Is BT hiding broadband failures? Vodafone gets Ofcom to investigate

BT Openreach is accused of meddling with figures to avoid fines, and making up excuses when it fails to connect lines on time

UK telecoms operator Vodafone has claimed that BT has been fiddling its broadband installation figures to avoid paying penalties, and has called on communications regulator Ofcom to launch an investigation into the excuses the firm makes when it fails to connect lines on time.

Ofcom has obliged, and has opened a case into the dispute between the two telecoms firms under the Communications Act.

The case will determine whether Openreach, the infrastructure arm of BT, is using a loophole to cover up its failings and avoid penalties by fudging its installation figures.

Vodafone has suggested that failures by BT has slowed down the roll-out of its 4G services, and subsequently led to delays in connecting businesses to faster broadband networks.

The "hidden failures" have come about because BT Openreach is allowed to stop the clock on an installation when an issue arises that it deems is out of its control.

Vodafone has told Ofcom that BT has used this to hide problems of its own making. It said that Openreach had cited issues such as a lack of available engineers, design and planning problems, and a failure to close roads at the right time as reasons, reports The Times. In one example, an Openreach engineer apparently failed to connect a line because he had forgotten his boots and could not cross a muddy field.

"We welcome Ofcom's decision to open this investigation, believing it is necessary to stamp out unacceptable practices by Openreach and hold them to account for their own service failings," A Vodafone spokesperson told Computing.

A BT spokesperson said the firm was disappointed that Vodafone decided to ask Ofcom to intervene, as the two firms had been in talks to resolve the issue.

"This is a very detailed contractual dispute and we've been talking to Vodafone to try to resolve this without the need for Ofcom intervention. So we're disappointed they've chosen to raise this as a regulatory dispute, especially as Ofcom is consulting on the broader issues as part of its business review," the BT spokesperson said.

"Alongside this, Openreach is discussing a new set of industry processes and service levels for this market with Vodafone and other service providers," the spokesperson added.

Ofcom told Computing that it was too early for the regulator to comment as it had just taken on the dispute.

Vodafone could seek millions of pounds in compensation if Ofcom rules in its favour. In Ofcom's notes on the matter, it states that Vodafone has alleged that Openreach has failed to meet its service level agreements on multiple occasions by delaying provision of its Ethernet services without Vodafone's consent, and by failing to compensate Vodafone for these delays in accordance with the connectivity services agreements.