BT chief says he will take legal action if Ofcom orders it to sell Openreach

19th Jul 2015 13:32

(ShareCast News) - BT chief executive Gavin Patterson has said this weekend that if Ofcom tries to force the company to relinquish control of the national telecoms network it would respond by cutting all investment in it and taking the matter to court.His comments, which were made in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, come after the industry regulator said last week that it was looking into the possibilities for the future of BT and Openreach, which included their separation."This is a commercial enterprise and if there's uncertainty we will defend the rights of our shareholders, undoubtedly," he said."It puts that investment very much at risk. At the end of it, and if we're meant to be looking at the next 10 years, what do you want to look back on? Do you want to look back at 10 years of litigation and arguments?"In the statement issued on Thursday, Ofcom said that as part of its once-a-decade review it would be examining the views and evidence on whether the separation of the two "could deliver competition or wider benefits for end users" and whether it would "remove BT's underlying incentive to discriminate against competitors"."Separation could also offer ways to simplify existing regulation," it continued. "However, the process would be challenging and it may not address some concerns relating to Openreach - such as service quality, or the timing and level of investment decisions."Patterson also defended the company against accusations from the regulator that it had allocated costs to Openreach that it shouldn't have and that this could be to its advantage given its position."It's not a right and wrong argument. There's nothing wrong with the way we've allocated the costs," he said."Let's be really clear about this, there is nothing illegal or contravening of accounting standards. Ofcom would just like it a different way because they want a different outcome. We will challenge that."