In April the ACTs published their Report and Plans 2000 – 2001 leaflets. The leaflets review activity in 2000 and outline the ACTs’ priorities for this year. Copies are available on request from the ACTs secretariat.

Publication of Oftel News issue 51 coincided with Telecoms 2001, one in a series of annual conferences organised by the Northern Ireland Advisory Committee on Telecommunications (NIACT) that puts telecoms firmly on the map of the province.

The event was well attended, with high quality presentations from speakers that included David Edmonds, Director General, and George Blumenthale, Chairman of ntl. Copies of the conference report are available from the NIACT secretariat (tel: 028 9024 4113 or see the ACT website, www.acts.org.uk).

ACT responses to a number of recent Oftel consultations can also be found on the site, including responses to the the Effective Competition Review: Mobile, Review of the price control on calls to mobiles and Oftel’s use of public consultation.

March saw the publication of Oftel’s consultation Developing a Telecommunications Ombudsman.

The ACTs played an active role in the work that led to this publication. Two of the ACT Chairmen were members of the Oftel-chaired industry/consumer working group set up to consider the practicalities and feasibility of setting up an Ombudsman scheme.

Responses to the latter consultation are due by mid June and ACT responses will be posted on the ACT website.

For further information on the work of the ACTs, please contact the ACT Secretariat (tel: 020 7634 5301 / e-mail: actsec@acts.org.uk)