@Dr Mouse
I'm really intrigued by this issue and how it might be resolved.
Any action by Ofcom / CMA to make Openreach better/faster/cheaper harms your position. For new entrants like Gigaclear or Hyperoptic to flourish the last thing they need is Openreach in public ownership or handed a USO mandating rural broadband to anyone who wants it.
The problem that Sky and TalkTalk and so on complain about is the exact opposite of your problem. They want Openreach to reduce prices and roll out to more places so that they can make more profit by having lower costs and a larger potential customer base. You want them to, in effect, butt out and keep their prices high so that you can have a chance to get established.
If Openreach did a gentleman's agreement with you and promised to not step on your toes for 3 years, that's a non-compete or Cartel arrangement and you'd both be going to prison. The opposite behaviour, where they compete vigorously with you (which is expected free-functioning market behaviour) feels like being stamped on by a monopoly.
Maybe the answer is some kind of regulatory adjustment? If you decide to launch in, say, Fulking in Sussex, BT (and Virgin?) are prevented from doing FTTx for a set period - say 3 years? After those 3 years a decision could be taken. BT could decide to roll out FTTx in direct competition, they could decide you've got the market sewn up and choose not to, or you could choose to sell all or some of your business to BT. If you're struggling to cover the cost of your loans or the locals are angry at your higher than BT prices, or you're experiencing both of those things simultaneously you might welcome that. Heck, you could even have a regulation that requires BT to buy it if you want to sell. Maybe in exchange for all that you have to agree to build it to a certain standard so that it could be transferred and maintained?
That would remove your set up risk, it would provide a firmer footing for financing your business, but it doesn't punish you if you succeed.
Anyone got Ofcom's number? I think I've cracked it!
Biting the hand that feeds IT
