Quote:According to regulator Ofcom this is important because if telcos want to compete effectively with dominant telco BT - which has some 18m punters - they need "a clear margin between the wholesale price they pay to rent a telephone line from BT, and the price that they charge their retail customers for line rental".
Only Ofcom could possibly view such price rises as "a good thing."
So that's a 50% increase in BT's most basic residential line tariff in the last 18 months.
Quote:"Increasing this margin will mean greater competition in the calls and line rental market, expanding consumer choice and increasing value for consumers as more providers compete for their custom," said the regulator today.
Ah yes, force up the amount most pay for line rental and then that magical force known as competition will work. Now why does this remind me of the way in which 0870 is charged at BT's 'non-discounted' national rate, just so that there'll be plenty of the pie left for all those competiting 0870 telcos?