8 March 2006
Ofcom has unveiled new plans to promote the emerging digital telephony, Next Generation Networks (NGNs).
The telecoms regulator is keen to establish a competitive market for the technology, which allows users to connect calls more easily and facilitate more effective delivery of internet protocol (IP) based services.
Ofcom says that NGNs will spark greater innovation and give consumers a broader and more cost-effective choice by boosting competition – with the regulator planning to launch a new industry body, NGN UK, to help deliver change.
Its role in the development of NGNs will be to get providers to "agree the technical and commercial arrangements for connecting to each other's networks".
Only through cooperation will it be possible to ensure suitable interoperability to make the technology commercially viable, with Ofcom keen to facilitate what it calls "effective cross-industry coordination".
Peter Black, from the Office of the Telecommunications Adjudicator and Local Loop Unbundling, will head up NGN UK.
Eight firms have already signalled their cooperation, including BT, Kingston Communications, NTL and Vodafone.
BT is another firm which has offered its support for the idea when Ofcom first mooted calls for greater cooperation between firms over NGNs, although the telecoms firm said it would prefer to work through commercial negotiation rather than regulatory moves.Looking for a new phone supplier? Use uSwitch.com to compare all available suppliers, pick the best supplier for you and switch online
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