Ref: 56/02
Date: 30 September 2002

A new scheme to give residential and business consumers confidence in telecoms price comparisons has been launched by Oftel today.

Under the scheme - known as the Oftel Price Assurance Standard - Oftel will award 'the Oftel PASS' to websites offering easy-to-use, high quality price comparisons for fixed, mobile or Internet tariffs.

The Oftel PASS logo displayed on a price comparison website, will give consumers the assurance that they will be able to compare prices easily and accurately whilst shopping around for the best deal.

To be awarded the Oftel PASS, price comparison websites will have to meet certain criteria, including:

• price comparisons must be accurate and updated at least every eight weeks;
• the website must be independent and not affiliated to any one telecoms supplier;
• residential price comparison information must be free; and
• the website must be interactive, for example, allowing consumers to search for information by their postcode.

Companies offering on-line price comparison services can apply to Oftel for accreditation, which is likely to take about eight weeks.

Oftel has appointed independent consultants Analysys to audit the websites and Oftel will have final approval.

David Edmonds, Director General of Telecommunications said today:

"This scheme is really good news for telecoms consumers wanting to make sense of the huge choice of tariffs available to them.

"There are some excellent websites that offer price comparisons for fixed, mobile and Internet services already in operation. But consumers aren't always sure that the information they're getting is accurate and independent.

"The Oftel PASS will give them the assurance that the site is offering comparisons from a wide range of operators - at least ten different suppliers for fixed telecoms services.

"It will also provide a guarantee that the website has been independently checked and verified so that they can make their choices with confidence."

A number of websites have already expressed an interest in the scheme and Oftel hopes to accredit the first sites before the end of the year.

Notes to editors

1. The Oftel Price Assurance Standard statement is available on Oftel’s website at www.oftel.gov.uk/publications/consumer/pass0902.htm. Hard copies are available to the media from Oftel’s Press Office on 020 7634 8991 and to the public from the Research and Information Unit on 020 7634 8761.

2. Oftel's accreditation scheme will be known as the Oftel Price Assurance Standard and successful websites will be awarded the Oftel PASS.