal between BT and Sky will also be welcomed by those commentators who have long argued that introducing competition in broadband network supply would result in lower rental costs for ISPs. The reduced costs could then, it is argued, be passed on by ISPs in the form of reduced rates for their business and domestic broadband customers.
In the meantime, BT has upbraided Virgin for what it sees as the media giant’s refusal to share its network on similar lines.
