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CHAPTER
1: INTRODUCTION
Purpose of the
Management Plan
This Management
Plan:
-
clarifies
what Oftel'S GOAL is and the OBJECTIVES to be achieved in pursuit
of that goal (Chapter 2).
-
sets out
the WORK PROGRAMME for 1996/7 which Oftel considers critical
to achieving its objectives (Chapters 3-9).
-
sets out
how Oftel measures its PERFORMANCE both in terms of progress
towards achievement of its goal and objectives and in its day
to day work with external clients (Chapter
10).
-
indicates
the RESOURCES available to Oftel to achieve its goal and objectives
(Chapter 11).
Progress since
1995/6
Oftel has made
considerable progress in achieving its goal through the delivery
of its 1995/6 Management Plan. Some of the major achievements in
1995/6 included:
-
Accounting
separation - the publication for the first time of an audited
set of regulatory accounts for BT in September 1995 which will
give BT's competitors assurance that they are paying fair prices
for the use of BT's network.
-
Interim
charges determination for standard services 95/96 - at the end
of January 1996 Oftel determined network charges for 1995/6
which are the charges other operators pay for using BT's network.
-
Abolition
of RPI+2% BT exchange line rental constraint - the removal of
this constraint in February 1996 enables BT to offer its residential
customers a range of call and rental packages. It also allowed
the removal of the complex access deficit contribution regime
which created uncertainty for companies investing in telecommunications.
-
Price control
review - consultation commenced on the new arrangements to replace
the current BT price controls when they expire in 1997 with
the publication of two consultative documents in December 1995
and March 1996.
-
Fair trading
condition - in November 1995 Oftel held its first public hearing
to debate the need for more effective powers for dealing with
unfair trading by a licence condition prohibiting the abuse
of a dominant position. This was followed in December 1995 by
the publication of the proposed fair trading licence condition,
and draft guidelines for consultation.
-
Beyond the
telephone, the television and the PC - a consultation document
looking at the future regulation of the converging industries
of telecommunications, broadcasting and information technology
and 'broadband switched mass market services' was published
in August 1995.
-
Number portability
- December 1995 saw the completion of the Monopolies and Mergers
Commission's investigation into number portability. The MMC's
findings broadly endorsed Oftel's approach and recommended a
modification to BT's licence along the lines suggested by the
Director General.
-
Services
competition - work to review the regulatory framework for services
provided over the telecommunications network led to the publication
of a major consultation document in February 1996.
-
Universal
Service - consultation documents were issued in July 1995 and
December 1995 with Oftel's proposals for defining universal
service and delivering it in a competitive market.
-
Customer
information - January 1996 saw the publication for the first
time of comparable statistics allowing customers to compare
the quality of service offered by different telecommunications
companies.
-
Full details
of work undertaken in 1995 are published in Oftel's Annual Report
(available from Oftel's Library, price £18.30).
The results
of benchmarking studies comparing the telecommunications 'deal'
UK customers are getting with those overseas demonstrated that Oftel
is generally delivering its objectives and meeting its goal, but
not on everything and there is more to be done if the UK is to keep
its edge over its international competitors. (Details of the research
referred to are included in two reports for Oftel entitled Comparison
of UK telecoms with other leading countries and Customer views of
telecoms: case studies of UK and USA businesses available from Oftel's
library price £10 each.. Further details of this benchmarking
work are provided in Chapter 10.)
Oftel will
build on these achievements in 1996/7 by delivering the challenging
work programme set out in this Plan and will continue to monitor
its performance against its goal and objectives (see Chapter
10 for further details of how Oftel measures its performance).
Go
to Chapter 2 | Return to this Document's
Table of Contents
Oftel'S Management
Plan for 1996/97 and Beyond (May 1996)
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Purpose of the
Management Plan
This Management
Plan:
-
clarifies
what Oftel'S GOAL is and the OBJECTIVES to be achieved in pursuit
of that goal (Chapter 2).
-
sets out
the WORK PROGRAMME for 1996/7 which Oftel considers critical
to achieving its objectives (Chapters 3-9).
-
sets out
how Oftel measures its PERFORMANCE both in terms of progress
towards achievement of its goal and objectives and in its day
to day work with external clients (Chapter
10).
-
indicates
the RESOURCES available to Oftel to achieve its goal and objectives
(Chapter 11).
Progress since
1995/6
Oftel has made
considerable progress in achieving its goal through the delivery
of its 1995/6 Management Plan. Some of the major achievements in
1995/6 included:
-
Accounting
separation - the publication for the first time of an audited
set of regulatory accounts for BT in September 1995 which will
give BT's competitors assurance that they are paying fair prices
for the use of BT's network.
-
Interim
charges determination for standard services 95/96 - at the end
of January 1996 Oftel determined network charges for 1995/6
which are the charges other operators pay for using BT's network.
-
Abolition
of RPI+2% BT exchange line rental constraint - the removal of
this constraint in February 1996 enables BT to offer its residential
customers a range of call and rental packages. It also allowed
the removal of the complex access deficit contribution regime
which created uncertainty for companies investing in telecommunications.
-
Price control
review - consultation commenced on the new arrangements to replace
the current BT price controls when they expire in 1997 with
the publication of two consultative documents in December 1995
and March 1996.
-
Fair trading
condition - in November 1995 Oftel held its first public hearing
to debate the need for more effective powers for dealing with
unfair trading by a licence condition prohibiting the abuse
of a dominant position. This was followed in December 1995 by
the publication of the proposed fair trading licence condition,
and draft guidelines for consultation.
-
Beyond the
telephone, the television and the PC - a consultation document
looking at the future regulation of the converging industries
of telecommunications, broadcasting and information technology
and 'broadband switched mass market services' was published
in August 1995.
-
Number portability
- December 1995 saw the completion of the Monopolies and Mergers
Commission's investigation into number portability. The MMC's
findings broadly endorsed Oftel's approach and recommended a
modification to BT's licence along the lines suggested by the
Director General.
-
Services
competition - work to review the regulatory framework for services
provided over the telecommunications network led to the publication
of a major consultation document in February 1996.
-
Universal
Service - consultation documents were issued in July 1995 and
December 1995 with Oftel's proposals for defining universal
service and delivering it in a competitive market.
-
Customer
information - January 1996 saw the publication for the first
time of comparable statistics allowing customers to compare
the quality of service offered by different telecommunications
companies.
-
Full details
of work undertaken in 1995 are published in Oftel's Annual Report
(available from Oftel's Library, price £18.30).
The results
of benchmarking studies comparing the telecommunications 'deal'
UK customers are getting with those overseas demonstrated that Oftel
is generally delivering its objectives and meeting its goal, but
not on everything and there is more to be done if the UK is to keep
its edge over its international competitors. (Details of the research
referred to are included in two reports for Oftel entitled Comparison
of UK telecoms with other leading countries and Customer views of
telecoms: case studies of UK and USA businesses available from Oftel's
library price £10 each.. Further details of this benchmarking
work are provided in Chapter 10.)
Oftel will
build on these achievements in 1996/7 by delivering the challenging
work programme set out in this Plan and will continue to monitor
its performance against its goal and objectives (see Chapter
10 for further details of how Oftel measures its performance).
Go
to Chapter 2 | Return to this Document's
Table of Contents
|
