Allegedly, national house builder's own "phone" service only on new houses?

My understanding is:


Builders can invite 'any' supplier to provide the basic Telephone Communications services.

That it has generally and historically been OpenReach, but it does not have to be, means people can be caught out.


For many years, quietly, in various parts of the UK Companies like See The Light, have offered a Fibre to home (as part of the build), supplying not only Phone, but the TV and Broadband services as the default connection - for which you have to pay.whatever they choose to charge.

(a bit like having Freehold house but still have to pay for some common area of land upkeep through a management Co. because it has not been adopted)


Additionally as they have provided TV signal re-distribution services (like in blocks of flats, but in this case houses) they can enforce no external aerials/dishes etc. so Hobsons' on getting anything other than Sky and UK Terrestial services, other broadband or Phone service (again no costs controls) till the more recent VoIP alternatives. Oh, and as many who expected (a lot) more, initially got a few Kb/s of broadband not Mb/s for many months for their heavy fees... no choices or real appeal.


In theory other suppliers (eg TalkTalk,Sky, BT-Retail) 'can' come into their 'exchange' to provide their services, there are no cost controls on that access, as there is for Openreach provision.But again, the costs charged to them are prohibitive, so these Co's maintain their new monopoly. 


Again, as this is not BT or Openreach, despite being the now sole incumbent, there are no universal service requirements on them. So no 18xxx over-rides etc on the phone service, or other (as above) price/access controls. It is that last part, the lack of Universal Service obligations when an alternative supplier has been invited in, that is probably the main issue. A failure of the regulations /unforeseen consequences when it was assumed there would only/always be OpenReach plus ANO (eg Virgin Media, etc)


All of which is hardly the free market place expected when the legislation to open BT up was created.


but could be wrong.

My understanding is:


Builders can invite 'any' supplier to provide the basic Telephone Communications services.

That it has generally and historically been OpenReach, but it does not have to be, means people can be caught out.


For many years, quietly, in various parts of the UK Companies like See The Light, have offered a Fibre to home (as part of the build), supplying not only Phone, but the TV and Broadband services as the default connection - for which you have to pay.whatever they choose to charge.

(a bit like having Freehold house but still have to pay for some common area of land upkeep through a management Co. because it has not been adopted)


Additionally as they have provided TV signal re-distribution services (like in blocks of flats, but in this case houses) they can enforce no external aerials/dishes etc. so Hobsons' on getting anything other than Sky and UK Terrestial services, other broadband or Phone service (again no costs controls) till the more recent VoIP alternatives. Oh, and as many who expected (a lot) more, initially got a few Kb/s of broadband not Mb/s for many months for their heavy fees... no choices or real appeal.


In theory other suppliers (eg TalkTalk,Sky, BT-Retail) 'can' come into their 'exchange' to provide their services, there are no cost controls on that access, as there is for Openreach provision.But again, the costs charged to them are prohibitive, so these Co's maintain their new monopoly. 


Again, as this is not BT or Openreach, despite being the now sole incumbent, there are no universal service requirements on them. So no 18xxx over-rides etc on the phone service, or other (as above) price/access controls. It is that last part, the lack of Universal Service obligations when an alternative supplier has been invited in, that is probably the main issue. A failure of the regulations /unforeseen consequences when it was assumed there would only/always be OpenReach plus ANO (eg Virgin Media, etc)


All of which is hardly the free market place expected when the legislation to open BT up was created.


but could be wrong.