Ref: 21/03
Date: 15 April 2003 

Measures to ensure that BT continues to provide an adequate network of public call boxes across the UK have been published today by Oftel.

A draft direction has been published which sets out the obligations on the designated universal service providers of payphones regarding the removal and installation of public call boxes.

Oftel has invited views on the proposals.

David Edmonds, Director General of Telecommunications, said today:

"The draft direction published will maintain regulation to ensure an adequate number of payphones throughout the UK.

"Recent Oftel research shows that there remains a strong need for payphones, despite the rise in the number of mobile users.

"The new European Directives mean new guidelines but for the provision of phone boxes, standards will be maintained.

"However, the draft direction differs in some minor areas regarding the procedure for the removal of payphones, and the proposal to define what is meant by a public call box ‘site’."

The deadline for comments on the draft direction is 15 May 2003.

Notes to editors:

1. The Draft Direction on Public payphones is available on Oftel's website at www.oftel.gov.uk/publications/consumer/2003/pcbdd0403. 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. Under the current regime, providers of public call boxes are regulated through licence conditions and guidelines which specify the existing procedures for the removal and re-siting of public call boxes. Under the new EC communications Directives which come into force in July, licences will be abolished and the guidelines will be replaced by a direction which will be issued by Oftel and subsequently by Ofcom.

3. Provision is made for a direction to be issued by the Director General/Ofcom in the draft universal service conditions, on which Oftel is currently consulting (specifically, condition 3 on call box services) http://www.oftel.gov.uk/publications/eu_directives/2003/uso0303.htm.

4.BT and Kingston Communications in the Hull area are currently the designated universal service providers.

5. The guidelines refer only to public call boxes (PCBs) to which members of the public have unrestricted access 24 hours a day. The guidelines do not cover payphones that are situated on private land, such as those in clubs or in student halls, for example.

6. There are more than 85 000 PCBs and 43 000 operator managed payphones currently in the UK.