A review of wholesale broadband prices in Jersey conducted by the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority (JCRA) should result in lower charges being passed on to Islanders and could save consumers up to £80 per year by 2026.
The JCRA has directed JT (Jersey) Limited (JT) to lower the price of wholesale broadband from £31.25 to £27.94 per user per month from 1 October, with a continual reduction until 2026 to £24.51. Over the five years of the price cap, the average price is £26.14 per user per month.
The JCRA is confident this price reduction will encourage new retail competitors into the fixed broadband market in Jersey, while encouraging other licensed operators (OLOs) to invest in their broadband services.
The level of prices has been set to promote more effective competition at a retail level while providing JT with sufficient opportunity to recover the costs of installing the Island-wide fibre network and achieving an appropriate return on its investment.
Peter Hetherington, Senior Economic Case Officer for the JCRA said: “While this is a review of the wholesale price paid by OLOs to JT, we do expect the impact to feed through into the retail market, and deliver greater choice and competition for consumers, supported by lower prices.”
Tim Ringsdore CEO, JCRA said: “At a time when everyone has been impacted by the pandemic, this is good news for all Jersey residents, especially vulnerable users and it will also go a long way in supporting the government’s inflation strategy during the next 5 years”.