Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to tackle monopolistic practices amongst broadband providers.

As the independent regulator for telecommunications, Ofcom is responsible for regulating the telecoms sector with a duty to further the interests of citizens and consumers, where appropriate by promoting competition.

Where Ofcom determines a provider has significant market power (SMP) in a market, it can impose remedies as appropriate. In the wholesale fixed telecoms market, BT and KCOM were found to have SMP and a range of pricing and non-pricing remedies were imposed on the firms to promote network competition. Ofcom is in the process of updating its decisions through its Telecoms Access Review. Ofcom has not found any firm to have SMP in the retail telecoms sector.

In July, DSIT published a consultation on the draft Statement of Strategic Priorities for telecommunications, the management of radio spectrum, and postal services. The draft Statement sets out the government’s view on the importance of competition to support broadband deployment across the UK. We are currently reviewing responses to the consultation and will publish our response in due course.