UK telecom operator BT Group announced completion of the transfer of 31,000 employees to Openreach as part of its commitment to create a separate business.

BT said this marks the final step in the creation of a legally separate business. It follows voluntary commitments made by BT to Ofcom in 2017 aimed at enabling Openreach to promote competition.

As reported by industry regulator Ofcom in June 2018, BT has been taking positive action since March last year, creating the separate legal entity Openreach Limited, with its own independent board and strategy which serves all its customers in the communications market equally.

“The transfer of 31,000 people over to Openreach marks the final official step towards the creation of a legally separate company,” BT Group Chief Executive Gavin Patterson said in a statement.