Oftel report to resolve Friaco fiasco

Oftel is due to publish the findings of a technical report looking into whether wholesale, unmetered internet access can be made available for ISPs over BT's network.

The UK telecoms watchdog expects to make the findings public in the next few weeks and hopes it will resolve a stalemate in discussions between BT and a number of ISPs. The talks centred on a hybrid version of Friaco - the method BT planned to offer unmetered access to ISPs.

Matt Peacock, director of corporate communications at AOL, one of the ISPs affected, said: "There is no technical reason why consumers in the UK can't have truly unmetered access. If the only solution from BT still has a metered aspect we'd be very disappointed."

Lee Strafford, MD of PlusNet, said: "We've been waiting for a long time for BT to provide a fixed cost internet access service. But, caught in the middle, ISPs are struggling to provide services and consumers and businesses are losing out on huge savings."

The hybrid version of Friaco includes a flat rate connection between the end user and the local exchange, combined with a low but metered charge, to the ISP for internet traffic flowing between the local exchange and the digital main switching unit into which the operators connect.

The system was devised and agreed by Oftel to be an interim measure while BT negotiates with other service providers over how to make the entire connection between switch and local exchange unmetered as well.

According to BT, the service sets a precedent. A spokesman for the company said: "In most other countries the ISP would connect through to the local exchange - we are trying to agree terms for connection right up to the switch." He added that agreeing terms for an entirely flat rate would be difficult to cover costs and control bandwidth consumption.

But ISPs interested in the service say the hybrid version is not acceptable, and they could be waiting until early next year for Friaco in its original, unmetered form.

Long-time campaigner for unmetered internet access Erol Ziya, founder of the Campaign for Unmetered Telecoms (CUT), said a full version of Friaco would radically change whether ISPs could offer free internet access or not. He said: "A number of the free services are being undermined by the fact that they are being charged by the minute and don't have access to Friaco products."

Although Ziya welcomed the hybrid as a step in the right direction he argued: "It would only work if the cost to the ISP for traffic between the local exchange and the switch is very watered down."