Looking Forward to the Next 12 Months with Consult21

This will be a very exciting year for Consult21 with the launch of Pathfinder planned for November in Cardiff. It is also a year of huge challenge for everyone involved in the Consult21 process to ensure that all of the consultations involved with delivering 21CN can be conducted in a timely and effective manner.

“Our strategy has a number of elements but our primary aim remains to consult with our customers on aspects of the 21CN programme” explained Allison. “This ensures we can share knowledge on the design and implementation while engaging in formal consultation on specific aspects of the programme. It is part of the Consult21 team's role to manage this process in a timely and efficient manner. We will therefore be working with our customers over the coming months to improve and refine this process so that it best meets the needs of all the stakeholders involved.”  

The Consult21 team will continue to actively encourage participation from all customers, whether large or small, and to encourage them to work together with BT on the programme deliverables. They are one of the main routes, to take feedback into the business so that customers have an opportunity to input into 21CN developments. Those customers involved in the detailed planning around Pathfinder and the rollout, will have seen that the Consult21 team have already taken issues raised by customers back into the plans and changed BT’s intentions as a result.

Allison went on to say “Over this past year there has been a number of questions and issues that we have not been able to answer.  Since the programme has now progressed towards the implementation phase, we are now in a position to provide far more detail to customers, in particular about some of the more complex issues that have arisen. We will be providing regular programme updates and technical information to industry throughout the year.”

Customers have told us however, that the Consult21 team need to improve how they communicate, what they communicate and the frequency with which they do so. The team know the challenge is to be able to keep customers appraised of all key aspects of the programme on one level, whilst providing more detail for those that need it, without ‘drowning people in a torrent of information’. Consult21 know that the consulting process takes time. Customers have asked if there are ways the Consult21 activity can be summarised. This bulletin with its working group headline updates has been set up to help facilitate this – but there is more that needs to be done. This is an ongoing dialogue, and the Consult21 team will be seeking your feedback over the year to find out what would best help you get involved and stay involved with the Consult21 process.

Plans are underway to do more of the ‘deep dive’ specialist events that allow us to drill in to the detail around the programme which have proved so popular with customers. Consult21 are finalising details of the next one which is expected to be on systems at the end of July. They are also exploring the use of different media to provide information, e.g. by holding Webinars to give regular updates.

This year also sees one of change with the advent of NGNUK. Consult21 will be working closely with this new industry body, and are currently migrating some of our existing working group activities into their consultation process.

Finally, Allison concluded, “We know that many of you are asking for more details on 21CN benefits, and new products and services that will gradually become available. This is an area of special focus this year, firming up on the product roadmaps and product features as the development plans progress.

Our overall aim continues to be to work closely with customers to ensure full involvement in our transition onto the new network.  Enabling as many of our customers as possible to engage in the Consult21 process is fundamental to how we want to work together, let us help you our customers, in any way we can, to achieve this aim”.