Select Committee ecommerce report welcomed by industry

Industry figures were today supporting recommendations made by a Trade and Industry Select Committee to put pressure on Oftel over the unbundling of the local loop.

The call came as part of a report by a cross-party House of Commons Select Committee on Ecommerce. The telcoms industry gave the ecommerce report a broad welcome today and called for unmetered local calls to drive UK Internet use.

Jonathan Robinson, MD of NetBenefit, said that the report was "broadly giving the right signals", however he felt that it could have been further distilled to just 4 or 5 important issues. "It is really important that free local calls are put on the agenda - this will drive the market, which will drive ecommerce," he said.

Dan Ridsdale, consultant at Ovum, agreed that a move to flat rate calls was what the industry was asking for, and would "definitely open up the market".

On the subject of the e-envoy reaction, Roger Till, director of E-Centre, agreed that the government was under an obligation to make some kind of statement on the subject. "The focal point they [an e-envoy] could give is very important - and the sooner the better," he said.

However NetBenefit's Jonathan Robinson was unsure of the e-envoy's worth, commenting that a government taskforce dedicated to getting issues right would do better.

The industry was united in appreciation of the recognition the report offered of the similarities between ecommerce and more traditional forms of trading. Roger Till commented: "A Bill with a strong stance on e-signatures and recognition that the electronic and paper environment are comparable - this will go a long way to building the confidence we are looking for."