Lord Lucasasked Her Majesty's Government
Whether they will encourage OFTEL to consider whether it would be appropriate for BT to reduce the current prices charged for residential ISDN lines in order to make them a competitive option for domestic Internet access.
§ The Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Simon of Highbury)BT has commercial freedom as to how it prices its ISDN services provided they are not offered on anti-competitive or unduly discriminatory terms or conditions. Although BT has gone some way towards lowering its prices, encouraged by OFTEL, there remains scope for further reductions. OFTEL will therefore continue to encourage BT in this direction. ISDN provision in the UK is set to become more competitive with the introduction of radio-fixed access services and emerging competition from the cable companies.