Yesterday, Hull and East Riding Members of Parliament met with the chief executives of KCOM, MS3, and Connexin.
The meeting, organised by Sir David Davis MP and held in Parliament with local MPs including Dame Diana Johnson, Graham Stuart and Karl Turner, sought to find a resolution to the issue of duplicate poles being erected in streets across East Yorkshire by entrants to the local broadband market.
The meeting saw a very frank exchange of views and strong cross-party condemnation of the behaviour of the telecom firms.
All MPs attending the meeting were clear that the failure to share infrastructure was having an unacceptable impact on their constituents, who are seeing their areas blighted by a proliferation of telegraph poles.
A clear request was made to the chief executives to come together to find a solution to sharing infrastructure and prevent further disruption being caused to residents.
To that end, a meeting is taking place between Connexin's chief executive, Furqan Alamgir, and KCOM's chief executive, Tim Shaw, on Monday 22 January intending to resolve the outstanding issues.
The MPs have requested the chief executives attend a further meeting after Connexin's meeting with KCOM to provide MPs with an update.
Speaking after the meeting, Graham Stuart MP said:
“It’s good to have MS3, Connexin and KCOM in a room together to explain their actions regarding poles in the East Riding and Hull.
“All MPs in the area have had significant public concern about the erection of these poles, and the public is very clear: they deserve better than to be pawns in telecommunication companies’ network rollouts.
“I’ll continue to encourage companies to engage better with the public and take complaints seriously, while MPs work with the Government and Ofcom to find a long-term solution to providing broadband competition in our area.
“I’m clear that the right place to deliver broadband is underground – and all companies should be working together to achieve that.”
Sir David Davis KCB MP said:
"The meeting brought a real focus to the issue.
“Residents have, for far too long, felt like their concerns are not being heard and they are simply being swept aside by companies doing what best suits them.
“KCOM and the new entrants to the market now need to work together to start sorting this out.
“Working with colleagues in Parliament, we will raise this with the Secretary of State and Ofcom to find a long-term solution to the broader issues affecting the local broadband market."
Dame Diana Johnson MP said:
"Unwanted telegraph poles have been cluttering Hull streets, appearing in often inappropriate places and without consultation, following changes to the law made a decade ago.
"Hull and East Riding MPs had a frank exchange of views with the Chief Executives of KCOM, Connexin and MS3 to look for a solution for residents in our constituencies.
"We will continue working together cross-party on this issue."
Karl Turner MP said:
"I have long been working on this important issue on behalf of residents in East Hull, therefore I was pleased to see KCOM, MS3, and Connexin coming together yesterday to work to address the concerns of the residents regarding the placement of poles in the Hull and the wide area.
“Many local residents have been vocal about their dissatisfaction with how telecommunications companies prioritise their own interests over the needs of the community. Therefore, it is imperative that these companies work together to find a resolution to this issue."
KCOM Chief Executive, Tim Shaw said:
“I was more than happy to meet with our local MPs and other broadband providers yesterday to discuss the issue of telegraph poles which is affecting so many local communities. Indeed, I have been in regular contact with all local stakeholders for the past year. It was a great opportunity to publicly restate our position that we stand ready to work with other providers to provide fair and reasonable access to our infrastructure should they apply in the correct manner, which has always been the case. I look forward to the meeting with Connexin on 22 January, to discuss the request for infrastructure access they made, just before Christmas."
Connexin Chief Executive Furqan Alamgir said:
"Connexin has for years tried working with KCOM to service broadband demand in Hull and the East Riding. This is evident in Connexin being KCOM’s largest wholesale partner providing residential broadband connections in the Humber region. However, this relationship has been challenging with behaviour, which we feel has been anti-competitive.
"This incumbent behaviour has meant we have had no option but to build our own infrastructure. We, and others, have tried to challenge KCOM, but like all monopolies, we feel KCOM is not sufficiently incentivised nor motivated to share. This is not new. The same problem existed with BT/Openreach and the only solution was regulation.
"We are therefore very supportive of Sir David Davis and the MPs across the Humber region who are pushing for more effective regulation of KCOM's network sharing just as Openreach is regulated across the rest of the UK. Only then will customers see lower prices for faster broadband using existing ducts and poles in the areas covered by KCOM."
