Oftel has ordered BT to cut its wholesale charges to
rivals for un-metered internet access by 17% in a move it hopes
will help spark more widespread public adoption of the internet.
The move was sparked by complaints to telecoms regulator Oftel by
Energis and Cable & Wireless.
An Oftel spokesman said that the move would help boost UK
internet and broadband take-up as consumers generally went for an
un-metered "narrowband" internet connection - allowing them to pay
a set charge for unlimited access - as a stepping stone to a
broadband connection.
It is expected that the cuts will result in annual cost savings
for BT's rival carriers of around £17m and will be backdated to
June 2002, resulting in what will effectively be windfall payments
for those operators.
David Edmonds, director general of telecommunications, said, "BT
has made significant improvements to its network since wholesale
un-metered internet access was first introduced over three years
ago. At that time, BT included several mechanisms to route internet
calls through to the appropriate service provider and call
management measures to protect its network from being
overloaded."
"BT’s network can now process internet call traffic without
these additional measures. As a result, I have today ordered BT to
reduce its wholesale un-metered Internet access prices by 17%. I
hope that operators pass these savings onto their customers."