Dido Harding, CEO of TalkTalk, said:
“CityFibre’s appeal against dark fibre is nothing more than self-serving litigation. Businesses are crying out for increased competition to deliver the affordable Ethernet access they need. We agree with Ofcom that opening up wholesale dark fibre presents a huge opportunity for more connectivity and innovation. Crucially though, connectivity won't help if is unaffordable. Even if CityFibre were able to serve anywhere near the number of businesses Openreach can, arguing to keep prices deliberately high to support your own business case is simply wrong.
“The unbundling of copper exchanges 10 years ago drove a vast improvement in consumer broadband uptake, delivering significantly lower prices reductions, stronger competition and increased innovation. Dark fibre has the potential to bring the same benefits to for Britain’s businesses and we absolutely support Ofcom in this.”