Written question asked by John Austin (Labour) on Wednesday, 10 November 1999, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 11 November 1999. It was answered by Patricia Hewitt (Labour) on Thursday, 11 November 1999 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Dept of Trade and Industry

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what reports he has received of variations in the costs of maintaining and operating the telecommunication infrastructure in different parts of the United Kingdom; and what assessment he has made of the economic impact of such variations.

Answer: Mr. Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what reports he has received of variations in the costs of maintaining and operating the telecommunication infrastructure in different parts of the United Kingdom; and what assessment he has made of the economic impact of such variations. [98395] Ms Hewitt: OFTEL, the UK's independent telecommunications regulator, carried out a thorough study of the cost of providing a universal telecommunications service throughout the United Kingdom in 1997. This included consideration of the costs of serving areas of the country which would be uneconomic on a normal commercial basis. OFTEL issued a further consultation on universal service in July this year which considered whether the conclusions of the 1997 study were still valid. The consultation period on this document closed on 29 October. OFTEL intend to publish their conclusions early next year.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 337 c728W; 98395
Session: 1998-99
Subjects: Finance Infrastructure Economic regions Telecommunications Operating costs