The move comes amid criticism of the role played by Oftel in regulating BT’s roll-out of wholesale unmetered access services and its opening competition in local telephone exchanges.
The results of the review will be “taken into account” when Oftel takes decisions on the appropriate level of regulation for the internet access market. Oftel says the review is one of a series to see whether effective competition delivers the best deal for consumers.
David Edmonds, Director General of Telecommunications, said:
"This review will investigate how competition has developed and if competition is now delivering the best deal for consumers.
"The review will focus on dial-up access to the Internet, but will also consider the implications and effects of other ways of accessing the Internet including digital television and mobile phones.
"Oftel will use the results of this review to determine whether the current mix of formal, co- and self-regulation is working effectively and to identify, if regulation continues to be necessary, what form it should take."
Despite Oftel's claims that the UK has among the cheapest access rates, an OECD study recently showed that peak time internet access was higher in the UK than in many countries, including France, Germany, Greece and Italy, although the UK offers some of the lowest rates in the world for evening and weekend internet access.
Oftel has published a statement that sets out the objectives, timetable and scope of the review. It also outlines the way that Oftel will measure the extent of competition in the Internet access market and invites stakeholders to comment and input into the review. It is available on Oftel’s web site.
