The telecoms giant has found itself back in the headlines for exploiting a contractual loophole to reduce compensation payments owed to rival telecoms providers for late installations.
The UK regulator discovered the payment discrepancy during its ongoing investigation into BT’s network arm, Openreach.
In what Ofcom is branding another instance of BT exploiting its “significant market power,” it fined BT a record £42m for failing to adequately compensate other providers over delayed Ethernet installations.
“These high-speed lines are a vital part of this country’s digital backbone. Millions of people rely on BT’s network for the phone and broadband services they use every day,” said Gaucho Rasmussen, Ofcom’s Investigations Director.
“The size of our fine reflects how important these rules are to protect competition and, ultimately, consumers and businesses. Our message is clear – we will not tolerate this sort of behaviour.”
BT will also be charged an additional fine of £300k for failing to provide “accurate and complete information for the original dispute.”
BT’s shares have fallen 13% year-to-date, as the British telecoms firm endured blowback from its Italian scandal and pension deficit.
In light of the penalty fine, its shares dipped by 1.2% to 321.9p.
The FTSE 100 was also down Monday morning, as doubts about the future of the Trump reflation trade took their toll on markets globally.
Just shy of an hour into trading, the FTSE 100 was down 1.1% at 7,257.7, its lowest point since late February.
