Interview with Hull UK ISP KC (KCOM Group) - Page 5 - ISPreview
Interview with UK Broadband ISP KC (KCOM Group)
By: Mark Jackson - November 29th, 2010 : Page 5 -of- 5
"it is counterintuitive to believe that refusing KC permission to offer bundles is against the consumer interest"

KC KCom UK Office Building PictureUK ISP KC Logo Q13 - There's plenty of research to show that demand for online video and TV services (e.g. YouTube, BBC iPlayer, SeeSaw) is growing at an exponential rate each year. Some ISPs, especially the largest providers, are finding it hard to keep up with consumer demand and appear fearful of the threat to their bottom line.

The situation looks set to get more complicated next year when YouView (Project Canvas), a supposedly open UK broadband TV standard, finally surfaces. BT Wholesale has already announced a new Content Delivery (CDN) platform to help, although that is unlikely to solve all of the problems.

What is the best solution to this issue and, crucially, can it be tackled without sacrificing the principal of Net Neutrality, which seeks to treat all internet traffic as equal?

Answer:

I believe we will see the rise of services that are structured to support streaming services and if customers require an unmanaged service there will be a premium to pay for it. We should not lose sight of the fact that traffic management and contention allows the low broadband prices we enjoy.

Q14 - Ofcom recently proposed to remove restrictions on your ability to bundle services (e.g. broadband and phone), which was imposed after the regulator found that KC still had Significant Market Power (SMP) in the Hull area.

Since then KC has opened up a little, although some of your customers still tell us that they remain disappointed at the lack of non-KC choice in the area and feel that this is a potentially more significant disadvantage than not being able to buy slightly cheaper bundles. They fear that softening regulation could in fact prevent more competition in the area.

Rival ISP TalkTalk recently commented, "Allowing KCOM to bundle telephony and broadband will only serve to damage if not completely destroy any prospects of competitive retail market entry into Hull." How does KC respond and address such clearly important concerns?

Answer:

It has been possible for competitors to enter Hull for a number of years now and to date none have.  In light of this fact we have put to Ofcom that it is counterintuitive to believe that refusing KC permission to offer bundles is against the consumer interest.  It is also interesting to note that at the same time that Talk Talk issued their statement on bundles they also declared they have no interest in offering their services in Hull.  So the question is really should customers be prevented from enjoying the added value of bundles under the banner of wanting to create competition or should Ofcom, the body set up to protect customers interests allow us to offer bundles and deliver added value to our customers?  What would you do?

[ISPreview Editors Note: Since first asking this question Ofcom has officially allowed KC to bundle broadband and phone services in the Hull area (news article). However rivals point out that while KC does offer some degree of wholesale solution, there remains no effective equivalent of BT Openreach's WLR3 services, or even SMPF/MPF wholesale access. This is the primary reason for many operators choosing not to enter the market]

End.

ISPreview.co.uk would just like to thank Nick Thompson for taking the time to respond, especially considering the occasionally sensitive nature of our questioning.

Bookmark and Share
Article Index:
Sponsored

Copyright © 1999 to Present - ISPreview.co.uk - All Rights Reserved - Terms  ,  Privacy and Cookie Policy  ,  Links  ,  Website Rules