Letter to the Committee Clerk from the
Director General of Telecommunications (S 55)
Thank you for your letter of 7 May, in which
you ask the Question:
What contact have you had with Defra or the Countryside
Agency about the issue of rural broadband? What roles do you think
Defra and the DTi should (repectively) play?
As the regulator, Oftel has to balance the importance
of maximising broadband rollout with the need to promote competition
and prevent anti-competitive behaviour. To this end, I have a
continuing dialogue with BT to understand what they believe to
be the regulatory constraints on their ability to roll out further
and to clarify the position.
To date, Oftel has had little direct contact
with Defra or the Countryside Agency on the issue of rural broadband.
However, Oftel has continued to contribute to the development
and implementation of the Government's broadband policy, working
with DTi to help foster a competitive and extensive broadband
market.
DTi has policy responsibility for broadband
within Government and monitors the projects funded by the £30
million allocated to regional development agencies and the devolved
administrations. I believe the DTi is the department best able
to take on overall responsibility for driving demand and encouraging
infrastructure rollout throughout the UK.
I understand that Defra is supporting the DTi
by working with RDAs and the devolved administrations to help
develop ways of extending availability in rural areas—some
of these projects being boosted by the DTi's broadband fund. This
appears to me to be a sensible role for Defra to play.
Clearly, it is crucial that Defra and DTi work
closely together in working to promote broadband rollout and demand
in rural areas, that information is shared freely and that their
work is co-ordinated, not duplicated.
19 May 2003
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