BT, Oftel and an unmetered mess

It is now so acceptable to bash BT that when business and marketing plans horribly backfire the telco is the natural scapegoat.

At least that was AltaVista's course of action after failing to deliver a service that consumers are crying out for.

But don't be fooled. AltaVista wasn't touting unmetered internet access 24x7 at £60 a year for the greater good. It was trying to pre-empt an announcement by NTL of a similar product, in a bid to gain an advantage.

The only difference is NTL delivered while AltaVista didn't.

Up against such aggressive marketing strategies, who can blame BT for wanting to hold on to its privileged position. It is, after all, a business answerable to shareholders. In fact, since being privatised, BT has no reason to do anything for the greater good, because whatever concessions it makes are likely to eat into its profits.

Which is why we have Oftel.

But once again, eyes are turning to the telecoms regulator, this time to find out:

- why in the UK it took WorldCom nine months to negotiate network access using Friaco, BT's flat rate unmetered wholesale product (the final pricing of which is still being agreed in this case)

- why it took Oftel six months to reach the conclusion that it needed to force BT's hand to offer Friaco

- why, after two months of negotiations, five of the biggest telcos are now discussing legal action to get BT to compromise over Friaco

BT's Friaco offer may well have been on the table since 1 June, thanks to Oftel, but if other telcos aren't jumping to sign contracts with BT that indicates it is a rather unattractive offer. After all, as we have seen with AltaVista, ISPs are desperate to launch services.