Ofcom moves to cap BT wholesale charges The regulator has proposed caps on the wholesale charges for the underground cables which large organisations such as banks, universities and libraries use to send larges amount of information. These cables are also used by mobile and broadband operators to send data, who could end up passing on up savings to consumers, Ofcom said. The caps, which would link BT's wholesale charges to inflation, affect around £700m of the telecoms giant's revenues, but analysts said it was hard to predict the size of the dent they would put in that figure. At Espirito Santo, analysts said some of the caps were "draconian" and that it "is fairly safe to assume [revenues] will fall." BT is expected to contest Ofcom's proposals, which are open to consultation until the end of next month but the regulator has a history of firming up this sort of proposal with little change. The telecoms firm said: "We believe regulation should allow a fair return on leased lines products in order to ensure sustainable investment in the future of the UK's telecoms infrastructure." The regulator has already forced BT to lower the wholesale fees it charges rivals for consumer broadband services, costing the firm hundreds of millions of pounds. Rival companies set to benefit from the new wholesale caps Ofcom has proposed include Virgin Media and Cable & Wireless Worldwide, which is in the process of being bought by Vodafone. Shares in BT slipped 2.10 to close at 212.5p.