View from City Road: BT hopes for a break in the logjam
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.AT&T's attempt to break into the UK telecoms market may look like bad news for BT. The US giant would be a serious rival. It has a well known name, and would target just the lucrative business customers that BT spends so much time wooing back from its main rival, Mercury.
But BT insiders are surprisingly not worried, and hope that the transatlantic regulatory logjam will now be broken.
BT's application for an international licence has been blocked by the Federal Communications Commission while AT&T is blocked from the UK by the DTI. .
The DTI may feel justified in sticking to its guns and refusing to allow full UK-to-US telephone competition, but it should ask itself whether this is doing BT or its customers any favours. Someone somewhere needs to break the stalemate.
The other consideration is the development of more competition in Britain. AT&T, if thwarted in its desire for an international UK licence, may not be keen to forge ahead with a UK domestic service. That may of course be a good thing for BT and Mercury, but it is hardly in the interests of consumers or in the spirit of competition beloved of this government.
The DTI says that all licence applications are viewed 'positively', but that would certainly ring hollow in the ears of United States Sprint, which has been waiting to become a telephone operator in Britain for well over a year.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments