HC Deb 25 October 1995 vol 264 cc685-6W
Mr. Allen

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the role of ISDN as a transmission technology; and what proposals he has to make it more widely available. [39236]

Mr. Ian Taylor

ISDN is one of a number of complimentary technologies that together will provide us with the digital networks necessary to support advanced telecommunications services and applications.

ISDN has been available in the UK for several years, but recent EC decisions on ISDN terminal standards and the growth of interest by British business in high-speed connection to the Internet are likely to increase demand for ISDN substantially. The extent to which ISDN services are available is obviously a commercial matter for the telecommunications operators.

With this in mind, the Government consulted in the summer on their proposals to hold a competition to award licences to run radio fixed-access systems. Such a system operating nationally at 10 GHz is intended to provide the minimum bit rate of 144 kbps necessary for an ISDN service as an alternative to the service already offered by BT and some cable operators.

Mr. Allen

To ask the President of the Board of Trade for what reasons an ISDN connection in the United Kingdom costs more than in France and Germany; and what measures he is taking to address this. [39235]

Mr. Taylor

The pricing of ISDN services is a matter for the commercial judgment of service providers. Both my Department and the Office of Telecommunications are aware of the level of relative prices of ISDN services in the UK compared to France and Germany. As both the latter markets are yet far from liberalised, there is little available information about whether the prices for ISDN charged there can be justified in relation to underlying costs. Oftel is considering the inclusion of ISDN services in BT's price cap when it is next reviewed.

The introduction of effective competition will also contribute to bringing prices down and this lies behind the Government's policy of licensing alternative infrastructure such as radio fixed access systems. Operating at 10 GHz these could provide an alternative ISDN service to that offered by BT and some cable providers.