At the end of 2001 Oftel published its strategy statement on broadband which set out Oftel's role to help build Broadband Britain.

Creating competitive broadband markets is the best way to ensure a wide range of broadband services are readily available to businesses and consumers.

Oftel is working to encourage competition at a number of different levels. Through competing network competition - BT's network, cable networks, satellite and 3G mobile; competition in BT's network with local loop unbundling and DSL interconnection; and competition in the provision of services using BT's wholesale DSL products.

Consumers' needs for services are met in the short term. And we are working towards a framework that will lead to increasing competition in the long term.

The success of broadband will not depend on Oftel alone. The industry and the Government are also involved in creating Broadband Britain.

But ultimately it is the choices made by individual consumers that will determine the way broadband markets develop. The introduction of innovative content and services will play a major role in stimulating broadband takeup.

It is still early days, but numbers of broadband users are rising rapidly and the wide availability of unmetered narrowband access in this country has created huge numbers of experienced Internet users.

In this issue, Doctor John Haring offers a perspective on broadband in the US, where, although broadband is more familiar, work remains to be done to promote competition.

Oftel's management plan has identified broadband as one of the key areas of work facing Oftel in 2002. This will promote growth in broadband takeup.