Oftel cries foul over BT unmetered deals

UK telecoms regulator Oftel has launched an investigation into the competitiveness of BT's new internet pricing packages, which are due to begin this Friday.

According to an Oftel spokeswoman, the watchdog initiated the investigation at the end of last week to determine whether BT is acting competitively with the launch of the unmetered internet calls packages.

"We are undertaking an investigation into BT's packages under the Competition Act," said the spokeswoman. "We informed BT about the investigation on Friday and will make a further statement shortly."

BT, which announced its two internet pricing packages BT Surf Together and BT Talk & Surf Together on 19 October, said it is "bemused" by the regulator's investigation, adding that it strongly refutes suggestions that it is acting anti-competitively.

BT chief executive Sir Peter Bonfield said in a statement: "These packages represent excellent news for consumers. BT is offering even better value for money in the area of internet access. We strongly resist the suggestion that we are acting anti-competitively: all we're trying to do is to give our customers excellent value for money."

"We will obviously co-operate with the Competition Act inquiry and fully expect to be given the all-clear," he added.

The two packages under investigation are:

• BT Surf Together - £14.99 including line rental with inclusive evening and weekend internet calls with participating ISPs.
• BT Talk & Surf Together - £17.99 per month including line rental, unlimited off-peak local phone calls (first hour, then 1p per minute) and unmetered internet calls through participating Surftime ISPs.