§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the President of the Board of Trade when she will next have discussions with the Director General of Oftel regarding the cost of installing ISDN telephone lines; and if she will evaluate the costs of installing lines in the United Kingdom relative to those in Europe. [4733]
§ Mr. BattleThe pricing of ISDN is a matter for Oftel. Oftel reviewed ISDN prices in 1996 and as a result BT provided more flexible connection pricing arrangements in October of that year for basic rate ISDN (ISDN 2). Although BT's connection charges are high compared with our European neighbours, recent benchmarking studies have shown that the monthly rental and call charges are both very competitive, which means that the overall annual cost of using ISDN in the UK is one of the most competitive in the world.