18/07/2017
A dedicated ‘Openreach Monitoring Unit’ will measure and monitor how new governance rules are being observed by BT and Openreach and whether Openreach is treating all its customers equally, as it moves towards total independence from the BT Group under terms agreed by BT and Ofcom in March.
Progress to date includes the appointment by Openreach of a new chairman and a board mainly comprising members with no previous affiliation with BT. It has set up its own compliance committee and is consulting publicly on a new process for engaging with telecoms companies on planned services and investments.
‘Delivering a more independent Openreach’ also explains how the reformed Openreach is expected to
- engage with industry to deliver widespread fibre networks, offering fast, reliable broadband
- provide a good service to meet the needs of all the people and businesses who rely on its network
- deliver a step change in quality of service – including whether engineers are turning up on time
Openreach does not operate in Northern Ireland so a new protocol will govern the relationship between Northern Ireland Networks and BT Group and ensure people and businesses in Northern Ireland benefit from the new arrangements in the same way as the rest of the UK.