July 2006
Welcome to The Undertakings Bulletin
Welcome to the summer issue of BT's regular Undertakings Bulletin. As we go to press BT has just completed the systems and process changes to enable and deliver its obligation to build its IPstream services from unbundled loop inputs consumed on an equivalent basis with effect from 30 June. Two articles, covering Openreach's perspective as a supplier of unbundled loops, and BT Wholesale's view as one of Openreach's LLU customers describe how BT is going about delivering its obligation.
Another June deliverable is improved access to engineering appointment books and Openreach describe the new service they are launching.
Earlier in June Ofcom published a statement covering a series of agreed exceptions and changes to the Undertakings. We give BT's perspective on the background, and look forward to the consultation on further possible changes scheduled for later this year.
Again looking forward, we review the plans for the year's major outstanding equivalence deliverables, for ethernet access and backhaul products and for BT Wholesale.
As ever your questions, feedback and comments are welcome. Please send these to undertakings@bt.com
Peter McCarthy-Ward
BT Director of Equivalence
If you have any questions regarding the content of this bulletin please email: undertakings@bt.com
If you would like a colleague to receive this Bulletin also, then please email their name, email address, company name and job title to us at: undertakings@bt.com
Openreach hit a major milestone last week with the delivery of LLU Equivalence of Input (EoI) via the Equivalence Management Platform (EMP). As of 30 June and in keeping with the ‘waterfall’ approach agreed with industry, an initial group of LLU Communications Providers have been enabled to use the EMP. This means that all of their ordering, fault repair and dialogue services capability will be conducted through a single interface and for the first time BT Wholesale will be consuming exactly the same LLU product, on the same terms, as the rest of industry.
View complete article "LLU Equivalence of Input now available"
We have now delivered the BT Undertaking which required that MPF and SMPF LLU be consumed on an Equivalence of Inputs basis as of 30 June 2006. IPstream now consumes SMPF for all new Simultaneous PSTN with BT Wholesale provided Broadband orders. New orders for BTW Symmetric products (SDSL) now consume MPF.
BTW has also moved Datastream to consuming SMPF/MPF. While this is not a specific requirement of the BT Undertakings, doing it in the same timescales as IPstream has ensured that BT Wholesale can offer the best solution for all, BT and customers alike.
Improving the access to Openreach engineering appointment books for Communications Providers is a requirement within Section 3.5 of the Undertakings. Work started in Openreach on meeting this undertaking in November 2005 to ensure we met the 1 July 2006 date.
View complete article "Improved Access to Engineering Appointment Books"
The Openreach Customer Business Management function now has a full complement of staff, all actively working to ensure that those customers who have chosen to be account managed by Openreach have a named point of contact with whom they are in regular communication and who will focus on providing solutions to any issues they may have.
View complete article "Openreach Customer Business Management Function"
As part of the BT Undertakings, Openreach is required to develop and offer Equivalence of Inputs (EOI) Wholesale Line Rental Analogue and Digital products.
The first required by date is for WLR Analogue by 30 June 2007, however BT Group has committed to delivering its new WLR3 product 6 months earlier, namely by 31 December 2006.
View complete article "Wholesale Line Rental Equivalence of Inputs (WLR3) Update"
One of the major milestones that Openreach must deliver this year is the launch of Wholesale Extension Services (WES) and Backhaul Extension Services (BES) products on an Equivalence of Inputs (EoI) basis. As a result, the Ethernet Products Customer Forum has been running a series of meetings with customers to discuss testing, billing, development activities and commercials for an equivalent product set, ensuring Openreach's customers are ready for the EoI delivery milestone of 30 September 2006. In addition to launching EoI variants of the existing portfolio, Openreach will also be launching a new product group on 30 September, currently named Wholesale End-to-End Ethernet Services (WEES).
The Undertakings require BT "as soon as is reasonably practicable” to introduce new long term incentive plans for relevant BT employees working for Openreach (and for some BT people in BT Wholesale).
The BT Undertakings provide in certain circumstances for departures from their requirements to be made in agreement with Ofcom, or for the BT Undertakings to be varied or amended. This is because BT and Ofcom realised at the time the Undertakings were signed that such detailed, complex binding obligations would in all probability have effects not intended or anticipated when they were drafted, and provisions were made within the Undertakings for changes to be made by agreement.
BT has been in discussion with Ofcom over a series of possible exemptions, agreements and variations. Ofcom published the first batch of these exemptions and agreements on 15 June.
View complete article "Exemptions to the BT Undertakings Agreed"
The Equality of Access Board (EAB) has published its first annual report looking at BT’s compliance with the Undertakings. The report also describes the EAB’s activities since it was established in November 2005 as an objective body to monitor the implementation of the Undertakings. The report is available for download at http://www.bt.com/eabreport
Angus Flett, 42, joined BT Wholesale as Director of Product Management in January 2005 from telecoms equipment company Ciena. He has spent his career in the IT and telecoms industry, including 13 years spent in various management roles with Mercury and Cable and Wireless.
Angus is also BT’s representative on NGN UK, the industry body set up this year to oversee the introduction of Next Generation Networks into the UK market. He is married with four children and lives in West Sussex.
View complete article "Management Profile: Angus Flett, Director, Product Management, BT Wholesale"
A major programme of communications, training and engagement was launched across BT in December 2005 to ensure that all our people are aware of the Undertakings and understand how they affect the way they work and make decisions.
View complete article "Further Training for BT People on the Undertakings"
BT has delivered all its Undertakings to date on or before the scheduled date. Here is a quick reference guide to the Undertakings delivered since our last update.
View complete article "Undertakings Delivered Since the Last Bulletin"