British telecoms regulator Ofcom has removed retail price controls for line rental and calls on former monopoly BT after 22 years. The watchdog has decided that competition has finally reached the required level of intensity.
Ofcom said BT had agreed to limit increases to its charges for its basic line rental product to avoid hitting customers for whom line rental accounts for a large chunk of their phone bill. The changes are set to come into effect from August 1.
The move comes as competition for telecoms and broadband customers ramps up with a number of less traditional players such as media firm BSkyB and supermarket giant Tesco all trying to grab a piece of the action with their own offerings.
