Oftel demands unmetered internet access for BT rivals

The move appears to be a response to criticism from BT’s rivals levelled at the UK's telecoms watchdog over its failure to force BT to offer effective wholesale services.

The new product enhances the current wholesale product, known as FRIACO, that takes unmetered internet traffic from the customer as far as BT's local exchange. With FRIACO, operators have faced additional costs to convey the calls onto their own network. The new product will carry internet traffic on an unmetered basis from the consumer's home to the network of a competing operator.

Oftel has also proposed a number of measures to enable BT's network to cope with the anticipated large amounts of traffic generated by increasing availability and use of unmetered internet tariffs.

These include taking other operators' internet calls off BT's network earlier by greater use of interconnection points between BT and other operators' networks at BT's local exchanges that are adjacent to BT's trunk exchanges. BT must also provide additional capacity on their trunk network specifically for internet traffic.

Oftel's proposals take into account the recommendations of the panel of technical experts appointed by Oftel to look at the implications for BT's network of the huge growth in internet traffic.

The experts estimated that BT's trunk network, which also carries voice calls, could reach capacity in 2001 due to extra traffic generated by unmetered internet access.

BT already diverts much of its own customers' internet traffic onto its own dedicated Internet Protocol (IP) network through connections at its digital local exchanges. However, traffic generated by customers of other Internet Service Providers is still carried across BT's trunk network before it is taken onto other operators' networks.

Commenting on the proposals, David Edmonds, Director General of Telecommunications said today:

"Oftel's proposals will give a major boost to the availability of unmetered internet access for consumers. These measures should allow millions of people to have unlimited access to the internet without running up high call charges. Although the new product will initially be restricted while steps are taken to increase capacity on BT's trunk network, there will be no restrictions on traffic carried by BT on other routes that do not go across their trunk network.

"The restrictions should be removed by the end of January 2002 by which time I expect BT to have provided sufficient capacity on their trunk network. In addition, under Oftel's original FRIACO Direction BT must still provide wholesale unmetered internet access from the customer to its local exchange. BT must also convey metered internet traffic across its trunk network."

David Edmonds said measures were needed to cope with the expected huge growth in internet traffic that the new flat rate service is likely to generate.

"Our experts found that the volume of internet traffic on BT's network is doubling every ten months and unmetered internet access is likely to increase this growth rate even faster. The experts said that action had to be taken or else BT's trunk network could be in danger of being over-stretched by mid-2001.

"Oftel has put forward measures to enable growth in internet traffic to continue by taking internet traffic off BT's network and encouraging BT to take steps to increase capacity on its network. Operators will need to discuss with BT how internet traffic should be conveyed from BT's local exchanges to their own networks, so that BT's trunk network is used only when it is cost effective to do so.

"For the longer term, Oftel will take the lead with the industry to develop interconnection between internet Protocol networks. It is essential that all sides of the industry now work together to devise the most effective methods of implementation."

The detail of Oftel’s proposals

• BT will be required to provide a new wholesale flat rate internet access product ('single tandem FRIACO') from the consumer's home over its trunk network to another operator's network. In the short term, in order to avoid overload of BT's trunk network this requirement will be subject to special measures for a limited period.
• First, the amount of traffic that BT is required to carry under this arrangement will initially be restricted. The initial amount will be limited to traffic via 13,500 2Mbit/s ports, with each 2Mbit/s port costing £17,692.32. This limit will be regularly reviewed and by the end of January 2002 there should be no restrictions at all. There will be no limit on BT's obligation to convey traffic to other operators' networks by other routes.
• Second, where local exchanges are sited adjacent to trunk exchanges at which other operators interconnect, internet traffic generated by these other operators' customers should be passed on to their networks at BT's local exchanges instead of over BT's trunk network. This should be completed by 30 April 2001. Oftel has put forward two ways in which this might be done. In the first, the operators initiate the changes according to Oftel forecasts of the amount of such traffic re-arrangement required. In the second, BT initiates the changes according to actual growth in traffic. Oftel favours the second because it places strong incentives on BT to minimise costs.
• In the medium term, BT should create additional capacity on their trunk network to carry internet traffic, with the cost of any work necessary shared between BT and the other operators. This will enable the ceiling on BT's obligation to provide the new single tandem FRIACO to be removed.
• For the long term, Oftel will work with the industry to establish a new interconnection regime for internet traffic carried over dedicated IP networks. IP networks are much more efficient at carrying internet traffic than existing voice networks.
• BT's existing obligations to convey all metered internet traffic across its trunk network and to provide wholesale unmetered internet access from the customer to its local exchange under Oftel's original FRIACO Direction will continue throughout.