Oftel has a new Director of Operations - Peter Waller, who took up the post in January.

Peter was previously at the Department of Trade and Industry.

He has extensive knowledge of the current issues facing UK businesses,
having been the Director of Business Links, the national network of advice centres for small and medium sized businesses, and most recently the Deputy Chief Executive of the Small Business Service.

Peter has positive first impressions of Oftel:

"It is clear to me that Oftel has an extremely professional approach to its work with a clear vision of what it is seeking to achieve and how to achieve it", he said.

Peter also has dealt with big businesses, including British Steel and the Post Office and he believes that this wide range of experience will be useful for dealing with the many different companies in the telecoms industry.

Peter joins Oftel at a time of important regulatory changes. "With every passing month the policy issues concerning OFCOM loom ever larger. There is also the considerable challenge in knitting together five organisations that are so different in size, structure, purpose and history.

Welcoming the appointment, David Edmonds said "Peter brings a wealth of business knowledge that will make an important contribution to Oftel's work to support a competitive telecoms market."

Peter succeeds Anne Lambert who has returned to the DTI after three years at Oftel.

To see Peter Waller's biography, click here.