BT Group Plc was dumped from a lucrative €458 million ($494 million) European Union contract to handle sensitive communications between the bloc’s governments amid a dispute over the British firm’s potential access to EU secrets following Brexit.

Ofcom, the UK regulator, is going to give the UK’s net neutrality regs a once-over - presumably in response to telco and ISP urgings on the subject of “Now we’re not in the EU we shouldn’t have to obey EU laws.” Always a favourite. / In fact UK voices were at the forefront of the original discussion - urging pro network neutrality measures on the EU back in the mid noughties.

The UK is currently seen very much as a leader in the field of sensible and practical telecoms regulation, and has historically been a strong influencer on EU telecoms rules. Following Brexit this position will be lost but, depending on the terms of exit, the UK may still have to follow EU rules.

The free flow of data and people are crucial to the success of the telecoms industry and the current uncertainties around Brexit are throwing up many questions and concerns about the future.

The impact of Brexit on the telecoms industry could be substantial and adverse. BT, Prospect and the Communications Workers Union were so concerned that they sent a joint letter to every BT employee during the referendum to express their deep concern about the potential impact on the company and its employees.

Leaving EU with no deal would heighten risk of contracts being terminated early. BT is facing a post-Brexit battle to maintain access to a number of multimillion-pound EU contracts and avoid the premature termination of a £24m deal with the European parliament.