http://www.ofcom.org.uk/telecoms/groups/nts_focus/notes/nts_260608

NTS Focus Group - 26th June 2008 - 2.00 pm Ofcom

Agenda item (1) - Introductions

Attendance:
Mike Barford Tiscali
Geoff Brighton Ofcom
Rob Day BT
Catherine Gerosa Invomo
Will Goodall  Flextel
Sean Hartley BT
Justin Hornby C&W (Chair)
John Lockyer Teamphone
Andy Martin  IV Response


By telephone
Andrew Monk CPW
Frank Foley J2Global
Colin Scott Thus


Apologies:
Laurent Pariat C&W
Clive Hillier  Ofcom
Andrew Wileman Virginmedia


Agenda (2): Update / progress report on the current 'live' NTS related consultations / investigations: (Ofcom/All)

Review of Regulation of Premium Rate Services
Ofcom hoped to publish this in June, but the timing was delayed due to resource issues. They hope to now publish the document in July. If this is not possible the August embargo is likely to mean further delay until after the holiday period.

NCCN 500 investigation / NTS call termination market review
Ofcom is in the process of formulating the decision, but a clear date for when this will be published is not yet possible. The continued delay is caused by the tricky nature of the issues in the case.

General Condition 14 Enforcement Programme

The recommendations from this enforcement programme are currently undergoing internal review. This will include whether any action needs to be taken under Section 91 of the Communications Act.

Catherine Gerosa highlighted the unhelpful nature of some of the guidance available to operators: Otelo on their website refer enquiries to Ofcom whilst Ofcom recommends that companies seek legal advice.

Andy Martin raised the issue of recent mobile price increases following the decision by some operators to remove certain NTS number ranges from inclusive minutes. Geoff Brighton said Ofcom decried the increase, but pointed out that the mobile arena was a competitive market.

Agenda Item (3 & 4): 0870 & 0871 Consultations

Geoff apologised for the delay in publishing all of the responses on the Ofcom website which had been caused by an internal Ofcom problem. The 0870 proposals were due to go are due to go before an internal Ofcom approval board on 8th July. The hope is to publish in July, failing that it is likely not to be until September.

Discussion moved to the implications of the CAT decision and whether the fact that one of the mobiles was appealing the decision would have any impact. Geoff acknowledged that this was unclear and that a new methodology may need to be considered for resolving the dispute.

Will Goodall questioned the consumer benefit of Ofcom’s preferred Option B. Geoff responded that GC14 to date had not been enforced and that Ofcom’s legal advice was that they could not take measures to implement price controls until transparency enforcement had been undertaken. If this process was not followed any attempt to introduce a price control would fail. Will challenged this view on the basis of changes made on May 26th to the Consumer Protection Act which gives Ofcom and the OFT greater powers to demand transparency. In addition the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD) Will believed would allow Ofcom to manipulate the market to ensure the prices charged reflected those that were advertised. Geoff doubted this was possible as Ofcom have duties as a regulator to promote competition.

Will requested to see evidence that it was not feasible to introduce price labelling. He pointed to BT’s 7 Jan 2005 submission to NTS Options for the Future, and requested to see the redacted annex. Geoff agreed to consider the request.

June08_01 Ofcom to consider whether redacted information can be made available.

Andrew Monk asked how much longer Ofcom were going to wait before implementing their 0870 policy. Geoff indicated that Ofcom’s lawyers were of the opinion that the policy could go ahead, but in practical terms this was dependent on rates having been set.

Will called for a review of TWIX ahead of the 0870 implementation. Geoff rejected this on the grounds that the Network Charge Controls were up for review in the near future and that it was unlikely that a market review would take place ahead of this. The current Network Charge Controls remain in place until October 2009.

Catherine Gerosa asked if the 0871 changes were still intended to be implemented in parallel with 0870. Geoff responded that this was the current intention.

Andrew Monk raised concerns about arbitrage activity on 0872 numbers.

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Agenda Item (5): International Access to 0844/0871

Sean Hartley revealed that BT had problems with their billing system for these ranges. If a short-term fix was not possible BT would be using manual billing. BT would be happy to help with any customer communication if there are concerns.

Geoff Brighton asked whether the billing issue affected a single rate. Sean responded that there were individual rates for each number and that the issue had been raised to the Chief Executive level internally at BT for resolution.

Sean also confirmed that any delays to the implementation of the PhonepayPlus code on 0871 should not cause any delays to BT opening the 0844 and 0871 ranges internationally. In general geographic numbers were the most commonly open ranges internationally. 08 and 07 numbers were less commonly open due to opportunities for fraud and it was acknowledged that 03 numbers were not as widely available as geographic numbers. Justin Hornby stated that the impact of the international access problems was often to leave 0870 users without a viable alternative for their call centre operations.

Will Goodall raised concerns that Ofcom’s NTS: A Way Forward policy statement (Paragraph A4.7) incorrectly made the assumption that roaming used the UK Numbering Plan rather than being dependent on the foreign country’s network. Will contended that this meant that Ofcom had understated the impact of a lack of international access when conducting their cost / benefit analysis. Geoff Brighton acknowledged that this may have been missed, but pointed out that in the context of the wider policy changes it was a small amount of traffic and that international access was likely to be open in the near future. Will contended that it was a matter for BERR to explore in their review of regulatory compliance.

Agenda Item (6): Review of Action Points from previous meetings

Minutes and Action Points from the previous meeting were not yet available at the time this meeting was held. Laurent proposed to deal with outstanding Action Points by email if required prior to the next meeting.

CH recalled that there was an action point from last meeting in relation to the inclusion of NTS numbers in directories (AP ref. Apr08_01). He stated that this point was covered in consultation and that CPs were invited to get in touch with the policy team. He noted that the consultation period has been extended until June.

Agenda Item (7): AOB

Aug06_09 – Carried over
Sep07_01 – Closed
Sep07_04 – Justin Hornby has supplied details of response to Ofcom. Closed.
May08_02 – Carried over
May08_03 – Note circulated to group by Sean. Closed.

Date of Next Meeting:
The meeting next meeting will take place on 11th September 2008, commencing at 2:00pm, at Riverside House, London.

Summary of New and Outstanding Actions:
Aug06_09: Porting differential issue to be added to the agenda of the first NTSFG meeting of 2007
Sep07_01: ICSTIS to provide more detail on the levy calculation
Sep07_04:  All international carriers to confirm their plans for making international access available for 0844 and 0871.
May08_02: Ofcom to consider writing to operators on international access to 0844/0871 numbers
May08_03: BT to circulate note on billing issue in relation to ported 03 and 0870 numbers.
June08_01: Ofcom to consider whether redacted information can be made available.  

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