SilentCallsVictim wrote on Jun 27^th, 2008 at 6:07pm:


I wonder what useless QUANGO he is about to head up next!

To my shame I have to admit that I have neglected this website for some time with the result that I was unaware of yet another "consultation".  

I do agree that it is important that Ofcom gets responses, even though we know they are ignored.  

Would it be possible to notify members of consultations so that the less active amongst us do not miss the opportunity?

Thank you.

Fabian Olins

Fabian wrote on Jun 28^th, 2008 at 7:19pm:

When the consultation was published that was the intention, but it never happened. There are 36 responses and I think it's fair to say that there would have been more had this been done.

Dave wrote on Jul 1^st, 2008 at 11:05pm:


This was even though I reminded the forum moderators that the deadline was coming up several days before the consultation closed.

At the end of the day it will just become part of the pile of consultations Ofcom have ignored on 084/7.  I think the only difference here is that in this consultation most respondees felt more justified in making it clear that they are no longer prepared to play ball with Ofcom because it is totally incompetent and incoherent in its approach to this matter.

If the Ofcom proposals were serious and likely to be effective, this would indeed be one of the most important threads.

There are doubts about whether Ofcom was ever serious in making its proposals, however nothing will happen now for some considerable time. The reasons are rather complex.

Ofcom is awaiting the outcome of a dispute before the Competition Appeals Tribunal about termination rates for calls to mobile networks from BT lines. The basis it used when proposing a method of settling this dispute has been challenged and the Tribunal has accepted this argument and will itself be proposing an alternative method of determining what is reasonable.

The same basis was used by Ofcom to propose a settlement of a dispute about termination rates for 0870 calls from BT lines to other networks, in the event that the Ofcom proposals for 0870 came into effect. If it attempted to enforce this resolution Ofcom would anticipate a similar challenge through the CAT to be upheld. Ofcom is therefore waiting to see what happens to the other dispute before deciding how to revise its resolution of the 0870 termination rates dispute.

Depending on what comes back from the CAT, BT will either be able to comply with Ofcom's preferred option of reducing the charges for calling 0870 numbers, or will have to take the alternative of providing announcements of higher than normal charges. All other providers have indicated that they will take this less-preferred option. If no-one is going to drop their charges then the whole exercise is a complete waste of time.

Please forgive the complexity of this explanation, it is the best I can do. There are references and links to the relevant matters in earlier postings in this thread.

As things stand, we are awaiting developments in the CAT case before anything more will happen.

lucasmcp wrote on Jul 24^th, 2008 at 5:31pm:

The summary of my lengthy explanation is spot on.

In answer to the question, let us assume for the moment that Ofcom had the best of intentions but made a complete mess of it. Would you step forward to make a statement that you had b****ed it up and had no idea what you were going to do next? The official answer would be that the outcome of the CAT is awaited - this was referred to in the consultation.

Ofcom Update: Update on Ofcom review of 087 numbers

On 2 May 2008, Ofcom published two consultations as part of its ongoing review of 087 numbers. This notification gives an update on the proposed timing of any changes to the rules on 087 numbers.

0870

In May, Ofcom consulted on proposals on charges for calls to 0870 numbers. These included the proposal that all calls to 0870 numbers should cost no more than calls to geographic numbers (01 or 02 numbers) unless communications providers comply with rules on publicising higher prices.  At the time, Ofcom aimed to announce its conclusions on this by autumn 2008.

However, Ofcom’s work on this consultation needs to take place alongside an ongoing dispute on wholesale termination rates, the rates that operators charge each other to end 0870 calls on each others’ networks. Work on this had been suspended pending the recent judgement of the Competition Appeals Tribunal on mobile termination rate disputes which was published recently, and as a result this work has now restarted.

Ofcom continues to assess the proposals in its May 2008 consultation and the responses to that document in light of these developments. Ofcom aims to publish a further statement on implementing any changes to 0870 policy by the end of the year. 

087 numbers

Ofcom aims to publish a statement on its proposal to bring the most expensive 087 numbers (including 0871, 0872 and 0873 numbers) within the remit of PhonepayPlus, in the autumn.