BT Considers Position Following Pensions Costs Ruling

25 June 2012 (PLANSPONSOREurope.com) - UK telecoms giant BT says it is considering its position over a Competition Commission’s backing of an Ofcom decision to stop it compelling its competitors to share in the costs of cutting its pension scheme deficit.

The Financial Times reports BT has been rebuffed in its efforts to compel its competitors to share in the costs of lowering its £3bn pension scheme deficit through higher charges for their use of its phone lines.

In a statement BT said: "The Competition Commission has issued its Final Determination in BT’s appeal against Ofcom’s WBA Charge Control Statement. Although the Competition Commission agreed with BT on a number of points, it ultimately concluded that Ofcom had not erred in how it applied its regulatory judgement.

“Whilst disappointing, this is unsurprising as the legal threshold for the appeal to be upheld was high. We continue to believe that Ofcom underestimated BT’s ‘efficiently incurred costs’ by not allowing BT to recover any part of its pension deficit repair contributions and by setting the cost of capital at the level it did, and will be considering our position. This means that the WBA charge control continues to apply as is."

PLANSPONSOREurope Staff
editors@plansponsoreurope.com