Oftel aims to revolutionise high-speed internet access

Hot on the heels of a recent Datamonitor survey predicting one in three households in Europe will have internet access by 2003 - representing a 250 per cent increase - telecommunications watchdog, Oftel, is moving to revolutionise the way consumers and small businesses access internet services.

A consultation document has been released, inviting comment from the telecoms industry and its customers on what advanced services, such as high-speed internet access and video-on-demand, are required. It will also investigate what may be hindering the provision of these applications.

BT supplies the majority of UK homes and small businesses, but at present it only delivers narrow-band services such as basic telephony and slow-speed data traffic.

Oftel said, if it identifies obstacles to the delivery of next generation services, then it will consider regulatory action to remove them.

"These services are a key part of the future of communications in this country and we must address the questions of how they are going to be provided," said David Edmonds, Oftel's director general of telecommunications. "We want to ensure that there are no barriers to the provision of these services by operators who want to offer them."

One key issue which was raised in the document is local loop unbundling, which would require BT transferring control of lines to a competitor.