Ofcom has submitted a draft decision to the European Commission that will require BT to maintain a margin between its wholesale and retail superfast broadband charges.
The new measures would require the UK telecoms provider to keep a "sufficient" margin between the prices of the two services, in order to allow other providers to profitably match its prices.
BT, currently the largest retail provider of fibre broadband services, would retain their flexibility to set wholesale fibre prices, meaning they would still have an incentive to invest in the network.
While Ofcom believes BT is currently maintaining an adequate margin, this safeguard would lock this into law.
"We are concerned that BT could distort the development of competition in superfast broadband by setting an insufficient margin between its wholesale VULA and retail superfast broadband prices," Ofcom said in a statement.
"Superfast broadband forms a growing part of the overall broadband market and we expect it to become more important, with take-up increasing over the next couple of years. Ensuring that there is effective retail competition in superfast broadband is therefore important to maintaining the UK’s competitive retail broadband market, which benefits consumers."
A spokesperson from TalkTalk, one of BT’s main competitors alongside Sky and Virgin, stated: "We are delighted that Ofcom has confirmed that from now on superfast broadband will be a price regulated product. They are right to be concerned that BT could abuse its position to undermine competition in superfast broadband. Robust regulation creates a more competitive market that better serves consumers and small businesses.
"We do think however that consumers should be disappointed that the proposals will not lead to an immediate price reduction. Broadband is critical to our future. This must be the beginning of the journey to bring down superfast broadband pricing and make consumers and Britain better off."
