Statement: Wholesale broadband access market review

Statement published 31 July 2018

Effective competition in broadband services plays a key role in ensuring that consumers benefit from lower prices, greater choice, better quality services and innovation. It has also encouraged high take-up with 80% of households using fixed broadband to access the internet.

This document sets out Ofcom’s assessment of competition within the wholesale broadband access markets (excluding the Hull Area). The services in these markets are bought by telecoms providers to supply retail broadband services to residential and business consumers. We have published today a separate document setting out our findings and remedies for broadband in the Hull Area.

This statement covers our analysis of competition within these markets, focusing on determining whether any telecoms provider has a position strong enough to influence market outcomes. We then set out the regulatory instruments that we are introducing to protect competition in those areas where wholesale competition is not effective.