http://www.ofcom.org.uk/telecoms/groups/nts_focus/notes/nts20070607

NTS Focus Group – 21st June 2007 – 2.00 pm Ofcom


Agenda item (1) - Introductions
Attendance:
Andrew Wileman
Virgin Media (Chair)

Fraser Douglas
Band-X

Kath Embleton
BT

Sean Hartley
BT

Becky Hewlett
Cable & Wireless

Laurent Pariat
Cable & Wireless

Andrew Monk
Carphone Warehouse

Toby Higho
Easynet/Sky

Will Goodall
Flextel

Tom Cairns
Gamma

Andy Martin
IV Response

Geoff Brighton
Ofcom

Clive Hillier
Ofcom

Nick Morris
Ofcom

Dirmuid Jennings
Reality Telecom

John Lockyer
Teamphone

Colin Scott
Thus

Michael Barford
Tiscali

Anne McCardle
Verizon Business

Sandra Reid
Virgin Media

Agenda Item (2): Review of minutes of previous meeting
No comments/concerns were raised. It was therefore agreed that the minutes could be published on the Ofcom website.

Agenda (3): Update/progress report on the current 'live' NTS related consultations/investigations: (Ofcom/All)
Review of Regulation of Premium Rate Services
Clive Hillier advised that the review is currently in the research phase. Consumer research was underway, with survey results being evaluated. A feasibility study on a potential PRS provider registration scheme had been completed. Clive added that the international comparison study was ongoing, and that the project team are considering the implications of the Ayre report (into the use of PRS in television programmes) on the project. A consultation is scheduled for the Autumn of 2007.

NCCN 500 investigation/NTS call termination market review
Clive Hillier said that the legal review of the conclusions of the NCCN 500 investigation had been concluded, with the document having been passed to the Ofcom Policy Executive for final sign off. The Executive had raised one minor query, which would necessitate another submission to the Executive. Clive added that Ofcom intended to publish its findings to the specific parties to the dispute within the next few weeks.

The call termination market review remains on hold, pending the outcome of the NCCN 500 investigation.

ICSTIS progress re. Governance of 0871
Geoff Brighton said that Ofcom had met with UKCTA and had listened to concerns that the proposed regulations were disproportionate. Attendees were advised that Ofcom had also met with ICSTIS to relay the concerns of UKCTA. Andy Martin sought clarity on Ofcom’s concerns. Geoff said that Ofcom had echoed industry concerns about how the proposed pre-registration scheme and some other aspects may be regarded as potentially too stringent given the lower value of 0871 calls when compared with PRS. Geoff added that Ofcom was not seeking to influence ICSTIS at this stage, but had instead acted as a conduit via which views could be highlighted. Andy Martin asked if Ofcom would be responding to the ICSTIS consultation. Geoff said that this was not clear at present, but confirmed that Ofcom would need to approve the ICSTIS Code of Practice for 0871.

General Condition 14 Enforcement Programme
Clive Hillier confirmed that Ofcom had now responded to Will Goodall's letter. Attendees were informed that no investigations were taking place at present, but monitoring of compliance with GC14 remained ongoing. Will Goodall said that any improvement in price transparency would be good for the industry and would highlight the instances in which he perceived that certain CPs were overcharging. Will said that Flextel’s ultimate desire was to see the implementation of call price labelling.

BT POLO Dispute (1 st October 2006 OCCNs)
Attendees were informed that Ofcom had published its final Determination in respect of the 1 st Oct 2006 OCCN POLO dispute on 4 th June. Kath Embleton said that no pricing letters would be issued – the prices would simply be implemented into the Carrier Price List and BT billing system. Becky Hewlett asked why there would be no pricing letters. Nick Morris said that the Ofcom Determination did not require a pricing letter, effectively constituting a pricing letter of itself. Colin Scott asked how this could be, since the rates quoted in the relevant section of the Determination were BT retail rates. Becky Hewlett said that actual POLO rates should be quoted if this ‘absence of pricing letter’ approach was to be adopted. Becky added that she did not believe the current arrangement would constitute an appropriate basis via which to bring the rates into contractual effect.

Kath Embleton said that BT was not intending to issue pricing letters as many CPs would likely reject them again. A discussion followed around the various potential options that could be employed to ensure that the implementation of the directed rates was sufficient from a contractual perspective.

After reviewing several approaches, the group reached a general consensus that

Ofcom would issue a clarification note, making clear the situation in respect of the NTS POLO outpayments and stating that it does not expect BT to have to seek CPs’ agreement to implement the rates resulting from the Determination. In conjunction with this, BT would write to CPs stating that the Ofcom determination was binding, and specifying the rates that would be applied, together with the method of application.

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Some attendees reserved judgement pending sight of the Ofcom and BT communications.

New Action Jun07_01: BT to write to CPs detailing the application of the Ofcom Determination and quoting the rates that would prevail.

New Action Jun07_02: Ofcom to issue a clarification note, confirming the application of the Determination and outlining its expectations for implementation of the resulting amended rates.

Own-Initiative Investigation into the Possible Mis-use of 087 Numbers
Clive Hillier advised that Ofcom’s own initiative investigation into the possible mis-use of 087 numbers was ongoing. Attendees were advised that Ofcom was currently focussing its attention on one particular company – which had been asked to justify its activity. Clive added that the case needed to be concluded by September 07 in order to meet the deadline for publication of findings.

Agenda (4): Implementation of the 03 Range
Andy Martin asked when 03 ranges would be live in the BT network. Sean Hartley said that some CPs’ ranges were live already. Andrew Wileman asked if any disputes around pricing levels had materialised. Kath Embleton said that no disputes had been raised as yet.

Andy Martin asked if any Government departments had adopted the 03 range yet. Clive Hillier said that he did not know, but confirmed that Ofcom was aware of at least one significant public sector customer that was very keen to launch. John Lockyer said that Team Phone had a committed customer with 300,000 numbers.

Andrew Wileman sought clarity around the rates applying to termination of 03 ranges on the BT network. BT’s pricing notification appeared to suggest that BT termination would adopt a two-tier configuration (i.e. Tandem and DLE handover) as per the charges proposed for CP termination. This arrangement also seemingly applied to the proposed charges for 0870 calls, post 1 st Feb 2008 . Sean Hartley agreed to investigate.

New Action Jun07_03: BT to clarify the charging arrangements for the termination of 03 calls (and, post 1 st Feb 2008 , 0870 calls) on the BT network.

Agenda Item (5) – Update on arrangements for call termination payments under new 0870 regime
The group discussed the letter submitted to Ofcom on behalf of the FCS (requesting a delay to the 0870 reforms), and the subsequent Ofcom response. Will Goodall expressed concern at Ofcom’s response to the points raised on billing and collection costs. Will said that a number of small volume 0870 services would be detrimentally impacted by the effect of these costs under the post Feb 08 regime. Clive Hillier said that Ofcom’s policy review had considered the potential impact of the proposals on CPs/services providers. Will said that he believed this view underlined Ofcom’s lack of impact assessment. He added that Ofcom’s assertion that it warned stakeholders that they may have to pay to receive 0870 calls once the reforms come into effect was not sufficiently highlighted. Will said that Ofcom’s response did not address the concerns of the FCS.

Fraser Douglas asked if Will/the FCS was seeking a delay to, or a re-evaluation of the reforms. Will said that in his view a delay would probably be more realistic, to avoid the potential need for Ofcom to have to renege on its policy decision. Will added that he believed that Ofcom’s refusal to review the situation was in breach of section 6 of the Communications Act, which he interpreted as obliging Ofcom to review any aspects of policy that may be burdensome.

Andrew Wileman asked when BT would be referring those CPs that had rejected BT’s post-reform 0870 pricing to Ofcom. Kath Embleton said that this would likely take place by the end of June 07. Colin Scott asked if there was any likelihood that the dispute referral would be rejected by Ofcom on the grounds that it did not believe that all avenues of commercial negotiation had been exhausted (as happened with the original referral of the 1 st Oct 06 OCCN/POLO dispute). Andrew Wileman said that it would be comforting to know that Ofcom wouldn’t reject the referral on such grounds, given its visibility of the negotiations and the efforts that had been undertaken by industry stakeholders to arrive at a mutually agreeable solution. Geoff Brighton said that there was a good chance that any referral would be accepted at the first submission, as Ofcom had far greater visibility of the discussions that had taken place than had been the case with the recent POLO dispute. Colin added that the referrals should not only be about pricing as CPs were disputing other aspects of BT’s charging proposal as well.

Will Goodall said that he believed that Flextel was still in negotiation with BT and was not ready to be referred to Ofcom. Kath Embleton said that she would contact Flextel to progress said discussions.

Will Goodall asked if BT could bilaterally negotiate on 0870 rates. Kath Embleton said that BT was not able to charge different retail rates for different 0870 numbers. Will said that he believed that the removal of the NTS call origination condition (from 1 st Feb 08) would render this requirement obsolete. Kath said that BT would still be subject to the requirements of the Numbering Plan, which effectively dictates that BT must set the retail rate for 0870 calls – and these must be the same for all sub-ranges. Kath added that the Ofcom Statement provided for originating CPs other than BT to set different retail rates by number range.

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Will Goodall sought clarity on which document enforced this restriction. Geoff Brighton confirmed that it would be the Numbering Plan. Will asked that Ofcom confirm the wording that requires BT Retail’s 0870 pricing to be uniform post 1st Feb 2008.

New Action Jun07_04: Ofcom to highlight the wording that requires BT Retail’s 0870 pricing to be uniform post 1st Feb 2008.

Agenda item (6) – Review of remaining outstanding actions
Action Aug06_09 : Porting differential issue to be added to the agenda of the first NTSFG meeting of 2007. Ongoing – Andrew Wileman said that the issue had not been added to the May agenda due to the breadth of topics already included and the potential linkage with the NCCN 500 investigation (which was still ongoing). The issue would remain on the outstanding actions list and would be included as an agenda item at a future date.

Action Feb07_03: Attendees to consider if the duration of the 03 parallel block reservation window should be reduced and feed back to the chair. Discharged – Andrew Wileman said that no feedback had been received. It had previously been agreed that this action point would remain open until the June 07 meeting, after which it would be discharged.

Action Feb07_05: Ofcom to review the concerns around 03 implementation and consider potential remedies to the situation. Ongoing – Geoff Brighton said that Ofcom was continuing to consider the issue but reiterated Ofcom’s belief that this should not hold up the 03 implementation.

Action Apr07_01: Will Goodall to send the Ofcom response to Flextel’s concerns around the GC14 investigation to the Chair for distribution. Discharged – The response was distributed to NTSFG members on 22 nd June.

Action Apr07_03: BT to provide an indication of the form of contractual terms for 03 services by 6 th April 2007 . Discharged – Draft Schedules have been made available on the BTW website.

Action Apr07_06: Ofcom to monitor the situation re. 03 with the Cabinet Office Contact Council and report back to the NTSFG as appropriate. Ongoing.

Action Apr07_07: BT to review the information on its website in light of the recent GC14 compliance investigation. Ongoing – Kath Embleton said that this was the responsibility of BT Retail.

Action Apr07_08: Ofcom to confirm its thinking re. the GC20 obligations on access to UK 0844/71 codes from EU Member States. Ongoing – The Ofcom attendees were unable to provide an update.

Action May07_01: BT to confirm charging arrangements for termination of 03 and (post 1 st Feb 2008 ), 0870 calls on the BT network. Discharged – Interconnect notifications have been issued to industry (see also new AP Jun07_03).

Action May07_02: Attendees to forward ideas for increasing awareness/clarity of the 03 range to the chair for collation and distribution to Ofcom. Ongoing – Andrew Wileman confirmed that no submissions had been received.

Action May07_03: Andrew Wileman to hold discussions with the chair of the Mobile Broadband Group with a view to gaining input to NTS debates from the mobile community (to include the prospect of MNO attendance at the NSTFG, or NTSFG member attendance at the Mobile Broadband Group). Ongoing.

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Agenda item (7) – Any Other Business
Review of 0845
Kath Embleton asked when Ofcom intended to commence the review of 0845. Geoff Brighton said that this would likely begin once the 0870 reforms had come in to being.

BT Retail Rate Change – 1st August 2008
Andy Martin drew attendees’ attention to the forthcoming BT Retail price changes ( 1 st August 2008 ). These will apply to consumer customers on the BT Together packages and will affect 0845 & 0870 calls. Andy asked if the POLOs would change and if, accordingly, OCCNs would be issued. Kath Embleton said that she did not believe the BT Retail changes would affect the POLO, but agreed to confirm.

New Action Jun07_04: Kath Embleton to confirm if the 1 st August BT Retail price changes will result in changes to the POLO rate.

Chairmanship of NTSFG
Andrew Wileman announced that as a result of a change in his role at Virgin Media, he would be stepping down as the chair of the NTS Focus Group. Andrew said that he would chair the next meeting (August) with a view to handing over the chairmanship thereafter. Volunteers/nominations for a successor were requested.

Date of Next Meeting:

The meeting next meeting will take place on Thursday 9 th August 2007, commencing at 2:00pm , at Riverside House, London. (Note amended date)

Summary of New and Outstanding Actions:

Aug06_09
Porting differential issue to be added to the agenda of the first NTSFG meeting of 2007

Feb07_05
Ofcom to review the concerns around 03 implementation and consider potential remedies to the situation

Apr07_06
Ofcom to monitor the situation re. 03 with the Cabinet Office Contact Council and report back to the NTSFG as appropriate

Apr07_07
BT to review the information on its website in light of the recent GC14 compliance investigation

Apr07_08
Ofcom to confirm its thinking re. the GC20 obligations on access to UK 0844/71 codes from EU Member States

May07_02
Attendees to forward ideas for increasing awareness/clarity of the 03 range to the chair for collation and distribution to Ofcom

May07_03
Andrew Wileman to hold discussions with the chair of the Mobile Broadband Group with a view to gaining input to NTS debates from the mobile community (to include the prospect of MNO attendance at the NSTFG, or NTSFG member attendance at the Mobile Broadband Group.)

Jun07_01
BT to write to CPs detailing the application of the Ofcom Determination and quoting the rates that would prevail

Jun07_02
Ofcom to issue a clarification note, confirming the status of the Determination and outlining its expectations for implementation of the resulting amended rates.

Jun07_03
BT to clarify the charging arrangements for the termination of 03 calls (and, post 1 st Feb 2008 , 0870 calls) on the BT network

Jun07_04
Ofcom to highlight the wording that requires BT Retail’s 0870 pricing to be uniform post 1st Feb 2008

Jun07_05
Kath Embleton to confirm if the 1 st August BT Retail price changes will result in changes to the POLO rate

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