Annex B

Draft Direction, Carrier Pre-selection Functional Specification

Draft Direction under proposed Conditions AA8 and AB6 to be imposed on BT and Kingston as a result of the market power determinations proposed to be made by the Director that BT and Kingston have significant market power in the market of call origination on fixed public narrowband networks for the UK (except the Hull Area) and the Hull Area, respectively

WHEREAS:

(A) as a result of a market review carried out by the Director under regulation 6 of the Regulations, BT and Kingston were each found to have significant market power in the market of call origination on fixed public narrowband networks for the UK (except the Hull Area) and the Hull Area, respectively;

(B) the Director having confirmed his proposals pursuant to regulation 8 of the Regulations to make market power determinations to the effect referred to in recital (A) above and to set certain SMP conditions on both BT and Kingston to take effect on [ ], such as, in the case of BT, Condition AA8 and, in the case of Kingston, Condition AB6, both imposing Conditions obligations concerning Carrier Pre-selection etc.;

(C) this Direction concerns matters to which Conditions AA8 and AB6 relate and, in particular, the manner in which Carrier Pre-selection and Carrier Pre-selection Interconnection Facilities are to be made available in accordance with those Conditions;

(D) the Carrier Pre-selection Functional Specification is a document, which specifies technical and other principles which are intended to effect the efficient implementation and utilisation of Carrier Pre-selection and Carrier Pre-selection Interconnection Facilities, as may be directed by the Director from time to time for the purposes of BT and Kingston complying with their respective obligations under those Conditions;

(E) for the reasons set out in the statement accompanying this Direction, the Director is satisfied that, in accordance with section 45(2) of the Act, this Direction is:

(i) objectively justifiable in relation to the networks, services, facilities, apparatus or directories to which it relates;

(ii) not such as to discriminate unduly against particular persons or against a particular description of persons;

(iii) proportionate to what it is intended to achieve; and

(iv) in relation to what it is intended to achieve, transparent;

(F) for the reasons set out in the statement accompanying this Direction, the Director is satisfied that he has acted in accordance with the relevant Community requirements set out in section 4 of the Act;

(G) a notification of this Direction has been carried out in accordance with section 45 of the Act;

(H) the Director has considered every representation about this Direction made to him within the specified consultation period; and

NOW, therefore, pursuant to Conditions AA8 and AB6 in Schedules 1 and 2 to the Notification, respectively, the Director makes the following Direction:

1. For the purposes of complying with its obligations under paragraphs AA8.1 and AA8.2 of Condition AA8, BT shall provide Carrier Pre-selection and Carrier Pre-selection Interconnection Facilities in accordance with the Carrier Pre-selection Functional Specification set out in the Schedule hereto.

2. For the purposes of complying with its obligations under paragraphs AB6.1 and AB6.2 of Condition AB6, Kingston shall provide Carrier Pre-selection and Carrier Pre-selection Interconnection Facilities in accordance with the Carrier Pre-selection Functional Specification set out in the Schedule hereto.

3. For the purpose of interpreting this Direction, the following definitions shall apply:

4. Except insofar as the context otherwise requires, words or expressions shall have the meaning assigned to them in paragraph 3 above and otherwise any word or expression shall have the same meaning as it has in the Notification or, if the context so permits, in Schedules 1 and 2 thereto, as appropriate.

5. For the purpose of interpreting this Direction:

6. This Direction shall take effect on the day it is published.

7. The Schedule to this Direction shall form part of this Direction.

DAVID ALBERT EDMONDS

DIRECTOR GENERAL OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

[XX XX 2003]

Schedule

Carrier Pre-selection Functional Specification

Issue No. 1

[Date]

Contents

• Purpose of this document
• Scope
• Definitions
• Interpretation
• Subscriber Options
• Routing
• Override
• Billing

Purpose of this document

1. Carrier Pre-selection is a facility offered to Subscribers which allows them to opt for certain defined classes of calls (see under ‘Subscriber Options’ below) to be carried by a provider of a Public Telephone Network selected in advance (and having a contract with its Subscriber), without having to dial a routing prefix or follow any other different procedure to invoke such routing. Carrier Pre-selection can be overridden by dialling an Indirect Access Code of another provider of a Public Telephone Network (again, where there is a contract between the Subscriber and the provider).

2. Carrier Pre-selection must be provided by the relevant Dominant Provider to any of its Subscribers upon request in accordance with this Carrier Pre-selection Functional Specification under obligations imposed on such a Provider under UK legislation implementing the provisions of Article 19 of the Universal Services Directive (2002/22/EC) (see further about those provisions under ‘Scope’ below). The Dominant Provider must also provide Carrier Pre-selection Facilities in accordance with this Functional Specification under above-mentioned obligations.

3. The Carrier Pre-selection Functional Specification sets out technical and other principles which are intended to effect the efficient implementation and utilisation of Carrier Pre-selection and Carrier Pre-selection Facilities.

Scope

4. Article 19(1) of the Universal Service Directive provides that "National regulatory authorities shall require undertakings notified as having significant market power for the provision of connection to and use of the public telephone network at a fixed location in accordance with Article 16(3) to enable their subscribers to access the services of any interconnected provider of publicly available telephone services: (a) on a call-by-call basis by dialling a carrier selection code; and (b) by means of pre-selection, with a facility to override any pre-selected choice on a call-by-call basis by dialling a carrier selection code." In the United Kingdom, that provision is implemented into UK legislation through the imposition of significant market power (SMP) conditions, which impose obligations relating inter alia to Carrier Pre-selection etc. on the Dominant Providers.

5. Carrier Pre-selection and Carrier Pre-selection Facilities must be provided by the following Dominant Providers:

• BT; and
• Kingston.

6. Dominant Providers shall be required to provide Carrier Pre-selection Interconnection Facilities to CPS Providers only.

7. Dominant Providers shall provide, on request, Carrier Pre-selection to all Subscribers on Exchange Lines, including the integrated services digital network (ISDN) and Centrex lines. However, Dominant Providers are not required to provide either Carrier Pre-selection or Carrier Pre-selection Facilities in relation to lines on special schemes to assist Consumers who have difficulty affording telephone services.

Definitions

8. The following words or expressions in this Carrier Pre-selection Functional Specification shall have the meaning ascribed hereunder:

Access Code

This term shall have the meaning given to the term Access Code in the National Telephone Numbering Plan.

BT

British Telecommunications plc, whose registered company number is 1800000, and any of its subsidiaries or holding companies, or any subsidiary of such holding companies, all as defined by section 736 of the Companies Act 1985, as amended by the Companies Act 1989.

CPS Code

This term shall have the meaning given to the term Carrier Pre-Selection Code in the National Telephone Numbering Plan.

CPS Provider

A Pre-selected Provider that has established Points of Connection with the Dominant Provider and has been allocated a CPS Code by the Director.

Indirect Access

A facility which allows a Subscriber to whom a Publicly Available Telephone Service is provided by means of a Public Telephone Network to select which such Service provided wholly or partly by means of that Network is the service he wishes to use by the use of a telephone number on each separate occasion on which a selection is made.

Indirect Access Code

A type of Access Code used to provide Indirect Access.

Indirect Access Provider

A provider of Indirect Access services.

Kingston

Kingston Communications (Hull) plc, whose registered company number is 2150618, and any of its subsidiaries or holding companies, or any subsidiary of such holding companies, all as defined by section 736 of the Companies Act 1985, as amended by the Companies Act 1989.

National Telephone Numbering Plan

A document published from time to time pursuant to section 52 of the Communications Act 2003 setting out matters stated therein.

Point(s) of Connection

A point at which one Public Telephone Network is connected to another.

Type B Indirect Access Code

A type of Access Code allocated to individual Public Communications Providers to be used for the provision of Indirect Access.

Interpretation

9. Except in so far as the context otherwise requires, words or expressions in this Carrier Pre-selection Functional Specification shall have the meaning ascribed to them under paragraph 8 above, and otherwise any word or expression shall have the meaning as it has for the purposes of the SMP conditions concerning Carrier Pre-selection etc. imposed on Dominant Providers pursuant to section 86 of the Communications Act 2003 (which are Condition AA8, in the case of BT, and Condition AB6, in the case of Kingston, at the time of the publication of this Issue No.1 of the Specification) or, if it has no meaning ascribed thereunder and if the context so permits, in the Communications Act 2003.

10. The Interpretation Act 1978 (1978 c 30) shall apply for the purpose of interpreting this Carrier Pre-selection Functional Specification as if it were an Act of Parliament.

11. For the purposes of interpreting this Carrier Pre-selection Functional Specification, headings and titles shall be disregarded.

Subscriber Options

12. Subscribers opting to use Carrier Pre-selection may select from the following options:

13. If a Subscriber selects Options 1 and 2 (see paragraphs 12(i) and (ii) above), he can have calls from both options carried either by the same CPS Provider or by different CPS Providers. Neither Options 1 and 3, nor Options 2 and 3, may be combined.

14. Carrier Pre-selection shall not apply to calls using Type A Access Codes (eg 100, 112, 192), Type C (operator specific) Access Codes or the 0844 04yyxxx and 0808 99yyxxx number ranges used for unmetered Internet access (with unmetered interconnect). Nor shall Carrier Pre-selection apply to the ‘999’ code.

15. Where no option is selected by the Subscriber, relevant calls shall be routed according to the decision of the Dominant Provider.

16. Local calls shall be deemed to be calls to those geographic destinations which are charged at local call rate by the Dominant Provider.

Routing

17. Where a Subscriber has elected to have calls routed by Carrier Pre-selection, the following shall apply:

18. Where a call is routed by Carrier Pre-selection, the Dominant Provider shall prefix the Subscriber’s dialled digits with the CPS Code before passing the call across the Point of Connection. The CPS Code ensures routing through the Dominant Provider's Public Telephone Network to the Point of Connection.

19. Where a pre-selected call is dialled using the local dialling format, the Dominant Provider must insert the leading zero and area code between the CPS Code and the dialled Telephone Number.

20. Carrier Pre-selection shall not apply to operator controlled calls, including (but not limited to) transfer charge calls. Operator and other special services of CPS Providers shall be accessed using the appropriate Indirect Access Code.

Override

21. Calls using Type B Indirect Access Codes shall override options for Carrier Pre-selection and route to the Indirect Access Provider identified by that code, without alteration to the digit string dialled by the Subscriber (for the avoidance of any doubt, it should be noted that this does not include 118XXX DQ codes).

Billing

22. Responsibility for billing the calling Subscriber for Carrier Pre-selection calls rests with the CPS Provider. Where no pre-selection or other form of selection has been made by the calling Subscriber, the Dominant

Annex C

Draft Direction I (Option II for Condition AA10)

Wholesale Analogue Line Rental Functional Specification

Draft Direction under proposed Option II for Condition AA10 to be imposed on BT as a result of the market power determinations proposed to be made by the Director that BT has significant market power in each of the markets of wholesale residential analogue exchange line services and wholesale business analogue exchange line services for the UK (except the Hull area)

WHEREAS:

(A) as a result of a market review carried out by the Director under regulation 6 of the Regulations, BT was found to have significant market power in each of the markets of wholesale residential analogue exchange line services and wholesale business analogue exchange line services for the UK (except the Hull area);

(B) the Director having confirmed his proposals pursuant to regulation 8 of the Regulations to make market power determinations to the effect referred to in recital (A) above and to set certain SMP conditions on BT to take effect on [ ], such as Condition AA10 that imposes obligations on BT to provide Wholesale Analogue Line Rental;

(C) this Direction concerns matters to which Condition AA10 relates and, in particular, the manner in which Wholesale Analogue Line Rental is to be made available in accordance with that Condition;

(D) the Wholesale Analogue Line Rental Functional Specification is a document, which specifies technical and other principles which are intended to effect the efficient implementation and utilisation of Wholesale Analogue Line Rental, as may be directed by the Director from time to time for the purposes of BT complying with its obligations under that Condition;

(E) for the reasons set out in the statement accompanying this Direction, the Director is satisfied that, in accordance with section 45(2) of the Act, this Direction is:

(iv) in relation to what it is intended to achieve, transparent;

(F) for the reasons set out in the statement accompanying this Direction, the Director is satisfied that he has acted in accordance with the relevant Community requirements set out in section 4 of the Act;

(G) a notification of this Direction has been carried out in accordance with section 45 of the Act;

(H) the Director has considered every representation about this Direction made to him within the specified consultation period; and

NOW, therefore, pursuant to Condition AA10 in Schedule 1 to the Notification, the Director makes the following Direction:

1. For the purposes of complying with its obligations under paragraphs AA10.1 of Condition AA10, BT shall provide Wholesale Analogue Line Rental in accordance with the Wholesale Analogue Line Rental Functional Specification set out in the Schedule hereto.

2. For the purpose of interpreting this Direction, the following definitions shall apply:

a. "Act" means the Communications Act 2003;
b. "BT" means British Telecommunications plc, whose registered company number is 1800000, and any of its subsidiaries or holding companies, or any subsidiary of such holding companies, all as defined by section 736 of the Companies Act 1985, as amended by the Companies Act 1989;
c. "Director" means the Director General of Telecommunications as appointed under section 1 of the Telecommunications Act 1984;
d. "Notification" means the notification of confirmation of proposals under regulation 8 of the Regulations for identifying inter alia wholesale residential analogue exchange line services and wholesale business analogue exchange line services for the purpose of making market power determinations that BT has significant market power in the United Kingdom (except the Hull area) in relation to each such market, as published on the same day as this Direction is published and as annexed to the statement accompanying this Direction;
e. "Regulations" mean the Electronic Communications (Market Analysis) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/330);and
f. "significant market power" has the meaning given to it in regulation 5(3) to (7) of the Regulations.

3. Except insofar as the context otherwise requires, words or expressions shall have the meaning assigned to them in paragraph 2 above and otherwise any word or expression shall have the same meaning as it has in the Notification or, if the context so permits, in Schedule 1 thereto, as appropriate.

4. For the purpose of interpreting this Direction:

a. headings and titles shall be disregarded; and
b. the Interpretation Act 1978 (1978 c 30) shall apply as if this direction were an Act of Parliament.

5. This Direction shall take effect on the day it is published.

6. The Schedule to this Direction shall form part of this Direction.

DAVID ALBERT EDMONDS

DIRECTOR GENERAL OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

[XX XX 2003]

Schedule

Wholesale Analogue Line Rental Functional Specification

Issue No. 1

[Date]

Contents

• Purpose of this document
• Scope
• Definitions
• Interpretation
• Line types and Supplementary Services
• Ordering Wholesale Analogue Line Rental
• Design and operational management of the ordering system
• Relevant Public Provider forecasts and rationing
• Consumer protection
• Maintenance and fault management
• End-user visits by engineers employed by the Dominant Provider
• Billing, debt management, fraud and security

Purpose of this document

1. Wholesale Line Rental is a facility offered to Relevant Public Providers that allows them to rent an Exchange Line from the Dominant Provider on wholesale terms, and resell it to an End-user. That facility also allows a Relevant Public Provider to rent those Supplementary Services normally made available by the retail activities of the Dominant Provider over an Exchange Line. Accordingly, this Functional Specification sets out inter alia the specific Exchange Line types and Supplementary Services that the Dominant Provider must make available to the Relevant Public Provider.

2. The Dominant Provider must enable the Relevant Public Provider to take over all aspects of the retail relationship with the End-user. At the same time, the Dominant Provider must enable the Relevant Public Provider to offer a same, similar or equivalent level of customer service to that offered by its own retail activities in relation to business processes, such as provisioning and fault management. In order for this to be possible, the Dominant Provider must make certain support services available. The specific Supplementary Services required for that purpose are set out in this Functional Specification.

3. In order for Wholesale Line Rental to be effective in promoting competition, the operational and financial overheads associated with the use of this wholesale service must be minimised. The Dominant Provider must therefore implement key operational processes (eg ordering, provisioning, fault management, and billing) in an efficient manner, and must also manage the interactions with other wholesale services (eg Carrier Pre-Selection) in an efficient manner. For the same reason, the Dominant Provider must provide a high degree of process automation in order to reduce the transaction costs associated with the provision and in-life management of Wholesale Line Rental. Some specific requirements are set out in this Functional Specification.

Scope

4. By definition, this Wholesale Analogue Line Rental Functional Specification is a document, which specifies technical and other principles which are intended to effect the efficient implementation and utilisation of Wholesale Analogue Line Rental, as may be directed by the Director from time to time for the purposes of the Dominant Provider complying with its requirement to provide such Wholesale Analogue Line Rental under Condition AA10.

5. Wholesale Analogue Line Rental is, by definition, a type of Wholesale Analogue Line Rental. There are two other types, namely Wholesale Business ISDN2 Line Rental and Wholesale ISDN30 Line Rental, which are not covered by this Functional Specification.

6. Pursuant to paragraph AA10.1 of Condition AA10, the Dominant Provider shall, except in so far as the Director may consent otherwise in writing, provide Wholesale Analogue Line Rental as soon as it is reasonably practicable on reasonable terms in accordance with this Functional Specification to every Relevant Public Provider who reasonably requests such Wholesale Analogue Line Rental.

7. Wholesale Analogue Line Rental must be provided by the following Dominant Provider:

• BT.

Definitions

8. The following words or expressions in this Wholesale Analogue Line Rental Functional Specification shall have the meaning ascribed hereunder:

BT

British Telecommunications plc, whose registered company number is 1800000, and any of its subsidiaries or holding companies, or any subsidiary of such holding companies, all as defined by section 736 of the Companies Act 1985, as amended by the Companies Act 1989.

Call Data Records

A set of data that provides for each call all the information that is necessary to produce a bill to the End-user for that call.

Carrier Pre-Selection

A facility which allows a Subscriber to whom a Publicly Available Telephone Service is provided by means of a Public Telephone Network to select which Pre-selected Provider of such Services provided wholly or partly by means of that Network is the Pre-selected Provider he wishes to use to carry his calls by designating in advance the selection that is to apply on every occasion when there has been no selection of Provider by use of a Telephone Number, and the terms "Pre-selected Provider", "Publicly Available Telephone Services", "Public Telephone Network", and "Subscriber" used in this definition shall have the meaning ascribed to them for the purposes of the SMP conditions imposed on BT.

Dominant Provider

This term has the same meaning as the term BT, see above.

End-user

In relation to a Public Electronic Communications Service, means:

Exchange Line

Apparatus comprised in the Dominant Provider’s Electronic Communications Network and installed for the purpose of connecting a telephone exchange run by the Dominant Provider to a Network Termination Point comprised in Network Termination and Testing Apparatus installed by the Dominant Provider for the purpose of providing Electronic Communications Services at the premises at which the Network Termination and Testing Apparatus is located.

Gaining Provider

The Relevant Public Provider to whom an analogue Exchange Line is to be transferred following the successful completion of an order for Wholesale Analogue Line Rental.

Indirect Access

A facility which allows a Subscriber to whom a Publicly Available Telephone Service is provided by means of a Public Telephone Network to select which such Service provided wholly or partly by means of that Network is the service he wishes to use by the use of a Telephone Number on each separate occasion on which a selection is made, and the terms "Publicly Available Telephone Services", "Public Telephone Network", and "Subscriber" used in this definition shall have the meaning ascribed to them for the purposes of the SMP conditions imposed on BT.

Losing Provider

The Relevant Public Provider from whom an analogue Exchange Line is to be transferred following the successful completion of an order for Wholesale Analogue Line Rental.

Number Portability

A facility whereby Subscribers who so request can retain their Telephone Number on a Public Telephone Network, independently of the person providing the service at the Network Termination Point of a Subscriber at a specific location in the case of Geographic Numbers or at any location in the case of Non-geographic Numbers, and the terms "Geographic Numbers", "Network Termination Point", "Non-geographic Numbers", "Public Telephone Network", and "Subscriber" used in this definition shall have the meaning ascribed to them for the purposes of general conditions concerning Number Portability imposed on persons under sections 41 and 42 of the Communications Act 2003.

Select Services

A specific group of Supplementary Services that enable an End-user to manage their calls. In particular, they enable an End-user to identify who is making a call, prevent unwanted calls, and ensure that calls that are wanted get through.

Supplementary Services

Those services that are supplied over an Exchange Line in addition to access and call conveyance, either to provide an enhanced retail service to the End-user or to assist the Relevant Public Provider manage his End-users.

Transfer Letter

A letter sent by the Gaining Provider or the Losing Provider to an End-user, following submission of an order for Wholesale Analogue Line Rental, to inform the End-user that their analogue Exchange Line is being transferred to the Gaining Provider.

Wholesale Analogue Line Rental

An Electronic Communications Service provided by the Dominant Provider to a Relevant Public Provider for the use and Ordinary Maintenance of an analogue Exchange Line.

Interpretation

9. Except in so far as the context otherwise requires, words or expressions in this Wholesale Analogue Line Rental Functional Specification shall have the meaning ascribed to them under paragraph 8 above, and otherwise any word or expression shall have the meaning as it has for the purposes of the SMP condition imposing requirements on the Dominant Provider to provide Wholesale Analogue Line Rental etc. pursuant to section 83 of the Communications Act 2003 (which is Condition AA10 at the time of the publication of this Issue No.1 of the Specification) or, otherwise any word or expression shall have the same meaning as in the Communications Act 2003.

10. The Interpretation Act 1978 (1978 c 30) shall apply for the purpose of interpreting this Wholesale Analogue Line Rental Functional Specification.

11. For the purposes of interpreting this Wholesale Analogue Line Rental Functional Specification, headings and titles shall be disregarded.

Line types and supplementary services

12. The Dominant Provider shall provide to the Relevant Public Provider all or any of the following types of analogue Exchange Line that the latter reasonably requests:

• single analogue Exchange Line (residential quality of service);
• single analogue Exchange Line (business quality of service);
• multiple single analogue Exchange Lines (business quality of service).These are multiple individual lines with different telephone numbers installed on the same End-user premises; and
• Multiple auxiliary analogue Exchange Lines (business quality of service). These are multiple individual lines serving the same End-user premises, and configured so that they share the same telephone number as the main Exchange Line.

13. The Dominant Provider shall provide a standard directory listing for each analogue Exchange Line, and this shall be either a residential or business listing, as appropriate.

14. The Dominant Provider shall provide Number Portability in relation to each analogue Exchange Line, both import and export, with sufficient functionality to enable a Relevant Public Provider to discharge its legal obligations in relation to Number Portability.

15. The Dominant Provider shall provide the same capability to allocate ‘golden numbers’ (ie particularly memorable or otherwise desirable telephone numbers ) for an analogue Exchange Line being rented by a Relevant Public Provider as it would for its own retail activities.

16. The Dominant Provider shall provide the complete set of Select Services that are available to its own retail activities. The Select Services that the Dominant Provider shall provide on an analogue Exchange Line include:

• call-sign (single analogue Exchange Line only);
• caller display;
• withhold number per line;
• bar use of withhold number;
• anonymous call rejection;
• ‘Choose to refuse’;
• call barring;
• call barring and bypass number;
• call waiting (single analogue Exchange Line only);
• call diversion;
• call diversion and bypass number;
• ‘Smart divert’ (single analogue Exchange Line only);
• ‘Smart divert’ PIN number change (single analogue Exchange Line only);
• ‘Smart divert’ and bypass number (single analogue Exchange Line only);
• caller redirect / CNI (single analogue Exchange Line only);
• wholesale messaging;
• ‘Call Minder’ (single analogue Exchange Line only);
• ‘Call Minder’ extensions (single analogue Exchange Line only);
• remote call forwarding;
• ring back (single analogue Exchange Line only);
• ring back inhibit (single analogue Exchange Line only);
• call return (1471) (single analogue Exchange Line only);
• call return extra (single analogue Exchange Line only);
• call return erasure (1475) (single analogue Exchange Line only);
• bar use of call return (single analogue Exchange Line only);
• three way calling (single analogue Exchange Line only);
• reminder call (single analogue Exchange Line only); and
• reminder call pay per use (single Exchange Line only).

17. The Dominant Provider shall make Direct Dialling In (DDI), a service which allows individual extensions on a PBX (Private Branch Exchange) to be directly contacted via their own Telephone Number, available on business analogue Exchange Lines.

18. The Dominant Provider shall provide the following network services within Wholesale Analogue Line Rental to Relevant Public Providers to enable them to manage their own End-users:

• Indirect Access call barring, that is to say a service that will enable Relevant Public Providers prevent End-users making Indirect Access calls;
• Route 15x to Relevant Public Provider, that is to say a service that diverts customer service calls to the relevant department of the Relevant Public Provider;
• Route to credit control, that is to say a service that enables Relevant Public Providers to manage End-users who have not paid their bills;
• Outgoing call barring, that is to say a service that prevents outgoing calls from a specified analogue Exchange Line; and
• Call Mapping, that is to say a service that allows Relevant Public Providers to offer a voice messaging service to their customers.

19. The Dominant Provider shall provide to the Relevant Public Provider the following special categories of analogue Exchange Line within Wholesale Analogue Line Rental:

• private payphone analogue Exchange Lines, with use where appropriate of the meter pulse facility; and
• out-of-area analogue Exchange Lines.

20. There are a number of services which will not be included within Wholesale Analogue Line Rental, but which are provided over the same analogue Exchange Line or using the same telephone number. The Dominant Provider shall not reject an order due to the presence of such services on a line unless there is no reasonably practicable alternative. The Dominant Provider shall continue to offer such services and, if necessary, transfer them to a new account. Examples of the said services include:

• customer premises equipment rented from the Dominant Provider;
• services provided over the same copper loop used by analogue telephony, but in a different frequency band. These include broadband access services (eg ‘BT Broadband’) and alarm monitoring services (eg ‘Redcare’); and
• services that allow End-users to make calls from other telephones, and charge them to the End-user’s own directory number (eg ‘BT Chargecard’).

Ordering Wholesale Analogue Line Rental

21. The Dominant Provider shall ensure that the processes established for ordering, provisioning and transfer of Wholesale Analogue Line Rental provide a Relevant Public Provider with the opportunity to offer an equal level of customer service to that offered by the retail activities of the Dominant Provider.

22. The Dominant Provider shall ensure that there is no material difference between the timescales for ordering, provisioning and transferring analogue Exchange Lines for the Relevant Public Providers and the corresponding timescales for the retail activities of the Dominant Provider.

23. The Dominant Provider shall provide an electronic gateway via which Relevant Public Providers will be able to submit orders for Wholesale Analogue Line Rental. The Dominant Provider shall provide two types of interface to this gateway as follows:(i) a manual web-based interface for low order volumes; and (ii) an automated XML-based machine-machine interface for high order volumes. The Dominant Provider shall ensure that both interfaces support the full range of order types, line types and Supplementary Services. The Dominant Provider shall ensure that it is possible to create a complex transaction in an efficient manner using a sequence of basic transactions.

24. The Dominant Provider shall design its ordering process so as to ensure that all correctly-formatted valid orders that are submitted to the electronic gateway referred to in paragraph 23 above flow through the ordering process with no need for manual intervention by the Dominant Provider or the Relevant Public Provider, except where there is no reasonably practicable alternative.

25. The Dominant Provider shall support order types that allow a Relevant Public Provider to:

• provide a new analogue Exchange Line;
• transfer an existing analogue Exchange Line;
• cancel an order;
• change the status of an existing analogue Exchange Line; or
• cease an analogue Exchange Line.

26. When the Dominant Provider rejects an order for Wholesale Analogue Line Rental, the Dominant Provider shall provide sufficient information to enable the Relevant Public Provider to establish the precise cause of the rejection. When the Dominant Provider rejects an order for Wholesale Analogue Line Rental due to the presence of an incompatible service on the analogue Exchange Line, the Dominant Provider shall ensure that the Relevant Public Provider is able to determine the specific service that is the cause of the rejection.

27. When the Dominant Provider ceases an existing service due to an order for Wholesale Analogue Line Rental, the Dominant Provider shall inform the End-user of this using the mandatory Transfer Letter. The Dominant Provider shall also inform the Relevant Public Provider, and shall do so before notifying the End-user.

28. The Dominant Provider shall ensure that a Relevant Public Provider is able to submit orders for Wholesale Analogue Line Rental and for Carrier Pre-selection on the same analogue Exchange Line. The Dominant Provider shall manage these orders in such a manner as to ensure that any process differences between Wholesale Analogue Line Rental and Carrier Pre-selection have no impact on the quality of service received by the End-user. The Dominant Provider shall ensure that there is a gap of no more than one day between Wholesale Analogue Line Rental and Carrier Pre-selection service activation: this requirement is commonly referred to as ‘WLR+1’.

29. Where a Wholesale Analogue Line Rental transfer involves retaining the same Carrier Pre-selection configuration on the Exchange Line(s) after the transfer as existed before, the Dominant Provider shall ensure there is no interruption to or change of the existing Carrier Pre-selection service: this requirement is commonly referred to as ‘seamless Carrier Pre-selection transfer’.

30. The Dominant Provider shall develop a process that provides Relevant Public Providers with the same opportunity to retain customers who are moving home as is available to the retail activities of the Dominant Provider: this requirement is commonly referred to as ‘home-movers process’.

Design and operational management of the ordering system

31. The Dominant Provider shall use forecasts of Wholesale Analogue Line Rental order volumes provided by the Director to determine whether its ordering gateways and associated back-office systems provide sufficient system capacity to handle these orders.

32. The Dominant Provider shall initially provide sufficient system capacity to support a transaction volume of 500,000 transactions per month with no degradation of performance. If subsequent forecasts suggest that the order volume will exceed system capacity for three consecutive months, the Dominant Provider shall increase system capacity by a sufficient amount to ensure that order volume does not exceed system capacity for three consecutive months.

33. Insofar as the Dominant Provider has a requirement for an externally provided forecast in order to plan its operational staffing, the Dominant Provider shall also use the forecasts provided by the Director for this purpose.

Relevant Public Provider forecasts and rationing

34. The Dominant Provider shall require Relevant Public Providers to submit each month a rolling forecast of order volumes. Each forecast shall cover a period of three months, and provide a breakdown of total projected order volumes by order type and Exchange Line type.

35. The Dominant Provider shall each month review the forecasts provided by the Relevant Public Providers in order to establish whether the total volume of orders is expected to exceed the Dominant Provider’s system capacity during the forecast period. If the total volume of orders is expected to exceed system capacity, then the Dominant Provider shall ration the available capacity by requiring Relevant Public Providers to scale back their forecasts using the following formula:

where:

36. The Dominant Provider shall calculate the figure of merit (A) for each Relevant Public Provider from the forecasting error (E) of that Relevant Public Provider for the previous 3-month period. E is equal to the number of orders forecast divided by the number of orders actually submitted. E is therefore less than 1 for a Relevant Public Provider that under-forecasts, and E is greater than 1 for a Relevant Public Provider that over-forecasts. The Dominant Provider shall use the following equations to calculate the value of A:

37. On a daily basis, the Dominant Provider shall allocate orders to one of three queues, depending on the priority of the order:

• Priority 1: Order types that require urgent action (eg Cease, Outgoing Calls Barred). The Dominant Provider shall process these ahead of any other orders.
• Priority 2: Orders submitted by a Relevant Public Provider that are within the capacity allocated to that Relevant Public Provider by the rationing process described above. The Dominant Provider shall process these on the day that they are submitted.
• Priority 3: Orders submitted by a Relevant Public Provider that are additional to the capacity allocated to that Relevant Public Provider by the rationing process. The Dominant Provider shall process these on a best-efforts basis, with any outstanding orders carried forward to the next day.

Consumer protection

38. When an analogue Exchange Line is being transferred from a Losing Provider to a Gaining Provider, both providers shall send the end-user a Transfer Letter. The Dominant Provider shall ensure that its Transfer Letters are restricted to factual information only, and that they contain no marketing or save content (i.e. marketing information designed to persuade the End-user not to complete the transfer).

39. The Dominant Provider shall ensure that there is a standard switchover period for Wholesale Analogue Line Rental, irrespective of the method of sale. The switchover period shall be set at ten working days (ie excluding Saturdays and Sundays) in order to ensure that the End-user receives the Transfer Letters, and has sufficient time to consider and act upon them.

40. Several retail services exist that are targeted at particularly vulnerable groups of society (eg Light-Users Scheme). If a Relevant Public Provider submits an order for Wholesale Analogue Line Rental on an analogue Exchange Line used for such retail services, the Dominant Provider shall reject the order. It will then be necessary for the Relevant Public Provider to ask the End-user to cease these services if they wish to transfer their line to that Relevant Public Provider.

41. The Dominant Provider shall provide the same support to a Relevant Public Provider for the handling of malicious calls as it provides to the retail activities of the Dominant Provider. The Dominant Provider shall take responsibility for tracing the origination of calls, monitoring incoming calls, and using specialist equipment to identify the responsible party. The Dominant Provider shall also be responsible for any contact with the police that is necessary. The Dominant Provider shall enable Relevant Public Providers to change an affected End-user’s Telephone Number by submitting the relevant change order to the electronic ordering gateway, and the Dominant Provider shall execute this change order as quickly as is practicable.

Maintenance and fault management

42. The Dominant Provider shall provide the same quality of service for an Exchange Line leased to a Relevant Public Provider as for an analogue Exchange Line with the same service level agreement operated by the retail activities of the Dominant Provider. The Dominant Provider shall enable Relevant Public Providers to contract for the same range of service level agreements that are available to the retail activities of the Dominant Provider (including ‘Standard Care’, ‘Total Care’, ‘Prompt Care’, ‘Priority Service’).

43. The Dominant Provider shall provide Relevant Public Providers with the same capability to submit a fault report for an analogue Exchange Line, and track the status of that report, as is available to the retail activities of the Dominant Provider. The Dominant Provider shall provide an appropriate electronic interface for both the initial submission and the subsequent tracking of fault reports.

44. The Dominant Provider shall provide to Relevant Public Providers the same line diagnostic tests that are available to the retail activities of the Dominant Provider. The Dominant Provider shall provide these via an appropriate electronic interface, and with a response time similar to that available to the retail activities of the Dominant Provider. The Dominant Provider shall ensure that a Relevant Public Provider is able to carry out an analogue Exchange Line test as part of the initial fault report, and provide immediate feedback to the End-user.

End-user visits by engineers employed by the Dominant Provider

45. Where an engineer employed by the Dominant Provider visits an End-user of a Relevant Public Provider, either to install a new Exchange Line or investigate a fault, the Dominant Provider shall ensure that:

• the engineer acts to fulfil the purpose of the visit and ensure that the End-user is satisfied with the work done, but does not undertake work beyond the original purpose without the Relevant Public Provider’s authorisation; and
• the engineer does not engage in any marketing or promotional activity on behalf of the Dominant Provider or any other Relevant Public Provider, or make any comments in relation to the services offered by the End-user’s Relevant Public Provider or any other Relevant Public Provider.

46. The Dominant Provider shall provide Relevant Public Providers with the same ability to book appointments for visits by engineers as that available to the retail activities of the Dominant Provider. The Dominant Provider shall ensure that Relevant Public Providers are able to submit a request for a specific appointment time via an electronic gateway, and immediately receive a response listing the available appointments closest in time to that requested, from which the Relevant Public Provider can select the preferred appointment.

Billing, debt management, fraud and security

47. The Dominant Provider shall provide Relevant Public Providers with billable quality Call Data Records (CDRs) on a daily basis, but separated by a small time gap from the date of the actual calls. CDRs shall be provided in an electronic format. The Dominant Provider shall bill on a monthly basis for line rental, additional services and transaction charges.

48. The Dominant Provider shall ensure that Relevant Public Providers have the ability to manage End-user bad debt by applying a series of escalating service restrictions to an analogue Exchange Line, using a series of ‘change’ orders on the electronic ordering gateway.

49. For calls that are carried over the Electronic Communications Network of the Dominant Provider, but excluding calls carried using Carrier Pre-Selection or Indirect Access, the Dominant Provider shall provide Relevant Public Providers with raw CDRs every 4 hours in order to allow the identification of fraud. Such CDRs need not be of billable quality, but shall be completely up to date (including calls in progress).

50. The Dominant Provider shall take the same responsibility for the physical security of its Electronic Communications Network in relation to an analogue Exchange Line being rented by a Relevant Public Provider as it would for the retail activities of the Dominant Provider.

Draft Direction II (Option I and II for Condition AA10)

Wholesale ISDN Line Rental Functional Specification

Draft Direction under proposed Options I and II for Condition AA10 to be imposed on BT as a result of the market power determinations proposed to be made by the Director that BT has significant market power in each of the markets of wholesale business ISDN2 exchange line services and wholesale ISDN30 exchange line services for the UK (except the Hull area)

WHEREAS:

(A) as a result of a market review carried out by the Director under regulation 6 of the Regulations, BT was found to have significant market power in each of the markets of wholesale business ISDN2 exchange line services and wholesale ISDN30 exchange line services for the UK (except the Hull area);

(B) the Director having confirmed his proposals pursuant to regulation 8 of the Regulations to make market power determinations to the effect referred to in recital (A) above and to set certain SMP conditions on BT to take effect on [ ], such as Condition AA10 that imposes obligations on BT to provide Wholesale Line Rental;

(C) this Direction concerns matters to which Condition AA10 relates and, in particular, the manner in which Wholesale Business ISDN2 Line Rental and Wholesale ISDN30 Line Rental are to be made available in accordance with that Condition;

(D) the Wholesale ISDN Line Rental Functional Specification is a document, which specifies technical and other principles which are intended to effect the efficient implementation and utilisation of Wholesale Business ISDN2 Line Rental and Wholesale ISDN30 Line Rental, as may be directed by the Director from time to time for the purposes of BT complying with its obligations under that Condition;

(E) for the reasons set out in the statement accompanying this Direction, the Director is satisfied that, in accordance with section 45(2) of the Act, this Direction is:

(F) for the reasons set out in the statement accompanying this Direction, the Director is satisfied that he has acted in accordance with the relevant Community requirements set out in section 4 of the Act;

(G) a notification of this Direction has been carried out in accordance with section 45 of the Act;

(H) the Director has considered every representation about this Direction made to him within the specified consultation period; and

NOW, therefore, pursuant to Condition AA10 in Schedule 1 to the Notification, the Director makes the following Direction:

1. For the purposes of complying with its obligations under paragraphs AA10.2 of Condition AA10, BT shall provide Wholesale Business ISDN2 Line Rental and Wholesale ISDN30 Line Rental in accordance with the Wholesale ISDN Line Rental Functional Specification set out in the Schedule hereto.

2. For the purpose of interpreting this Direction, the following definitions shall apply:

3. Except insofar as the context otherwise requires, words or expressions shall have the meaning assigned to them in paragraph 2 above and otherwise any word or expression shall have the same meaning as it has in the Notification or, if the context so permits, in Schedule 1 thereto, as appropriate.

4. For the purpose of interpreting this Direction:

5. This Direction shall take effect on the day it is published.

6. The Schedule to this Direction shall form part of this Direction.

DAVID ALBERT EDMONDS

DIRECTOR GENERAL OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

[XX XX 2003]

Schedule

Wholesale ISDN Line Rental Functional Specification

Issue No. 1

[Date]

Contents

Purpose of this document

Scope

Definitions

Interpretation

Line types and Supplementary Services

Ordering Wholesale ISDN Line Rental

Design and operational management of the ordering system

Relevant Public Provider forecasts and rationing

Consumer protection

Maintenance and fault management

End-user visits by engineers employed by the Dominant Provider

Billing, debt management, fraud and security

Purpose of this document

1. Wholesale Line Rental is a facility offered to Relevant Public Providers that allows them to rent an Exchange Line from the Dominant Provider on wholesale terms, and resell it to an End-user. That facility also allows a Relevant Public Provider to rent those Supplementary Services normally made available by the retail activities of the Dominant Provider over an Exchange Line. Accordingly, this Functional Specification sets out inter alia the specific Exchange Line types and Supplementary Services that the Dominant Provider must make available to the Relevant Public Provider.

2. The Dominant Provider must enable the Relevant Public Provider to take over all aspects of the retail relationship with the End-user. At the same time, the Dominant Provider must enable the Relevant Public Provider to offer a same, similar or equivalent level of customer service to that offered by its own retail activities in relation to business processes, such as provisioning and fault management. In order for this to be possible, the Dominant Provider must make certain support services available. The specific Supplementary Services required for that purpose are set out in this Functional Specification.

3. In order for Wholesale Line Rental to be effective in promoting competition, the operational and financial overheads associated with the use of this wholesale service must be minimised. The Dominant Provider must therefore implement key operational processes (eg ordering, provisioning, fault management, and billing) in an efficient manner, and must also manage the interactions with other wholesale services (eg Carrier Pre-Selection) in an efficient manner. For the same reason, the Dominant Provider must provide a high degree of process automation in order to reduce the transaction costs associated with the provision and in-life management of Wholesale Line Rental. Some specific requirements are set out in this Functional Specification.

Scope

4. By definition, this Wholesale ISDN Line Rental Functional Specification is a document, which specifies technical and other principles which are intended to effect the efficient implementation and utilisation of Wholesale Business ISDN2 Line Rental, and Wholesale Business ISDN30 Line Rental, as may be directed by the Director from time to time for the purposes of the Dominant Provider complying with its requirement to provide such Wholesale Line Rental under Condition AA10.

5. Wholesale Business ISDN2 Line Rental and Wholesale Business ISDN30 Line Rental are, by definition, two types of Wholesale Line Rental. There is one other type, namely Wholesale Analogue Line Rental, which is not covered by this Functional Specification.

6. Pursuant to paragraph AA10.2 of Condition AA10, the Dominant Provider shall, except in so far as the Director may consent otherwise in writing, provide Wholesale ISDN Line Rental as soon as it is reasonably practicable on reasonable terms in accordance with this Functional Specification to every Relevant Public Provider who reasonably requests such Wholesale Line Rental.

7. Wholesale ISDN Line Rental must be provided by the following Dominant Provider:

• BT.

Definitions

8. The following words or expressions in this Wholesale ISDN Line Rental Functional Specification shall have the meaning ascribed hereunder:

BT

British Telecommunications plc, whose registered company number is 1800000, and any of its subsidiaries or holding companies, or any subsidiary of such holding companies, all as defined by section 736 of the Companies Act 1985, as amended by the Companies Act 1989.

Call Data Records

A set of data that provides for each call all the information that is necessary to produce a bill to the End-user for that call.

Carrier Pre-Selection

A facility which allows a Subscriber to whom a Publicly Available Telephone Service is provided by means of a Public Telephone Network to select which Pre-selected Provider of such Services provided wholly or partly by means of that Network is the Pre-selected Provider he wishes to use to carry his calls by designating in advance the selection that is to apply on every occasion when there has been no selection of Provider by use of a Telephone Number, and the terms "Pre-selected Provider", "Publicly Available Telephone Services", "Public Telephone Network", and "Subscriber" used in this definition shall have the meaning ascribed to them for the purposes of the SMP conditions imposed on BT.

Dominant Provider

This term has the same meaning as the term BT, see above.

End-user

In relation to a Public Electronic Communications Service, means:

Exchange Line

Apparatus comprised in the Dominant Provider’s Electronic Communications Network and installed for the purpose of connecting a telephone exchange run by the Dominant Provider to a Network Termination Point comprised in Network Termination and Testing Apparatus installed by the Dominant Provider for the purpose of providing Electronic Communications Services at the premises at which the Network Termination and Testing Apparatus is located.

Gaining Provider

The Relevant Public Provider to whom an ISDN Exchange Line is to be transferred following the successful completion of an order for Wholesale ISDN Line Rental.

Indirect Access

A facility which allows a Subscriber to whom a Publicly Available Telephone Service is provided by means of a Public Telephone Network to select which such Service provided wholly or partly by means of that Network is the service he wishes to use by the use of a Telephone Number on each separate occasion on which a selection is made, and the terms "Publicly Available Telephone Services", "Public Telephone Network", and "Subscriber" used in this definition shall have the meaning ascribed to them for the purposes of the SMP conditions imposed on BT.

Losing Provider

The Relevant Public Provider from whom an ISDN Exchange Line is to be transferred following the successful completion of an order for Wholesale ISDN Line Rental.

Number Portability

A facility whereby Subscribers who so request can retain their Telephone Number on a Public Telephone Network, independently of the person providing the service at the Network Termination Point of a Subscriber at a specific location in the case of Geographic Numbers or at any location in the case of Non-geographic Numbers, and the terms "Geographic Numbers", "Network Termination Point", "Non-geographic Numbers", "Public Telephone Network", and "Subscriber" used in this definition shall have the meaning ascribed to them for the purposes of general conditions concerning Number Portability imposed on persons under sections 41 and 42 of the Communications Act 2003.

Select Services

A specific group of Supplementary Services that enable an End-user to manage their calls. In particular, they enable an End-user to identify who is making a call, prevent unwanted calls, and ensure that calls that are wanted get through.

Supplementary Services

Those services that are supplied over an Exchange Line in addition to access and call conveyance, either to provide an enhanced retail service to the End-user or to assist the Relevant Public Provider manage his End-users.

Transfer Letter

A letter sent by the Gaining Provider or the Losing Provider to an End-user, following submission of an order for Wholesale ISDN Line Rental, to inform the End-user that their ISDN Exchange Line is being transferred to the Gaining Provider.

Wholesale ISDN Line Rental

An Electronic Communications Service provided by the Dominant Provider to a Relevant Public Provider for the use and Ordinary Maintenance of an ISDN Exchange Line.

Interpretation

9. Except in so far as the context otherwise requires, words or expressions in this Wholesale ISDN Line Rental Functional Specification shall have the meaning ascribed to them under paragraph 8 above, and otherwise any word or expression shall have the meaning as it has for the purposes of the SMP condition imposing requirements on the Dominant Provider to provide Wholesale Line Rental etc. pursuant to section 83 of the Communications Act 2003 (which is Condition AA10 at the time of the publication of this Issue No.1 of the Specification) or, otherwise any word or expression shall have the same meaning as the Communications Act 2003.

10. The Interpretation Act 1978 (1978 c 30) shall apply for the purpose of interpreting this Wholesale ISDN Line Rental Functional Specification.

11. For the purposes of interpreting this Wholesale ISDN Line Rental Functional Specification, headings and titles shall be disregarded.

Line types and supplementary services

12. The Dominant Provider shall provide to the Relevant Public Provider all or any of the following types of ISDN Exchange Line that the latter reasonably requests:

• Highway, also known as the Lowband Digital Access Service;
• ISDN 2 and ISDN 2e; and
• ISDN30 (DASS 2), ISDN30 (I421) and ISDN 30e (I421).

13. Where legacy variants of ISDN Exchange Lines are not available for new provision by the retail activities of the Dominant Provider, the Dominant Provider need not make them available for new provision to the Relevant Public Provider. The Dominant Provider shall either make these legacy types of ISDN Exchange Line available for transfer, or develop a process for migrating these legacy types of ISDN Exchange Line to types of ISDN Exchange Line that are available for transfer. The Dominant Provider shall ensure that this migration process does not result in additional costs being incurred by a Relevant Public Provider, and does not result in a material increase in timescales.

14. The Dominant Provider shall provide a standard directory listing for each ISDN Exchange Line, and this shall be either a residential or business listing, as appropriate.

15. The Dominant Provider shall provide Number Portability in relation to each ISDN Exchange Line, both import and export, with sufficient functionality to enable a Relevant Public Provider to discharge its legal obligations in relation to Number Portability.

16. The Dominant Provider shall provide the same capability to allocate ‘golden numbers’ (ie particularly memorable or otherwise desirable telephone numbers ) for an ISDN Exchange Line being rented by a Relevant Public Provider as it would for its own retail activities.

17. The Dominant Provider shall provide the complete set of Select Services that are available to its own retail activities. The Select Services that the Dominant Provider shall provide on an ISDN Exchange Line include:

• calling line identity presentation;
• calling line identity restriction;
• connected line identity presentation;
• connected line identity restriction;
• presentation number;
• selective outgoing calls barred;
• permanent outgoing calls barred;
• permanent incoming calls barred;
• administration set up call diversion;
• administration set up call forwarding;
• customer controlled call forwarding;
• call deflection;
• call waiting with call hold;
• multiple Subscriber Numbering;
• sub-addressing; and
• three-way calling.

18. The Dominant Provider shall make Direct Dialling In (DDI), a service which allows individual extensions on a PBX (Private Branch Exchange) to be directly contacted via their own Telephone Number, available on ISDN Exchange Lines.

19. The Dominant Provider shall provide the following network services within WLR to Relevant Public Providers to enable them to manage their own End-users:

Indirect Access call barring, that is to say a service that will enable Relevant Public Providers prevent End-users making Indirect Access calls;

Route 15x to Relevant Public Provider, that is to say a service that diverts customer service calls to the relevant department of the Relevant Public Provider;

Route to credit control, that is to say a service that enables Relevant Public Providers to manage End-users who have not paid their bills;

Outgoing call barring, that is to say a service that prevents outgoing calls from a specified ISDN Exchange Line; and

Call Mapping, that is to say a service that allows Relevant Public Providers to offer a voice messaging service to their customers.

20. There are a number of services which will not be included within Wholesale ISDN Line Rental, but which are provided over the same ISDN Exchange Line or using the same telephone number. The Dominant Provider shall not reject an order due to the presence of such services on a line unless there is no reasonably practicable alternative. The Dominant Provider shall continue to offer such services and, if necessary, transfer them to a new account. Examples of the said services include:

• customer premises equipment rented from the Dominant Provider;
• services provided over the same copper loop used by ISDN telephony, but in a different frequency band; and
• services that allow End-users to make calls from other telephones, and charge them to the End-user’s own directory number.

Ordering Wholesale ISDN Line Rental

21 The Dominant Provider shall ensure that the processes established for ordering, provisioning and transfer of Wholesale ISDN Line Rental provide a Relevant Public Provider with the opportunity to offer an equal level of customer service to that offered by the retail activities of the Dominant Provider.

22. The Dominant Provider shall ensure that there is no material difference between the timescales for ordering, provisioning and transferring ISDN Exchange Lines for the Relevant Public Providers and the corresponding timescales for the retail activities of the Dominant Provider.

23. The Dominant Provider shall provide an electronic gateway via which Relevant Public Providers will be able to submit orders for Wholesale ISDN Line Rental. The Dominant Provider shall provide two types of interface to this gateway as follows:(i) a manual web-based interface for low order volumes; and (ii) an automated XML-based machine-machine interface for high order volumes. The Dominant Provider shall ensure that both interfaces support the full range of order types, line types and Supplementary Services. The Dominant Provider shall ensure that it is possible to create a complex transaction in an efficient manner using a sequence of basic transactions.

24. The Dominant Provider shall design its ordering process so as to ensure that all correctly-formatted valid orders that are submitted to the electronic gateway referred to in paragraph 23 above flow through the ordering process with no need for manual intervention by the Dominant Provider or the Relevant Public Provider, except where there is no reasonably practicable alternative.

25. The Dominant Provider shall support order types that allow a Relevant Public Provider to:

• provide a new ISDN Exchange Line;
• transfer an existing ISDN Exchange Line;
• cancel an order;
• change the status of an existing ISDN Exchange Line; or
• cease an ISDN Exchange Line.

26. When the Dominant Provider rejects an order for Wholesale ISDN Line Rental, the Dominant Provider shall provide sufficient information to enable the Relevant Public Provider to establish the precise cause of the rejection. When the Dominant Provider rejects an order for Wholesale ISDN Line Rental due to the presence of an incompatible service on the ISDN Exchange Line, the Dominant Provider shall ensure that the Relevant Public Provider is able to determine the specific service that is the cause of the rejection.

27. When the Dominant Provider ceases an existing service due to an order for Wholesale ISDN Line Rental, the Dominant Provider shall inform the End-user of this using the mandatory Transfer Letter. The Dominant Provider shall also inform the Relevant Public Provider, and shall do so before notifying the End-user.

28. The Dominant Provider shall ensure that a Relevant Pu