UK regulator Ofcom is preparing to open up British Telecom’s ducts and poles so that rival broadband suppliers can lay fiber cheaply. It has a proposal out for feedback from the community It is by no means certain that BT’s broadband rivals will actually use this as a basis for initiating their own fiber networks nationwide, but they are almost certain to support the move on a “just in case” basis . Small local fiber providers need this kind of access, and companies like Vodafone may choose to lay fiber to support both its own network and small cell backhaul. Something similar happened in France years ago, and it has created a healthy competitive market for telecommunications services with consumer…