HC Deb 15 June 1992 vol 209 c372W
Mr. Redmond

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many companies have(a) applied for and (b) been granted a licence from his Department for residential and business customer access to their private telephone network in the last 12 months.

Mr. Leigh

Of the 37 applications received by 11 June 1992, my Department issued eight new telecommunications licences to companies who wish to take advantage of the liberalisations announced in the duopoly review last year.

The Government liberalised the use of private networks in 1989 under a "class" licence. Several companies have taken advantage of this to provide a range of services to the public. Some companies have now applied for individual licences to provide services which are beyond the scope of the existing class licence, but which are permissible under individual licences since the duopoly review. These applications are under consideration.