Directory Enquiries Market Liberalisation Report

The first 200 words of this essay...

1 TERMS OF REFERENCE

1.1A report directed to the Telecommunications industry regulator Ofcom.

1.2 To advise Ofcom on the Directory Enquiries Market regarding

i. The Provision of directory enquiries services under the new regime implemented in August 2003

ii. Assessing the viability of operating within the industry

1.3 To determine the most suitable competitive strategy for operating within the industry and forecasting a future structure of the sector.

2 INTRODUCTION

In line with the revised EU Directives Framework agreed in March 2002, the Communications Act was implemented by Parliament on 25 July 2004. The act liberalised the market creating the opportunity for entrants to operate under "general conditions" of entitlement. On 23rd August 2003 BT's 192 telephone directory enquiries was discontinued, the directory enquiries sector (DQ) was opened up to allow competition and has to date seen over 100 private sector service providers.

The market is estimated to be worth £1.2bn; however, concerns have been expressed regarding the service charges and the confusion amongst the market place. The new market system is experiencing chaos and as analysts, this report, commissioned by Ofcom, aims to assess the DQ sector of