GLOSSARY

Access deficit - The amount by which BT's revenue from exchange line connections and line rentals falls short of the fully allocated costs of providing and maintaining customer connections to the network.

Access Deficit Contributions (ADCs) - BT's access deficit arises in part from previous regulatory restrictions (now abolished) on BT's price charges to customers for line connection and line rental, which mean that BT funds its access deficit from call revenues. By paying ADCs as part of the interconnection payment, other operators pay out of their call profits contributions to the funding of BT-Network's access deficit equivalent to those paid out by BT-Retail. Therefore, operators face costs of supplying calls similar to the costs that BT-Retail implicitly faces because of its need to fund the access deficit.

Accounting separation - The preparation of separate accounts for different businesses run by the same company, so that the costs and revenues associated with each business (and transfers between them) can be separately identified and properly allocated.

ACTS - Approval Committee for Terminal Equipment - an advisory body to the European Commission on the implementation of the Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Directive. It gives general guidance on the application of the Directive, and has the formal responsibility of adopting Common Technical Regulations which are binding on all member states.

BABT - British Approvals Board for Telecommunications.

Broadband - A service or connection allowing a considerable amount of information to be conveyed, such as for television pictures. Broadband networks have a capacity of at least 4 MHZ (analogue networks) or 2 Mbits per second (digital networks). This compares with narrowband which generally allows only a limited amount of information to be conveyed.

BSI - British Standards Institute.

CCA - Cable Communications Association

Calling Line Identity (CLI) - A facility within advanced networks that enables identification of the number from which a call is being made.

Call routing apparatus - Any equipment capable of switching two-way live speech telephone calls between two or more exchange lines and two or more extensions, such as PBXs, Automatic Call Distribution equipment and key telephone systems.

Capacity based charging - A system for charging for interconnection services based on the purchase of network capacity in the 'busy hour'. The 'busy hour' is the time at which the level of demand is greatest. The 'busy hour' can be assessed at any point in the network, or for the network as a whole. Demand may be measured in call attempts or in traffic depending on which is the relevant driver for a particular network component.

CBI - Confederation of British Industry.

Class Licence - A licence granted by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to all persons of a class or description.

Conditional access system - the means by which subscribers can be denied access to a service (eg pay television) for which they do not wish to pay the charges levied.

CT2 - The Cordless Telephony Standard. A digital system using frequency shift keying in the 864 to 868 MHZ band using time division duplex.

Customer interface - The interface between a public network and customer premises equipment.

Customer premises equipment (CPE) - Also known as customer apparatus or consumer equipment. Equipment on a customer's premises which is not part of the public network and which is directly or indirectly attached to it.

DAVIC - The Digital Audio Visual Council. A world consensus forum set up to generate global digital telecommunications standards in the area of broadband switched mass-marked networks and services.

DECT - Office cordless networks and suitable for more general cordless use including telepoint type networks.

Designated Maintainer - A maintainer approved under [section 20 of] the Telecommunications Act 1984 with whom a user has entered into a contract for the maintenance of Call Routing Apparatus comprised in a system run under the SPL or TSL.

Detailed Attribution Methods (DAM) - BT is required to produce and publish a handbook which provides greater detail of the methods employed by BT in attributing turnover, costs, assets and liabilities between BT's Businesses and activities (as defined for regulatory purposes). It lies behind the Financial Statements (regulatory Accounts) and the Accounting Documents required by BT's licence.

De-averaging - At present BT's interconnection charges and call prices are based on geographically averaged costs and different types of plant doing the same job are also averaged, regardless of locality. De-averaging would reflect more closely actual costs.

Digital - The coded representation of a waveform by, for example, binary digits in the form of pulses of light, as opposed to analogue which is the direct representation of a waveform.

Distribution networks - The network over which signals and messages are transmitted eg a telephony or cable TV network, or a terrestrial or satellite TV broadcast network.

DNH - The Department of National Heritage.

DTI - The Department of Trade and Industry.

DSS - The Department of Social Security.

ETSI - European Telecommunications Standards Institute has the primary responsibility within Europe for the production of telecommunications standards for pan-European application.

ECTRA - European Committee for Telecommunications Regulatory Affairs. ECTRA is the main European forum for the discussion of regulatory issues, set up within the framework of the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT).

FCC - The Federal Communications Commission. The US regulatory body set up in 1934 to regulate all inter-state and foreign communications by wire, radio, television and radio. Intra-state communications are regulated by state public utilities commissions.

FCS - Federation of Communication Services - the industry body for the mobile telecommunications industry.

Financial Statements - Documents that collectively make up the regulatory accounts BT is required to publish under the modifications of 31 March 1995 introducing accounting separation and interconnection standard services. The statements are audited to check that they fairly represent the financial results for the businesses and activities into which BT's operations are divided for regulatory purposes (inter alia to ensure there are no unfair cross subsidies between businesses and that interconnection charges can be shown to be fairly derived from costs and applied without discrimination).

Fixed/mobile convergence - The merging of fixed and mobile services into an integrated service whereby the customer will be offered both fixed and mobile services and will receive one bill and/or receive and make calls using one terminal.

Floors and ceilings - The defined limits within which BT may vary its interconnect charges under the proposed network charge controls. The floor is (approximately) defined as incremental costs - without any additions for common costs shared with other services. The ceiling is approximately defined as the "stand-alone" costs of the service which include the whole of those costs which in practice are shared with other services. Floors and ceilings provide BT with flexibility in setting interconnect charges - but subject to BT's reducing charges to meet the reductions in income required by the new RPI-X type of controls proposed to be applied to interconnect charges.

Full number portability - see number mobility

Fully allocated cost - An accounting approach under which all the costs of the firm are distributed between its various services. The fully allocated cost of a service may therefore include some common costs that are not directly attributable to the service.

ICSTIS - The Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services.

Incremental costs - The costs that arise as a result of the provision of the "increment" ie the product or service concerned. In contrast to fully allocated costs, the incremental costs of a service include only those costs that are directly caused by the provision of the service, including capital costs. This is normally referred to as long run incremental costs.

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) - A wideband network providing end-to-end digital connectivity to support a wider range of services than is possible over a narrowband network.

Interconnection - The connection of separate telecommunications networks over which signals and messages are transmitted.

Interconnection Policy Forum (IPF) - an Oftel/industry working group which considers current interconnection issues.

Interconnection services - Services provided by one telecommunications organisation to another for the purpose of the conveyance of messages and information between the two systems and including any ancillary services necessary for the provision and maintenance of such services.

IDD - international direct dialling.

International Accounting Rate Regime - The method international operators use to account with each other to settle the cost of terminating each others' calls. The originating operator will pay the terminating operator a settlement rate, normally half the accounting rate for each minute of the call which is terminated in the other operator's system.

International facilities licence - A licence which enables an operator to both own and operate its own facilities. All operators except BT and MCL must lease facilities from the two duopoly operators.

International Simple Resale (ISR) - Collecting traffic off the public switched telephone network in this country, switching it onto a leased line to another country across the international gateway, which is operated by BT or Mercury and then breaking back out onto the public network in the other country.

Interoperability - The ability of different distribution networks and/or apparatus to work together to provide a seamless service for users.

IPLC - International private leased circuit. The UK part of a private circuit provided by means of both a telecommunication system comprised in the system of a UK operator and a system in another country.

ITC - The Independent Television Commission.

KCL - Kingston Communications Limited.

LRIC - Long run incremental costs. Those costs which over the longer term have to be covered by prices to maintain the financial viability of the firm.

Mobile data - Covers a wide range of niche applications including vehicle location systems, data information services.

Mobile portability - Where a customer taking a service from a mobile operator (eg Vodaphone, Orange) or Service Provider (eg People's Phone) can retain their telephone number when they change to a different mobile operator or service provider.

MMC - Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

Multimedia - The convergence of telecommunications, IT and broadcasting.

Narrowband - A service or connection allowing only a limited amount of information to be conveyed, such as telephony. Narrowband networks have typical capacity of 4KHz (analogue networks) or 64Kbits per second (digital networks).

Network Interoperability Consultative Committee (NICC) - Formerly the Network Interfaces Co-ordination Committee. A UK body which provides advice to the Director General of Telecommunications on the interfaces needed to enable interoperability of telecommunications distribution networks and/or apparatus.

Non-Geographic portability - Where a customer who has had allocated to him a non-geographic number associated with a particular type of service, such as 0800 freephone, an 07 personal number, or an 0891 premium rate number, can retain that number when they change to a different operator or service provider offering a service of the same or similar type.

NTL - National Transcommunications Limited.

Number mobility - The ability to take a geographic telephone number with you when changing address. (This is sometimes referred to as 'full number portability' in the US).

Number portability - Number portability between operators enables a customer to transfer from one operator to a second operator and retain the same number provided the customer remains at the same address.

OFT - The Office of Fair Trading

OECD - Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development

OLO - other licensed operators.

Open Network Provision (ONP) Committee - a standing committee of member state national regulatory authorities and others which supervises the European Commission's development of the ONP programme. This covers measures aimed at ensuring that services which are not yet required to be liberalised in all member states are regulated in such a way as to guarantee their supply in accordance with certain standards of objectivity, transparency and non-discrimination.

PBX - Private Branch Exchange

PCN - Operating frequency.

PCS - Operating frequency (1900 MHZ).

Premium Rate Service (PRS) -Services, including recorded information and live conversation, run by independent service providers. All calls to these companies are charged at a higher rate than ordinary calls to cover the companies' costs in providing the content of the call and the operator's cost for the special network facilities needed.

Private networks - A telecommunications network on the customer's side of a network termination point, which forms the boundary between a public telecommunication system run under a PTO licence and the user's network, generally run under a Class Licence. At its simplest, a private network may consist of just one handset and a length of wiring.

PSTN - Public Switched Telecommunications Network. The telecommunications networks of the major operators, on which calls can be made to all customers of all PSTNs.

Public Telecommunications Operator (PTO) - Major operators who are so designated by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. Compared with non-PTOs, PTOs have additional rights and responsibilities.

RA - The Radiocommunications Agency

Radio Spectrum - The range of wavelengths used, for example, for broadcasting radio, terrestrial television and satellite television. Usable wavelength ranges from about 100 KHz to about 400 GHz although there are as yet no broadcasts above about 12 GHz.

Self Provided Telecommunications Systems Licence (SPL) - A class licence which allows the Licensee to provide his own links over any distance rather than leasing from an operator. All traffic must originate and terminate with the licensee or his Group and no financial benefit other than the reimbursement of costs, may be received for the provision of telecommunication services.

Service providers - An entity that sells telecommunication services or services with a telecommunication service component to third parties. A service provider may also own the network used to convey its services, or have no network of its own and use others' networks.

Single tandem DLE costing - "Single tandem" is an interconnect standard service consisting of two elements: the single tandem (itself composed of two main components - Digital switching and the associated transmission link) and the local exchange (the local switch). The local switch cost is itself a composite. It takes account of the mix of different types of (BT) local exchange and the fact that some (but not all) have concentrators and these may be remote or co -located. These component costs are weighted in proportion to the numbers of calls that use each of the possible components to give a national average charge.

SMATV - Satellite master antenna television.

Supplemental Services Business (SSB) - Defined in BT's licence by reference to the 1987 Value Added and Data Services Class Licence. In essence it means that part of BT's business that provides all telecommunications or enhanced services except "voice telephony and telex messages" (which are in BT's Systems Business).

Switched - Relates to a telecommunications network comprising at least one exchange and capable of routing signals and messages from one line to all other lines comprised in the network.

Systems Business (SB) - Defined in BT's licence as being, essentially, that part of BT's business involving the installation, running and maintenance of its network and the conveyance of voice and telex messages, as distinct from the Supplemental Services Business.

TRAC - Telecommunications Regulations Application Committee - an organisation originally set up by members of the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), now acting as a two-way intermediary between the Commission and ETSI on aspects of the Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Directive.

Telecommunications Services Licence (TSL) - A class licence which allows the running of systems for the provision of a wide range of telecommunication services to others for profit. Self provided links between premises must not, however, be more than 200 metres long. Longer links must be leased from an operator.

Universal Service (US) - A provision in some Telecommunications Act licences requiring the licensee to provide certain services to all specified persons. For example, BT is currently required to provide basic voice telephony and certain other established telecommunications services to anyone who may reasonably request them.

UK C7 (IUP) signalling - The Interconnect User Part (comprising signalling messages to establish and control calls) of the UK version of ITU/CCITT Signalling System No 7 (C7) which is a 'common channel' signalling system for use between exchanges in digital telecommunications networks.

Wideband - An intermediate bandwidth between narrowband and broadband.

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