The news
UK regulator Ofcom on September 28, 2026, blocked an Openreach discount of up to £9.50 a month on new full-fiber lines. In its announcement, Ofcom said the charges were not fair and reasonable because other reasonably efficient operators could not match the offer and still recover their costs.
Openreach, which runs Britain's biggest fixed-line network, operates separately from the rest of BT Group, The Register noted. Its Incremental New to Openreach Customer Offer would have given internet service providers (ISPs) a £35 connection discount and a monthly reduction of up to £9.50 for as long as 30 months, applied only to new Openreach customers above each ISP's baseline of sign-ups. The offer was due to start on October 1, 2026.
Openreach notified Ofcom of the plans on June 1, 2026, and the regulator provisionally rejected the offer in a consultation published July 28, 2026, according to law firm Bratby Law. In its analysis of Ofcom's statement, Bratby Law said the rental rebate would have run for 18, 24 or 30 months depending on volumes, and that BT had to withdraw the related pricing notice by September 30, 2026.
Ofcom found the offer could produce margins that may not allow a reasonably efficient operator to recover its costs, and said Openreach's market position made it uniquely able to make such a targeted low-price offer, Computer Weekly reported. Bratby Law said Ofcom tested the prices against a cost range for a notional efficient alternative network, or altnet, of £14.42 to £22.17 a month.
Ofcom let other Openreach offers go ahead. They include a one-off £50 connection rebate on above-baseline orders in postcodes served by Virgin Media O2, and a free connection for business Ethernet circuits when an ISP's net new demand exceeds 90% of its historical run rate. Ofcom also did not intervene in the Frontbook ARPU Share and Box Swap offers, which took effect July 1, 2026, according to Bratby Law.
James Lowther, Openreach's commercial managing director, said the company put the offer forward "in good faith to help our customers compete" and would review the decision carefully, The Register reported. Rival networks nexfibre and Virgin Media O2 welcomed the decision, though both suggested Ofcom could have gone further; nexfibre criticized what it called Openreach's drip-feeding of price changes through special offers.
The numbers
- Blocked monthly rebate per line
- Up to £9.50
- Blocked connection discount
- £35
- Maximum rebate period
- 30 months
- Approved rebate in Virgin Media O2 areas
- £50 one-off
- Ofcom's efficient-rival cost range (per Bratby Law)
- £14.42 to £22.17 a month
- Ethernet offer trigger
- Net new demand above 90% of historical run rate
Why CEOs should care
For ISPs and large buyers of connectivity, the ruling removes a wholesale rebate that would have lowered the cost of adding new full-fiber customers on Openreach from October 1. Procurement teams negotiating multi-site broadband contracts should ask providers which wholesale network they use, which Openreach offers their pricing assumes, and what happens to contract prices if a promotion is withdrawn or expires.
For telecom investors and boards, the decision shows how Ofcom judged this offer: against the costs of a notional efficient rival, not just Openreach's own costs. The test is not uniform; Bratby Law said Ofcom assessed the Ethernet offer against Openreach's own incremental costs instead. That gives altnets some protection on the new customers they need to grow, but Ofcom let most of the package proceed, and Bratby Law noted the regulator plans to monitor offers individually and together and act after the event if evidence supports harm. Boards backing fiber networks should model continued Openreach promotions rather than assume they will be blocked.
For enterprise network teams, the Ethernet offer that Ofcom let through is the part to watch. It gives a free connection when an ISP's net new Ethernet demand exceeds 90% of its historical run rate, so buyers adding business circuits should ask their provider whether it qualifies and whether any saving is passed through.
The bigger picture
Ofcom has allowed earlier Openreach discount schemes, including Equinox and Equinox 2, The Register reported, and Bratby Law said the regulator did not intervene in an expansion of Equinox pricing to premises ready for service up to March 31, 2027. Openreach does not need Ofcom's approval to offer new commercial terms, but conditions tied to its significant market power require fair and reasonable charges and 120 days' notice of certain conditional terms, according to Bratby Law. The result is a case-by-case regime in which each new discount is assessed on its own, and rivals such as nexfibre have called for an end to the stream of special offers.
What’s next
Openreach said it will review the decision carefully and keep engaging with Ofcom. Watch for Openreach's next notified offers, how altnets and Virgin Media O2 respond on price in their own areas, and whether Ofcom acts on the combined effect of successive discounts.
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