TELECOMMUNICATIONS giant BT and regulator Ofcom have agreed a deal over the future of the firm’s Openreach infrastructure arm, the pair announced yesterday.

BT had faced growing calls from rivals to separate Openreach from its central business, and in November the communications regulator ordered that a legal separation must occur.

BT and Ofcom said they had reached a “long-term regulatory settlement that will see Openreach become a distinct, legally separate company with its own board, within the BT Group.”