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Fluidata boss slams complaints over BT duct and pole pricing
Piers Daniell has questioned the validity of complaints about the price BT charges for wholesale use of its infrastructure.
Earlier this week, an alliance of telecoms firms - including TalkTalk, Virgin Media and Fujitsu - sent a letter to communications minister Ed Vaizey warning that they could boycott the application process for Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) funding unless BT revises its proposed rates.
They claimed the amount BT plans to charge for use of its infrastructure makes in "unviable" for any other company in the industry to compete for the BDUK cashpot, which has been established to encourage the rollout of super-fast broadband in rural areas.
However, Piers Daniell - the managing director of business broadband provider Fluidata - argued BT has come in for unfair criticism, given that its wholesale access prices are typically 15 per cent less than those charged by its counterparts in France and Germany.
He claimed some members of the group are using the issue as an excuse not to apply for the BDUK money when in reality they have little or no interest in bringing broadband to areas with a low population density.
Instead, these companies want access to BT's ducts and poles in towns and cities where their coverage needs expanding, Mr Daniell stated.
The Fluidata chief added: "It is a shame that the important work by BDUK in focusing resources to the final third of homes and businesses is being used as a football within our own industry to gain commercial advantage over each other."
BT has also hit back at the comments made in the letter to Mr Vaizey, with a spokesman remarking: "The fact is our proposed prices for duct access compare very well with European averages, whilst our plans for pole access have been held up due to others delaying our trials."