Update on BT Wholesale Products Organisation

Being a responsible and high quality wholesaler is core to the objectives of BT Wholesale. In order to achieve this, one key activity is to ensure that they meet both the letter and the spirit of the Undertakings. To date 99% of managers have read the Code of Practice and completed the CBT.

Since the publication of the outcome of the Telecoms Strategic Review there have been a number of changes made within the products organisation of BT Wholesale to ensure that they fulfil the requirements of the Undertakings. These include:

• Re-organising the Products and Strategy organisation

• Implementing new governance processes which ensure compliance with the Code of Practice

• Changing performance measures and incentive schemes to ensure CNS people are targeted and rewarded only on CNS performance

• Writing unit specific guidelines to supplement the Code of Practice, for the overall Products organisation and for each of the common function teams

• Ensuring there is a process in place to report any potential non–compliance.

One example of the Undertakings in action is changes to the pricing governance and processes to reflect the Code of Practice. The pricing team is split into three groups who manage CNS, VNS and UNS pricing separately. The Wholesale Pricing Authorisation Group now holds separate meetings to discuss CNS and VNS price proposals and agendas. Papers and minutes are all kept separate to avoid any possibility of unfairly influencing commercial policy.  Pricing papers cannot now contain any cross portfolio analysis outside the originating product group.

BT Wholesale is adopting a new and more open approach to industry. We plan to share our product roadmaps with customers on a quarterly basis via the account teams, starting in April. The Customer Product Overviews will enable customers, via their account teams, to interlock with our plans and are one of the first tangible benefits of the new quarterly Product Plans process.