BSkyB goes on the offensive over BT pension plans
As we covered earlier today, British Telecom is looking at a pension fund deficit in excess of £9 billion and has been in talks with the regulator Ofcom to try and find a solution to this growing problem. Despite the fact that the company has increased its premiums to the pension fund by hundreds of millions of pounds a year there is still a growing shortfall which needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.
One option on the table appears to be an increase of around 4% in wholesale telephony prices to the likes of BSkyB and Carphone Warehouse, companies which pay to use the BT network. This will allow BT to increase its income and uses additional capital to invest into the company's pension fund and reduce the enormous deficit.
While Ofcom has yet to rule on this matter it is believed it is looking seriously at the option of increasing wholesale telephony prices at least in the short to medium term. This has not gone down well with the likes of BSkyB and Carphone Warehouse who are battling to grab market share from British Telecom in what has become a very difficult and very competitive UK telephone, Internet and broadband market.
Share this..
Related stories
Michael Page cautious on UK employment market
Recruitment leader Michael Page still remains very cautious on the UK employment market despite posting better-than-expected quarterly results today. A 9.2% increase in gross quarterly profits in the UK was better than many had expected with the company's exposure to the accountancy and legal professions showing significant strength. So why is the company cautious about the UK employment market?...
Read MoreGovernment to scrap Audit Commission
Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, has today announced that the Audit Commission will be scrapped saving the UK government around £50 million a year. This is a body which has been in place since 1983 and basically overlooks the quality of service offered by local authorities around the UK. Despite the fact that the Audit Commission had already been looking towards transferring many of its f...
Read MoreWhy are so many flotations being pulled?
Over the last few days we have seen a number of high-profile flotations postponed or cancelled due to market conditions. So what is going on in the UK marketplace? Only a few weeks ago there seem to be increasing demand for quality new issues in the UK but the last few days, with the Eurozone problem growing by the day, have seen investors step back from new issues resulting in a number of canc...
Read MoreAre you sure your credit card is safe each time you use it?
While many of us assume that credit card theft and credit card fraud only happens to other people we all need to wake up to the real threat which is present on the UK high street every day of every week of every month. Each time you use your credit card you need to ensure it remains within your sight at all times and remain vigilant for surveillance devices which may be present on or around any cr...
Read MoreIBM looks to close final salary UK pension scheme
Computing giant IBM has today announced the beginning of a 60 day consultation with members of its final salary pension scheme in the UK. The 5000 members (representing about one quarter of the company's workforce) will hear plans to enhance current defined benefit payments and ultimately close the scheme altogether.
If these proposals are rubberstamped, as seems highly likely, the...