OPERATOR POLICY FORUM:

29 July 1999

Contents:

1. Agenda for the meeting.

2. Minutes of the meeting.

3. Action Points from the meeting.

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1.    Agenda

Item    -    Presented by:  (Oftel unless otherwise stated)

1.    Numbering Directive
        1.1    Portability - Sandy Grom
        1.2    Carrier Pre-Selection - Chris Taylor

2.1    Access to Bandwidth - Jim Niblett
2.2    Broadband Products and Services - Richard Cameron (BT)

3.    Universal Service - Ann Taylor/Paul Campbell

4.    Review of mobile markets – July - Elaine Axby

5.   Focus Group updates:
        NTS - Geoff Brighton
        Non-Geographic Number Portability - Lesley Bulman (Diamond Cable)
        Geographic Portability - Gill Parker (Cable London)
        Mobile Number Portability - Alastair Gilchrist (One2One)
        Personal Number Portability - Stewart Lund (Redstone)
        CPS Commercial Group - Karen Hardy (Energis)

6.    AOB

2.    Minutes

1. Numbering Directive

1.1 Number Portability

1. Sandy Grom (Oftel) explained that the Numbering Directive requires all operators to put in place a facility to allow customers to keep their number when they change operator by 1 Januray 2000 at the latest. This requirement applied to all types of numbers except mobile and paging numbers.

2. Sandy answered a question from the floor by stating that when an operator decided to take on a new customer it should be able to import the number within 5 to 8 working days. All operators must be able to export numbers to meet this deadline. In response to another question he stated that Oftel would expect costs associated with number portability to be shared between the donor and the recipient as recommended in the 1995 MMC report into portability, as they are now. Sandy Grom said that he would be writing to all operators in August setting out the requirements of the Directive in slightly more detail.

1.2 Carrier Pre-Selection

3. Chris Taylor (Oftel) advised that the Commission has not decided whether the UK’s request for deferment of the requirement under the Numbering Directive to implement CPS by 1 January 2000 has been accepted. It is anticipated that the Commission will advise the UK of its decision in September.

4. Chris went on to explain that if the Commission rejects the UK’s deferment request an interim solution may have to be ready at 1 January for CPS provision before the full switched based product is available. Oftel would therefore welcome comments on BT’s proposal to use auto-diallers.

5. Iain Osborne (GTS Esprit) stated that GTS has formulated a different non-switched based proposal for CPS implementation. GTS will send a paper outlining its proposal to Oftel. Oftel agreed to circulate the paper to the industry. Action 7/1.

6. Karen Hardy (Energis) said that the CPS Commercial Group would be meeting on 17 August and could discuss GTS’ proposal.

2.1 Access to Bandwidth

7. Jim Niblett (Oftel) began his presentation with a brief summary of the December consultation document: Access to Bandwidth – Bringing higher bandwidth services to the consumer. He explained that the document focused on access to higher bandwidth using DSL technology over BT’s local loop. Oftel put forward five options for unbundling, which were not necessarily mutually exclusive.

8. Responses to the document indicated that service providers preferred the wide accessibility provided by Option 4, whilst responses from operators indicated that they would prefer greater control over the delivery of the service and timing of its provision provided by Option 2.

9. In the July consultation document Oftel therefore proposed that a combination of Options 2 and 4 should be made available to stimulate competition in both the markets for service provision and for operators.

10. However, BT has expressed its concerns that if Option 2 is mandated it couldn’t be certain that it could justify investment to continue rollout of technology enabling the provision of higher bandwidth services. Oftel will therefore be commissioning an independent study to look at the economic case for rollout, and will publish a statement in October.

11. In-between times, NICC will be asked to produce a spectral management plan for Option 2. A Focus Group (Local Loop Unbundling-Focus Group) will be established to produce guidelines for the provision of co-location facilities and operational processes for local loops. Oftel expects LLU-FG to complete its work by June 2000 so that Option 2 could be introduced by July 2001. Nominations for LLU-FG should be sent to Greg Mook, who has agreed to chair it, and Ilsa Godlovitch. Action 7/2.

12. Oftel responded to a question from the floor stating that if other operators believed that access to BT’s local loop under Option 2 should be provided earlier than July 2001, they should state why this should be the case. It was suggested that BT would have an advantage in the higher bandwidth access market by being allowed to rollout its network for two years before other operators could gain access to it.

13. It was further suggested that LLU-FG should be able to complete its work earlier than anticipated under the Oftel timetable. LLU-FG’s terms of reference could be drawn-up quickly by referring to the experience of other countries that already have access to higher bandwidth technology.

14. BT stated that it would like to be aware of the LLU-FG’s terms of reference before the group begins its work. It commented that LLU-FG shouldn’t begin its work on the basis that Option 2 would be mandated until it has been agreed that this will be the case.

2.2 Broadband Products and Services

15. Richard Cameron (BT, Broadband Products and Services Manager) made a presentation outlining BT’s new ADSL based broadband access products that were announced that morning. Richard advised OLOs of the indicative charge for access and outlined the anticipated timetable for OLO service provision. He also advised that OLOs that wish to trial ADSL access should contact their account manager. BT would expect to start trialling the access service in October or November.

(Slides giving greater detail about BT’s presentation were circulated with the action points)

3. Universal Service

16. Ann Taylor (Oftel, Director, Regulatory Policy) gave a brief presentation on Universal Telecommunication Services, which was published early in July. Ann explained that the consultation document was a "mid-term" review of the Universal Service package put in place in 1997. Oftel would welcome comments.

4. Review of mobile markets

17. Elaine Axby (Oftel, Mobile Policy Director) gave a brief overview of recent developments in Oftel’s mobile policy; namely its statement Review of the Mobile Market and its consultation on Mobile Virtual Network Operators: Oftel inquiry into what MVNOs could offer consumers.

18. In response to a question from the floor Elaine stated that Oftel would expect BTCellnet and Vodafone to provide indirect access in the fourth quarter 1999/2000.

19. On MVNOs Elaine stated that Oftel would be publishing a statement outlining progress in September.

5.    Focus Group Updates

5.1 NTS Focus Group

20. Geoff Brighton (Oftel) advised that Oftel had issued the draft determination on NTS discounts on 19 July. Oftel has also put forward proposals for the draft determination that it will issue for conveyance charges. The draft determination on conveyance charges is likely to be published early in September.

21. Geoff also reported that NTS-FG has decided that it cannot consider differential call origination charges at present. Its initial view was that differential call origination charges should be decided through commercial negotiations.

22. Finally, a proposal had been put to NTS-FG suggesting alternative arrangements for new numbering price points. The group is to decide whether a consumer survey should be commissioned to consider how best to achieve numbering price point visibility.

5.2 Non-Geographic Number Portability-Focus Group

23. Owen Watson (Torch) reported that NGNP was not looking into pre-allocation portability for six-digit freephone numbers. The floor questioned this. Oftel agreed to consider whether NGNP should consider pre-allocation portability for six-digit freephone numbers. Action 7/4. Oftel does not presently envisage that pre-allocation portability should support six-digit freephone numbers.

24. Owen went on to report that NGNP is updating its process manual for subsequent portability. It would be placed on Oftel’s website.

25. NGNP is also devising a template for order handling between operators that do not have a direct contractual relationship.

5.2 Geographic Number Portability Focus Group

26. Gill Parker (Cable London) reported that subsequent portability had not attracted enough operators to trial the product. GNP-FG will issue a paper to take this issue forward.

27. GNP-FG has asked Oftel to consider whether remote call forwarding should be permitted once a number has been ported. The concern is that this indirectly may allow mobility.

5.3 Mobile Number Portability-Focus Group

28. MNP-FG hopes to complete the final MNP process manual by September.

29. Oftel is still receiving complaints about the Porting Administration Charge. However, many of the complaints relate to charges of £25 and below, which was outlined as reasonable charge in Oftel’s guidance.

5.4 Personal Number Portability-Focus Group

30. Sandy Grom reported back on behalf of PNP-FG. PNP-FG has adapted NGNP-FG’s process manual for its purposes. Sandy also reported that PNP-FG needs triallists for the transit product.

5.5 CPS Focus Group

31. Karen Hardy (Energis) stated that the CPS-FG was continuing to work on the existing project plan for full switch based implementation of CPS. Karen further reported that the group had virtually completed order handling, and also expects to complete multiple CLI order handling in the near future.

32. Oftel had received a limited response to its requests for CPS forecasts. The responses that were received had been amalgamated and passed to BT.

33. Karen also reported that in CPS Phase I the customer would not be able to use call barring. She explained that this is due to a technical constraint in BT’s switches.

6. AOB

34. Chris Taylor (Oftel) had two items for AOB.

35. First, in July Oftel published its Guidelines on Interconnection and Interoperability. The Guidelines are in two parts. Part A relates to enforcement of conditions in PTO licences requiring interconnection and interoperability of services. Part B relates to the requirement for publication of customer-network interfaces.

36. Second, he stated that Oftel would be publishing draft licence modifications to BT’s licence to enable rollover of the current retail price and network charge controls. The rollover conditions will only be invoked if BT and Oftel cannot reach agreement on new price and charge controls, in the event that further controls are required.

37. Ann Taylor reminded operators that they need to complete the application form attached to Rights and obligations to interconnect under the EC Interconnection Directive (published in April 1999) should they wish to have Annex II status.

3.    Action Points

Summary of Action Points