John.Slater@uk.sun.com (John Slater) (03/07/91)
Yesterday the Department of Trade and Industry published a White Paper promising to break the BT-Mercury duopoly and open up the telecommunications market for new operators. Cable television operators are expected to be among the first to enter the market for fixed-line service. Other early competitors for local service will be the two existing (and flourishing) national cellular operators, Cellnet and Vodafone. Long distance competition is likely to come from British Rail and the Post Office, both of which have extensive private networks with considerable spare capacity. Electricity distribution companies and broadcasting networks are also said to be interested. The principle of equal access was established in the paper. This will be available within two years, and will enable customers to choose a long-distance company without having to dial special access codes, as is currently the case with Mercury. "Lifetime phone numbers", issued by Oftel, the regulatory body, are expected to be available within three years. Included in the proposals were a 10% cut in BT's international call rates in June and other price reductions on domestic service, but a 14% rental increase is on the way for BT customers with more than one phone line. Private customers who make very few calls will only be charged half the standard line rental, and will be given up to two hours of free off-peak calls. The White Paper is seen as a blow for BT after several months of hard lobbying. It prohibits the company from distributing entertainment services, including television, over its network, while allowing the cable TV operators to provide phone service. Good news on the whole, I feel. John Slater Sun Microsystems UK, Gatwick Office
wnp@relay.eu.net (Wolf PAUL) (03/11/91)
In article <telecom11.184.4@eecs.nwu.edu> John.Slater@uk.sun.com (John Slater) writes: ) The White Paper is seen as a blow for BT after several months of hard ) lobbying. It prohibits the company from distributing entertainment ) services, including television, over its network, while allowing the ) cable TV operators to provide phone service. ) Good news on the whole, I feel. Your last sentence above does not sound so good to me. And what is the good of allowing the P.O. to provide phone service once again -- why then was BT split off from the P.O. in the first place? On a different note: what exactly are "lifetime telephone numbers"? Wolf Paul W.N.Paul, Int. Institute f. Applied Systems Analysis, A-2361 Laxenburg--Austria PHONE: +43-2236-71521-465 INTERNET: wnp%iiasa@relay.eu.net FAX: +43-2236-71313 UUCP: uunet!iiasa!wnp HOME: +43-2236-618514 BITNET: tuvie!iiasa!wnp@awiuni01.BITNET
johns@scroff.uk (John Slater) (03/16/91)
In article <telecom11.195.1@eecs.nwu.edu>, tuvie!iiasa.local!wnp@ relay.eu.net (Wolf PAUL) writes: |> In article <telecom11.184.4@eecs.nwu.edu> John.Slater@uk.sun.com (John |> Slater) writes: |> ) Good news on the whole, I feel. |> Your last sentence above does not sound so good to me. Why not? More competition should bring LD charges down further. And BT's last big monopoly, dialtone, is ripe for being opened up. |> And what is the |> good of allowing the P.O. to provide phone service once again -- why |> then was BT split off from the P.O. in the first place? Simple: in the Bad Old Days the P.O. was a monopoly provider of telecoms service. Now they'll be one of many LD providers, and the government would like to introduce competition in the mail sector too. |> On a different note: what exactly are "lifetime telephone numbers"? The idea is that you are given (or, for more money, you choose) a phone number which you carry with you for the rest of your life, wherever you go in the country. Nice idea, but a nightmare to administer, I fear. And the days of looking at the STD code to determine where a number is located are numbered. It's going to be hard to work out what the charge will be for a given number. John Slater Sun Microsystems UK, Gatwick Office
steveh@relay.eu.net (Steve Hamley) (03/18/91)
In article <telecom11.204.9@eecs.nwu.edu>, johns@scroff.uk (John Slater) writes: >> On a different note: what exactly are "lifetime telephone numbers"? > The idea is that you are given (or, for more money, you choose) a > phone number which you carry with you for the rest of your life, > wherever you go in the country. Nice idea, but a nightmare to > administer, I fear. And the days of looking at the STD code to > determine where a number is located are numbered. It's going to be > hard to work out what the charge will be for a given number. The announcement about 'lifetime telephone numbers' also mentioned the fact that Oftel (the regulatory body for UK telecoms) wanted to include an extra digit at the front of numbers. As I understand it from a colleague who works at BT, this is the key to how customers know how much they will be paying. The proposal is that the country is split into zones, with this prefix digit specifying the zone in which the rest of the number is currently resident. Personally, ten zones would seem to imply that the areas are going to have to be fairly large, especially if there are zones for mobile phones, toll free, premium services and international. If there are to be a number of competing telcos then it would surely also limit their charging flexibility? As for the technical feasibility, both the BT and Mercury digital networks are already capable of assigning a logical telephone number or block of numbers to any physical location. The lumbering giants will no doubt take years to decide on the marketing and how much to charge though.
jhagen@TALOS.UUCP (Jarom Hagen) (03/25/91)
tharr!steveh@relay.eu.net (Steve Hamley) writes: > In article <telecom11.204.9@eecs.nwu.edu>, johns@scroff.uk (John > Slater) writes: >>> On a different note: what exactly are "lifetime telephone numbers"? > As for the technical feasibility, both the BT and Mercury digital > networks are already capable of assigning a logical telephone number > or block of numbers to any physical location. The lumbering giants > will no doubt take years to decide on the marketing and how much to > charge though. In Brazil they offer "lifetime telephone numbers" exclusively. In other words you pay the phone company for your "number". This probably has to do with the fact that most homes don't have telephones (still a luxury item in Brazil), so even the wiring to your house may have to be done for the first time. However, in Brazil you may not be able to get a telephone line even if you have the money because "all the numbers in your area have been sold". At least that is what they tell you when they put you on a waiting list until one becomes available. Once you have a telephone line you may also sell it to someone else. Jarom *Not paid for and/or endorsed by National Political Resources Incorporated. 602 Cameron St, Alexandria VA 22314 (UUCP: ...uunet!uupsi!pbs!npri6!jhagen)