U.K.’s Ofcom Seeks Comment on New Thinking About Next-Gen Networks
The shift to next-generation networks will happen with a whimper, not a bang, the U.K. Office of Communications said. When details began to emerge in 2004 about British Telecom’s plan to build a fiber network called 21CN, advanced networks “were seen as perhaps the most important development in telecoms since privatisation” and as requiring a new regulatory approach, Ofcom said. Since then, though, it has become clear that the shift to next-generation networks won’t happen all at once but through wider evolution of network technologies, it said. Next-gen technology is being adopted alongside fixed and mobile access network upgrades, and with important developments are taking placing outside telecom, particularly in information technology, it said.
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A consultation paper that Ofcom put out Friday seeks comments on its response to recent developments in next- generation networks, including BT’s revised plans, and on how to protect consumers during the switch-over. Ofcom said its main goal in earlier inquiries into the significance were to provide incentives for investment in NGNs, promote competition based on advanced infrastructure and prevent consumers from disruption during the transition, it said. Those principles are still valid, it said. NGNs generally mean networks that use Internet Protocol suitable for voice and data and that allow some control over quality of service, the regulator said.
The business case for operators for building an NGN is to have a single network instead of separate custom-made networks for each service, and to make it easier and cheaper to develop and deploy new services. But with the economic downturn, communications providers have been compelled to rearrange their investment priorities, and they're increasingly looking for safer ways to spend their money, concentrating on delivering new or better services or extending the lives of their existing assets, Ofcom said.
Superfast broadband services and the networks to deliver them are becoming more important to consumers, industry and politicians, it said. That interest has shifted the investment focus from NGN to Next Generation Access networks, most of which will be fiber rather than copper-based, it said.
BT, which originally planned to replace its entire copper network with fiber, now expects to do that only as needed, Ofcom said. Because all competitors must connect with BT and most also need to use its network for access to customers, changes to 21CN plans could significantly affect their investment, it said. BT’s plan means that instead of a complete shift from Time Division Multiplexing to IP-based connections, the two technologies may co-exist for the foreseeable future, making interconnection arrangements between networks with different technologies an increasingly important issue, it said.
The transition to NGN will also create consumer issues, because there will be a wider range of retail services and wholesale products. There’s a risk that switching between retail providers will be harder for consumers and will deter competition, it said. Consumers should be offered services at least equivalent to their existing services, they shouldn’t be harmed during the transition to NGN, and any changes to end-user services should be fully explained to them, the regulator said.
Long term, NGNs may mean new competition models, but that doesn’t require immediate changes in regulatory strategy, Ofcom said. “The direction of network evolution is highly uncertain,” it said. NGN proposals by providers indicate that the separation between network and services will be less than complete, it said. Preliminary analysis shows that intense competition in value-added services run over networks, made possible by the Internet, “is a powerful force that will shape a market-led outcome without a need for regulatory intervention,” Ofcom said. Comments are due Sept. 24 Gideon.Senensieb@ofcom.org.uk. - Dugie Standeford