Freeserve Calls On Oftel To Investigate BT

Freeserve has accused BT of pursuing an “orchestrated campaign of anti-competitive behaviour” in an attempt to dominate the market for high-speed internet access and has urged Oftel to launch an “urgent” investigation into the company.

The internet service provider is accusing BT of exploiting links with its internet arm BT Openworld in an attempt to gain an “unfair” advantage over its competitors, and has reported the company’s £10m broadband campaign to Government’s communications regulator.

BT cut the price of its wholesale broadband product in February and immediately afterwards launched an advertising campaign to promote the uptake of broadband in the UK (see BT Openworld To Promote Broadband Uptake). However, Freeserve is accusing BT of using the campaign to promote its own service on the grounds that online ads directed users to BT Openworld’s own broadband product without informing them of other alternative services.

CEO of Freeserve, John Pluthero, said: “The Chinese walls that are supposed to exist between BT Openworld and BT Wholesale may be fooling Oftel. But to the rest of us who understand the lead times needed to bring a new product to market it’s obvious those walls are paper thin.”

He added: “There’s now a realistic hope that broadband will at last begin to take off this year in the UK and what must not be allowed to happen is to hand that market to BT through flimsy regulation of the incumbent’s anti-competitive behaviour.”

A recent report from Jupiter MMXI predicts that in 2002 the internet market will be dominated by developments in broadband access, with the number of UK households with high-speed internet access expected to treble by the end of the year (see Broadband And Digital TV Will Dominate In 2002).

Freeserve: 0845 070 0066 www.freeserve.co.uk

BT OpenWorld: 0207 469 2337

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