NTS Links Review

June 2002

May 2003

June 2003

Following feedback from operators, BT has made further changes to paragraph 5.4.3.1 (c) of Annex A to make it clear under what circumstances additional charges may be payable in relation to the overflow of NTS Calls from the BT System to the Operator System.

BT appreciates the concerns raised that monitoring occurs as a general course and that BT should not start charging for what would be 'business as usual' as a result of an obligation placed on BT to provide the NTS overflow facility. In respect of the monitoring, BT will charge only if an operator had breached its obligations and BT has to monitor more closely to manage BT’s network. BT does not consider it reasonable that it should carry out additional work (as a result of an operator failing to fulfil its duties) on the proviso that either BT should absorb the cost or that the cost should be apportioned across all operators which are satisfying their obligations. Therefore, BT will raise a monitoring charge on a recalcitrant operator. BT will not make a profit from having to carry out this additional, and unnecessary, work. BT wishes only to be reimbursed. The cost for additional monitoring will not appear as a charge in the Carrier Price List as it is not possible to anticipate the requirements given potential individual circumstances.

BT will raise charges for the removal and re-provision of any overflow routing where an operator has failed to act in accordance with paragraph 5.4.3.1 (b), such charges to be in relation to the DMA work carried out. These charges will be published in the Carrier Price List.

November 2003

No further changes have been requested and so BT has sent supplemental agreements to all operators to incorporate the terms in interconnect agreements between BT and operators as required by Oftel's Determination.

The supplemental also includes changes to the Standard Interconnect Agreement resulting from the general contract review (April 2002). The documents showing the all the changes made to those documents may be viewed at April 2002 General Contract Review Updates