Analysis From Louise Lancaster

The Cost of Calling Non-Geographic Numbers

Submitted by admin on April 6, 2011 - 20:42

How much should we pay for calling an 0845 number? Or an 0871 number? Or an 0800 number?  How many of us know what we are paying now?  Ofcom believe that customer confusion and low price awareness are damaging the market for Non-Geographic Call Services (“NGCS”), so they have been consulting on what can be done to remedy the problem.

 Let’s take 0845 as an example –designed to be a “local rate” call.  BT will charge you either nothing (if within your call allowance) or 2 pence per minute (ppm) for an 0845 call.  Mobile providers charge between 20 and 40ppm.  The designation in Ofcom’s National Telephone Numbering Plan that the number be charged at BT’s local call retail price has come to be meaningless, like many such designations, because it can only be enforced against BT.   Similar problems with the 0870 range led to the “Say No to 0870″ campaign.

Duct Access – The Devil is in the Detail

Submitted by admin on February 14, 2011 - 21:09

The Coalition Government professes to understand the benefits of superfast broadband to businesses and the economy.  Their Broadband Strategy, which was launched in December 2010, explained that:

 “The benefits of superfast broadband have an impact across the whole economy – whether this is through greater scope for tele-working and home-working, which reduces the pressure on the transport network and lowers carbon emissions, or better delivery of public services – such as remote education services.  …  It will reduce costs for consumers and enhance the capability of businesses to communicate and exchange information with their customers and suppliers. This is fundamental to our future prosperity.  …   It is important that the vision of broadband is not limited to domestic users only – the effect on businesses can be just as dramatic.”

Infrastructure – Share and Share Alike

Submitted by admin on February 10, 2011 - 16:17

DCMS recently hosted a workshop on infrastructure sharing which was attended by a broad range of interested parties, including water and electricity companies, fibre network owners and service providers, landowners, regulators and policy makers.

Speakers from the electricity industry explained how allowing fibre to be laid over on their networks is easier on low voltage local poles than on high voltage trunk routes between pylons.   There is already sharing on 60% of low voltage lines, but much less on high voltage lines.  There are a multitude of operational and safety issues to be considered, all of which can probably be overcome.  However, some query whether such networks would remain economically viable given the costs associated with resolving these issues. 

“You might say that, Minister…”

Submitted by admin on January 18, 2011 - 20:57

In the wake of the Vince Cable debacle before Christmas, which led to him being stripped of responsibility for the proposed acquisition by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation of the remaining shares in BSkyB, the Government has now issued a written statement detailing all of the responsibilities which have been transferred from BIS to DCMS.  As well as losing merger and competition cases in the media and telecoms sectors, BIS has also lost telecoms policy (including implementation of EU telecoms policy), broadband policy (including BDUK) and internet policy. 

Rural Broadband Pilots

Submitted by admin on October 20, 2010 - 21:06

In the Comprehensive Spending Review on October 20th, the government announced that the four pilot projects to be run by Broadband Delivery UK will be in the Highlands and Islands, North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Herefordshire.  The funding for this is essentially being redirected away from the BBC.  £230m is left over from the budget allocated to the Digital Switchover in previous years.  The BBC will be required to contribute a further £150m in each of 2013-14 and 2014-15, bringing the total to £530m.  This could be increased to £830m if the BBC is required to contribute the same amount in 2015-16 and 2016-17 (which is when this current settlement with the BBC expires).

Parliament & Internet

Submitted by admin on October 15, 2010 - 13:29

Yesterday I attended the annual Parliament & the Internet conference, which is organised by the All Party Parliamentary Communications Group and Political Intelligence.  It brings together policy makers and those active in the broadband industry in the UK.  It’s always an illuminating event, though it would be encouraging to see a greater level of attendance from BIS, Ofcom and MPs. 

Broadband Delivery UK

Submitted by admin on July 22, 2010 - 18:06

BDUK has been created within BIS as a delivery vehicle for the 2 Mbit/s Universal Service Commitment (USC) and for increasing access to super-fast broadband.  On July 15th, BDUK hosted an Industry Day which was potentially of great significance to the development of super-fast broadband in the UK.  The press disappointingly focussed on Jeremy Hunt’s announcement that fulfillment of the 2 Mbit/s Universal Service Commitment will be pushed back from 2012 to 2015.  But this missed the bigger picture, which is much more interesting.  This government has rejected a top-down approach to filling the gaps in next generation access.  Instead, they will encourage and enable local initiatives by removing barriers to investment.  For example, they are considering utilising the networks of telecoms providers and other utilities for the installation of fibre networks; exploring the re-use of public sector networks (such as those of local authorities and the national education network); reforming the process for granting wayleaves; and obtaining clarity from the EU on State Aid rules.

A Promising Start

Submitted by admin on June 9, 2010 - 11:06

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Jeremy Hunt, gave a speech on June 8th on the Government’s proposals to encourage the rapid roll-out of superfast broadband.  Much of the speech re-iterated policies that were originally set out in the Coalition Document in May.  But the tone of the speech was more ambitious than previous Tory positions on Next Generation Access, which have tended towards waiting to see how much the private sector would deliver before intervening. 

 There was a recognition that superfast broadband could create thousands of jobs and that the internet is a key “trading route” for digital content.  Interestingly, Mr Hunt casts aside the doubters by understanding that it’s not about doing things faster, but that it’s about doing “totally new things”, as well as about improving services such as education and healthcare.

A Digital Agenda for Europe

Submitted by admin on June 2, 2010 - 10:56

On May 20th the European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes presented her “Digital Agenda for Europe”.  She recognises that, without strong public intervention, there is a risk of a “sub-optimal outcome”, with fast broadband networks concentrated in a few high-density zones with significant entry costs and high prices.  She believes that the spill-over benefits created by such networks for the economy and society justify public policies guaranteeing universal broadband coverage with increasing speeds.

 The Commission proposes to adopt in 2010 a Broadband Communication that will:

 • Reinforce and rationalise the funding of high-speed broadband through EU instruments (e.g. ERDF, ERDP, EAFRD, TEN, CIP) by 2014 and explore how to attract capital for broadband investments through credit enhancement (backed by the EIB and EU funds).  National, EU and EIB funding instruments should be used for well targeted broadband investments in areas where the business case is currently weak and, therefore, only such focused intervention can render investments sustainable.

Enforcing Porting Regulations

Submitted by admin on May 28, 2010 - 09:40

It is widely accepted that the routing of calls to ported numbers in the UK is based on an antiquated process.  Calls to ported numbers are required to route via the original Range Holder, and then onward to the current service provider (rather than being directly routed to the current SP).  To achieve this, the Range Holder and the new service provider must engage in drawn out negotiations to agree conveyance charges and routing plans.  These typically take six months to a year, but can take longer.

If I wish to change my service provider I will not want the move to be delayed by an inability to port my number.  But if I am to port my number to the service provider of my choice, I cannot do so unless my current service provider (and the original Range Holder if not the same) has porting arrangements already established with my new service provider.