Announcing closure of the investigation into the pricing of BT's IPStream and DataStream wholesale DSL products, David Edmonds Director General of Telecommunications said:
"Oftel has looked very carefully at BT's new prices following a complaint from an operator that the prices of BT's wholesale broadband products were anti-competitive. Oftel has found that BT's price reductions reflect the significant cut in network and provision costs that BT has managed to achieve in order to bring wholesale broadband internet prices down. BT can pass these cost savings onto ISPs, who in turn can reduce their own retail prices for broadband Internet access to consumers."
"Many ISPs have already announced their intention to cut their broadband prices but were concerned that Oftel would find the prices anti-competitive. Oftel's closure of its investigation means they can now confirm these price reductions to their customers. Oftel has always believed that effective competition between different delivery platforms is the best way to drive down broadband prices and increase choice for consumers."