Wholesale Broadband won’t be linked with BT Pensions, Says Ofcom

It has been decided by Ofcom that BT’s £9 billion deficit on pensions won’t be taken into account when they are decided the regulated charges for wholesale broadband for providers. Had Ofcom moved in the other direction, we could have seen a rise in the cost of renting out the service to providers; a cost that would almost certainly have been passed straight onto the consumer.

Currently, Ofcom take into account ongoing costs related with the pension service, but not the actual deficit itself, so this is great news for providers and has saves a hike in costs for everyone else, too.

However, it’s not great news for BT, who are facing a massive deficit which has been caused by employees taking out more cash than they are paying in. A recovery plan has been put in place which may help to clear the problem out within the next five years, providing it doesn’t get any worse, but time will tell in the effectiveness of this plan.

Of course the money might find its way from the public in to BT through some channels anyway, considering that the previous conservative government had promised to help support the operator when they became privatised nearly twenty years ago. BT have issues a legal challenge to try and get some assistance from the government.

Of course given the current economic climate and the amount of spending cuts going on right now, it certainly won’t be an easy ride for the company, which has seen threats of strike action and spending of over £2 billion for the next generation broadband rollout. A statement on the BT situations is expected before the end of the year but until then, it seems consumers have avoided having to pay extra for their internet connection.

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