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Summary

1.1 This Statement sets out Ofcom’s decision to agree various exemptions and agreements in relation to undertakings given by BT.

1.2 On 22 September 2005 BT Group plc (“BT”) offered, and Ofcom accepted, a set of undertakings (“the Undertakings”) pursuant to section 154 of the Enterprise Act 2002 in lieu of a reference of certain markets to the Competition Commission.

1.3 At the time the Undertakings were formulated it was realised that in the interest of reaching a conclusion in a timely manner, to ensure that the benefits could be felt by consumers as quickly as possible, it would be inappropriate to define all those of BT’s products that Equivalence of Inputs (EOI) should apply to.

1.4 In addition, the Undertakings provide that under certain circumstances BT may apply for exemptions from certain provisions.

1.5 In January 2006, BT provided Ofcom with a proposed list of products that EOI should apply to and a number of requests for exemptions and requests for agreement from Ofcom. Ofcom has been considering them since then.

1.6 As a result this Statement sets out certain exemptions and agreements to the Undertakings which have been agreed between Ofcom and BT. Temporary exemptions have already been granted for a number of products in letters exchanged between Ofcom and BT on 20 January 2006 and on 19 April 2006. This Statement relates to 14 more exemptions and agreements, which replace some of those temporary exemptions.

1.7 BT is seeking a further 15 exemptions and requests for agreement that are not covered in this document and in respect of which Ofcom has not yet made a decision. These are described in Section 4 of this document. Before deciding whether to agree to those exemptions, Ofcom's intention is to conduct a public consultation on them later in the year.

1.8 Ofcom has not consulted prior to making a decision to agree to the exemptions and agreements set out in this Statement because it considers that the impact of these exemptions and agreements is limited, by their nature or by limitations (such as time limits) incorporated into the terms of the exemptions and agreements themselves.

1.9 In deciding whether or not to agree to the exemptions and agreements Ofcom has considered the following factors where appropriate:

• whether there would be, or would likely be, harm to consumers if the exemption and/or agreement was granted or not granted;
• whether there would be demand from Communications Providers (other than BT) for an EOI product to which the exemption relates; and
• the length of time for which the exemption and/or agreement will be granted.

1.10 Section 155 of the Enterprise Act 2002 requires that Ofcom consults where it proposes to amend the Undertakings in a material respect. However, Ofcom does not consider that the exemptions and agreements contained in this Statement alter the Undertakings in a material respect as they concern the operation of mechanisms envisaged when the Undertakings were offered by BT and accepted by Ofcom. Furthermore, as noted above, the impact of these exemptions and agreements is limited. Ofcom will decide whether or not to consult on any future non-material changes to the Undertakings on a case-by-case basis.

1.11 The exemptions and agreements set out in the agreement between Ofcom and BT, and reproduced in Annex 2 of this Statement, unless otherwise stated in the agreement take effect immediately upon signature by both parties. The agreement was signed for and on behalf of BT on 13 June 2006 and for and on behalf of Ofcom on 14 June 2006 and the agreement therefore took effect on 14 June 2006.

The full document is available below:

• Requests from BT for specified exemptions and agreements to its Undertakings under the Enterprise Act 2002 [pdf]
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