TalkTalk Telecom Group Ltd will invite rival networks to provide connectivity for its wholesale business contracts, marking another challenge to former state telecom monopoly BT Group Plc, which currently holds most of the work.
(Bloomberg) — TalkTalk Telecom Group Ltd will invite rival networks to provide connectivity for its wholesale business contracts, marking another challenge to former state telecom monopoly BT Group Plc, which currently holds most of the work.
BT’s infrastructure arm provides almost all of the underlying network, but in an effort to inject more competition into the market, Salford, England-based internet service provider TalkTalk is asking BT’s network rivals to step in and make offers against it, according to a spokeswoman.
TalkTalk’s wholesale clients make up more than a third of its revenue, worth £600 million ($689 million).
It’s another step up in the wider competition with BT’s infrastructure as so-called alternative networks or “alt-nets” build thousands of new fiber optic lines. The 14 regional contracts up for grabs could go to the likes of Virgin Media O2, which is owned by Liberty Global Plc and Telefonica SA. VMO2 has also held exploratory talks to acquire TalkTalk, according to people familiar with the matter.
TalkTalk said it has more than 25% market share in the UK’s high-speed ethernet market, following the acquisition of rival Virtual1 earlier in the year.
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