§ Mr. FlookTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which body owns telephone exchanges in Great Britain. [135327]
§ Mr. Timms[holding answer 30 October 2003]: With the exception of Kingston upon Hull, local telephone exchanges in the UK are owned by BT. In the Kingston upon Hull area, they are owned by Kingston Communications.
Cable Companies also have facilities in areas where they have a network presence.
§ Mr. FlookTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) whether a regulatory assessment has been made of the costs of upgrading telephone exchanges to broadband exchanges; and if she will make a statement; [135328]
398W(2) which body is responsible for ensuring that companies other than British Telecom are not asked to pay an uncompetitive price for upgrading telephone exchanges to make them broadband enabled; [135329]
§ Mr. Timms[holding answers 30 October 2003]: Telephone exchanges can be upgraded for broadband by their owners, or by other telecommunications providers by means of local loop unbundling. In pursuit of its broadband target, the Government is keen to see as many exchanges as possible upgraded for broadband. Nonetheless, decisions on upgrading are a commercial matter for the companies concerned.