BT accused of inflating super-fast broadband costs to win state cash

BT is reportedly trying to increase the amount of public funding it gets for deploying super-fast broadband in poorly-served parts of the UK, while also attempting to get off having to match public funds with its own cash.

A leaked document suggests BT is trying to increase the amount of public funding it gets for delivering broadband to poorly served parts of the UK. Image: BT

Broadband journalist Ian Grant wrote on his Br0kenTeleph0n3 blog on Sunday that he had seen an internal discussion document on the matter from Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), the government agency that is in charge of handing out broadband funding.

The money BDUK UK will dole out — mostly to BT, as rival Fujitsu is reportedly being sidelined due to past failures — qualifies as state aid. To get state aid, BT should be upfront about its actual costs. The document Grant saw apparently suggested that BT was instead trying to establish a wholesale model instead.

The article claimed that BT was adding overheads and “new job types” to its actual costs, and also proposing that it get state aid to cover “availability payments” and bonuses for hooking up customers.

If the document were accurate, BT would effectively be trying to double the amount of public funding it receives for the ‘final third’ rollout (based on 20 percent uptake in those areas) and avoid having to match those payments itself.

The document appears to suggest that BDUK is preparing to push back against the proposals, as wholesale price is not used when calculating state aid.

ZDNet has asked both BT and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) for comment on the piece, and will add it as and when it arrives.

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