Communications Act passed

The Communications Act 2003 received Royal Assent on 17 July 2003 after more than two and a half years of parliamentary scrutiny, paving the way for Ofcom to take up its full regulatory functions and powers on 29 December 2003. In the meantime, Oftel will retain its full range of regulatory responsibilities and continue to work closely on transitional issues with Ofcom and the four other converging regulators.

Telecoms Advice update

www.telecomsadvice.org.uk, the website that provides free and impartial advice on telecoms and the Internet to small businesses and their advisors has been recommended by the Oftel chaired Small Business Task Force to be continued under Ofcom. Funded by industry sponsors, the task force has given a strong recommendation to Ofcom that the site should continue to receive support from the regulator as it remains an invaluable source of information.

192 switched off

The final stage of the liberalisation of the UK's directory enquiries market took place on 24 August when 192 was switched off. People calling 192 since the August bank holiday receive a recorded message telling them how to contact one of the new directory enquiries service providers. Details of the new services can also be found online at www.newdirectoryenquiries.com and www.118info.org.uk. A variety of new services are now available, all beginning 118 followed by three further digits.