OFCOM’S decision to require greater separation of BT and Openreach is a positive step that could unlock significant rural investment potential – according to the Country, Land and Business Association (CLA).

CLA South West Director, John Mortimer, says structural changes to how the BT-owned internet infrastructure provider is governed, which have been proposed by the telecoms regulator, should help spark a new wave of investment in the countryside.

The CLA voiced opposition to a forced sell off of Openreach by BT because it felt there was a risk of a slowdown and distortion in delivering the main objective - future investment in getting homes and businesses connected across the countryside.

Ofcom’s proposals, published Tuesday, agree and the regulator has decided not to force BT into a sell-off of the company.

But the decision to require greater separation of Openreach within BT and to help BT’s competitors roll out their own cable and other infrastructure was, says Mr Mortimer, a positive step that could unlock significant investment potential.

“We support this new requirement which means Openreach will have to make it easier for competitors to identify and use its network to provide connections for homes and businesses to superfast internet.”

Mr Mortimer added that the introduction of a Universal Service Obligation will guarantee access to fast broadband of at least 10megabits per second download speed for all homes and businesses.

“We now have to deliver the types of connections that will make it possible for anyone to run their home and business fully integrated to the rest of the world from the heart of the countryside – and to achieve that we need new ideas, new sources of investment and an ongoing commitment to upgrading our infrastructure,” he said.

The CLA Rural Business 2030 programme is already underway, looking at the opportunities for investment in the rural economy and the solutions required to make it happen. The programme, which includes a specific work stream examining the challenge of increasing rural connectivity, will culminate in the CLA Rural Business Conference 2030 which takes place later this year.