BT fights back over e-slowdown allegations

BT is not holding back the e-economy in the UK, according to Sir Iain Vallance, chairman of BT.

In his keynote speech at the TMA (Telecommunications Managers Association) Conference in Brighton, Vallance said: "It now seems to be taken as fact that because of its legacy systems, BT is inhibiting usage and pricing of Internet access. Clearly we have lost the war of words in the e-economy," but he added, "Perception has lost contact with reality."

Vallance's first defensive point was regarding the rollout of DSL. He told conference delegates that BT has not held back for the reasons suggested by government ministers, lobbyists and the media - such as maintaining its bloated leased line market - but because, "Broadband technology is a complex and costly choice - it is non-trivial. Timing, economics and fitness for purpose are critical."

His second key point concerned the cost of dial-up access to the Internet. Vallance said BT was forced to be the taxman of the telecoms market because the Number Translation Service means it collects only a very small percentage of what the customer pays - the Internet Service Provider (ISP) takes the bulk of it. But BT still "gets the rap" for high prices, he added.

However, Erol Ziya, co-founder of the Campaign for Unmetered Telecommunications, said that on this point at least, Vallance was not revealing the whole picture. Ziya insisted: "The statistics used to demonstrate Vallance's point were only for peak charges, when you look at the off-peak it is a different story - BT takes about 50 per cent."

Martin Hart, chairman of the TMA was also dismissive of Vallance's arguments. "In my opinion, what we heard was a defensive reason to explain why it hasn't done more and that is not enough," he said.

And it seemed Vallance didn't manage to convince the audience. Shortly after his speech, a vote was taken on whether the delegates thought BT has been unfairly treated with regards to its strategy for Internet access. More than 60 per cent said no.