If Virgin have done the sums and consider the duct sharing prices to be 200% overpriced they presumably will want to open up their ducts pretty sharpish to get some of the action.

Wrong weather for the low flying pigs

It is not dificult to cost. It is quite easy to come up with a cost per Km of putting ducting into the ground. you then adjust that price to take into account the average age of the BT line plant and then add on the BT profit margin

There are informal discussions going on with repect to setting up a new local loop company should BT continue to prove to be obstructive. The major UK ISP's and Virgin media have been considering this as an option. The Virgin Media loop would form the core of this new network. Each of the major UK ISP's would be shareholders in the new company. A combined local loop company would have far greater financial support to enble the rollout it also makes it far easier to get government & EU funding as the network is neutral and favours no one supplier

I too can�t see the authority OFCOM, With regards to BT as whole, there is at best conflict of interest!

1) How can you force any private company to sell what they own?

A Government could force this, if it felt that the progress of the country was more important than the impoverishment of one private company.

The alternative would seem to be for the taxpayer to pay out to duplicate all the ducting and build it all over again a second time.

2) Who would buy the combined BT and Virgin infrastructure, the government?

The taxpayer. Appalling value to buy it back again since the last mile is even more ancient now than it was then since it hasn't had any investment since then, however, but we can't go backwards and reverse the disastrous decision to privatise it which has held broadband back for so long, as we don't have a time machine.

3) Who could afford to buy the combined BT and Virgin infrastructure?

The taxpayer. Not the same for BTO and VM; VM isn't a monpoly in half the country and exists in a marketplace.

4) Should this even be possible, who would still be the biggest customers of this company. BT and Virgin..... (re your influence issue)

The size of the customer has no relevance. That's the point. One of the BDUK objectives is said to be "to level the playng field". That can't happen until BT OR is taken away from BT.

In terms of who then succeeds, the quality might matter then, though. Would give the best players the chance to shine on an equal footing regardless of their size.

The local loop does not automatically have to be sold. BT could jusst spin of Openreach as a wholly owned subsiderry. This give total seperation between BT & Openreeach. Openreach is a company inn it's own write with it's own board & own p&L and bound by UK company law. With this set up BT becomes a customer of Openreach in the same manner as any other ISP or teleco. There is total tranparancy and every one has basically the same costs

With say the ducting there is a cost per Km for the ducting. This cost would be the same for everyone regardless of size. On top of the Km cost will be Openreaches
profit margin. Now this aspect will vary dependent on the size of the customers order as is normal in business. So for larger customers Openreach would takr a smaller marging to get the volume

You know "we" are all in massive debt right? No time to be buying anything new like this. It just won't happen, not even if we had the cash. Have you any examples of where a government have forced this in the past?

But why would BT want to do that?

If it can be summarised in a sentence like that why did Ofcom give them months to come up with costs/processes?