Have just had a glossy brochure from my local district council.   In a section about how they are going to "improve" (ha! ha!) customer service, there is the following statement:-
"Helping the council provide its new customer service centre is a new telephony service.   Global Crossing is providing a Managed Telecommunications Service (Mts).   The new Mts means improved customer service and increased efficiencies; the future possibility of shared services across the region; support for flexible working and a system fit for the 21st century."

Now I have a natural cynicism that all this is code for the introduction of ngns but does anyone know what this means & has anyone heard of Global Crossing?   Until now, I have relied on my husband, a senior officer with the council, to carry the battle against ngns but he is being made compulsorily redundant so I am losing both influence and information!   In view of comments  on this site about OFCOM & its New Labour friends, should I see it as significant that the Chief Exec introducing the new "communications" (and chopping my husband after 26 years!) is avowedly New Labour (in the heart of rural England)?   Or is that one conspiracy theory too far?

sa0001 wrote on Nov 28^th, 2006 at 2:29pm:


You should ask them why they have not followed the good example of Mole Valley District Council where one of the councillors put forward a motion that was unanimously ratified by all councillors at a full council meeting in July last year insisting that the council's officers should leave no stone unturned to ensure the retention of 01/02 geographic phone numbers by the council's services.

See P.5 of http://www.molevalley.gov.uk/media/pdf/1/s/Council_Minutes_190705.pdf

The actions of the now ex councillor concerned who put forward this motion were I think exceptionally far sighted bearing in mind that the council's old crusty chief executive retired and has been replace by a new under 40s whizzkid type who would have been inclined to sign up for an 084/7 number in return for free line rental or a free switchboard like a shot.

Hmm...

I use Global Crossing's conference services a lot, and find that often their systems don't correctly recognise the DTMF tones from UK phones.  It's a real pain.