Government urges internet stakeholders to reach agreement on BT duct and pole pricing

The government has expressed frustration with internet service providers and other internet stakeholders for delays in reaching a decision on the prices BT should charge for access to its ducts and poles infrastructure.

BT set out its proposed prices for access in January, but these have been subject to debate and discussion by the industry, and BT has yet to submit its final charges, although this is expected during September.

Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said at a Royal Television Society event on Wednesday that a timely decision is vital in helping the UK broadband market to grow.

"I am a strong believer that competition is the biggest driver of investment at the retail and infrastructure levels. But I do not believe the market is working as well as it should," he said.

"The process to reach a satisfactory conclusion on PIA [physical infrastructure access] prices for the use of BT's ducts and poles is taking too long. PIA has to be sorted out in a way that allows fair competition, with different providers able to invest in our broadband infrastructure."

BT said in response that it had intended to announce pricing earlier in the year, but had been forced to push this back. The company has now promised the information in the coming weeks.

"BT was keen to announce new PIA pricing earlier this summer but the trials were delayed due to some companies being slow to sign up," the company said.

"BT volunteered to open its ducts and poles to other providers last year, and we have kept Ofcom fully informed every step of the way. As planned, we will issue revised prices for duct and pole access in the coming weeks."

An Ofcom spokesperson said that the regulator is awaiting BT's pricing, and echoed Hunt's hopes that the information will be revealed shortly.

"We are currently awaiting further information on prices from BT, which we expect to be published this month, and we share fully the secretary of state's eagerness to make progress in this area," the spokesperson said.

Access to BT's infrastructure is seen as one way in which the government can meet its goal of providing speeds of 25Mbit/s to 90 per cent of the population by 2015 by allowing other ISPs to offer services over the BT network.