Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure of 26 May 2022, Official Report, column 400, in response to the hon. Member for Buckingham, if she will have discussions with Ofcom on the potential effect of Equinox on competition in the fixed telecoms infrastructure market.

The Government’s Statement of Strategic Priorities for Ofcom, published in 2019, states that we want to see stable and long-term regulation that incentivises network investment and ensures fair and effective competition between new and existing network operators. The Department regularly meets with Ofcom at all levels to discuss progress against its strategic priorities.

The Government has noted the recent announcement of Openreach’s “Equinox” offer which is currently under review by Ofcom. Regulation in the telecoms market is a matter for Ofcom which is an independent regulator, and it would be inappropriate for me to comment on its ongoing review process.