Ofcom have recently relaxed the reigns on BT Retail in the rest of the UK in permitting BT to offer more aggressively priced service through bundling lines, calls and broadband services to residential customers. The customer has the freedom to select a bundled option (the more you buy the less you pay) and is not "forced bundled" (tied) by KC that forces customers to pay for local calls from KC at an additional £3.50 per line per month whether they make a call or not of which also has the effect of removing all competition in the market for local calls.
If Ofcom were to allow KC to offer similar "bundled" packages, whilst initially being good for the consumer, would have a considerable long term negative effect on consumer choice since by reducing charges without the precesence of any existing competition in an existing Monopoly where Significant Market Power (SMP) already exists would further minimise any possibility of any other Commuicarions Provider seeking to enter the Hull market in direct competition to KC and harm whatever limited competition already exists.
If Ofcom are considering permitting KC to bundle services,Ofcom MUST conduct a new investigation into the individual markets for telephone calls, lines and broadband markets in the Hull area. If KC still are still considered to have SMP (Significant Market Power) in any of these markets bundling cannot be permitted.
I believe this is a cyinicle attempt by KC to get customers to sign long term contracts to help prevent and restrict competition in the Hull market for the provision of broadband, lines and calls services.
Fibrestream / Nextgenus should write to Ofcom to raise this issue formally with the regulator and make their position abundantly clear that the removal on the existing conditions on KC should not be permitted on the grounds that KC continue to possess SMP in all 3 markets and No Communication Provider has access to the KC telephone line at the wholesale level.
Fibrestream/ Nextgenus should only ever agree to the removal of the existing conditions placed on KC unless the equivalent of Openreaches WLR3 services were made available from KC in the Hull area whereby CP's were able to compete directly with KC for the provision of fixed telephony service having obtained "Equivalence" with all providers that wish to compete in the Hull market with KC.
If Ofcom were to orchestrate this, this would fully benefit consumers in terms of not just providing consumers with competitively priced services but would also provide consumers with a number of alternative choice's with a selection of providers whereby endusers can choose their supplier based on price and service.
Ofcom should now write to all CP's to solicit their views about the Hull Market.
« Last Edit: August 10, 2010, 02:32:02 pm by Project Novo » Report to moderator 212.183.140.48
stormy
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Re: KC Being allowed to bundle line, calls and broadband services
« Reply #1 on: August 10, 2010, 02:59:14 pm » Quote
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http://karooforums.net/index.php/topic,1106.0.htmlAs I wrote there:
I guess at the end of the day, fixed line competition in Hull is very unlikely to happen, something Ofcom recognises in the consultation. So the bottom line is, what will we save?
I can understand why its a bad thing for competition, but how likely is fixed line competition ever to come to Hull, never is my estimation and it seems Ofcom agrees.
« Last Edit: August 10, 2010, 03:01:35 pm by stormy » Report to moderator Logged
Project Novo
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Re: KC Being allowed to bundle line, calls and broadband services
« Reply #2 on: Today at 10:55:04 am » Quote Modify Remove
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Hi Stormy
CP's like Nextgenus DO want to come into Hull (amonst many others). Its just that Ofcom and KC do not make it easy as it will be the end of KC if this happens.
Cobus Communications resell telephone lines from Nexus Telecommunications whereby KC were forced to "Wholesale" YES "Wholesale" lines to Nexus because KC illegally forced Nexus out of the market for local telephone calls when KC forced every business (excluding orgnisations such as the Council !!!!!) to take local calls from them at a supplmentary charge of £3.50 per month PER LINE.
Under KC's Ofcom oversight this is anti competitative under UK Competition Law of which KC has regularly flouted. Nexus were going to force Ofcom into an investigation (Which would have found KC guilty of market abuse) but decided to take wholesale line rental from KC. This is not widely publised and is something that KC do not wish to have openly broadcast.
PN
