Steering the Right Course
Overseeing the work of all of the Consult21 Working Groups is the Industry Steering Board: the joint BT/industry advisory body for the Consult21 programme. News21 spoke to the Board’s Co-Chair, Huw Saunders, the Group Regulatory Affairs and Technology Development Director of Kingston Communications, to get an insight into who’s on the Board — and what their role is.
What is the Industry Steering Board and what’s its purpose?
The Industry Steering Board was set up in January 2005 with the task of providing a framework within which industry and BT can together ensure that everything’s going in the right direction on the Consult21 programme, deliver what’s required on time and take account of Ofcom policy. We’re also here as the escalation point for resolving any issues that crop up in the Working Groups along the way.
How many people are on the Board – and how were they selected?
There’s myself and Jo Upward of BT Wholesale as Co-Chairs. Then there are eight industry participants. Each one was invited to represent a ‘community of interest’ as well as their own company. So they are the voice of the Mobile Operators, the ISPs, the cable companies, the Fixed Line Operators and the smaller Service Providers. BT Retail/Global Services, BT Group and Openreach are also represented. The heads of the Consult21 Industry Liaison and Industry Consultation also attend the meetings.
How does it operate?
The Board meets monthly. Each month the ‘buddy’ of each Working Group is responsible for providing us with a minuted report of what’s been discussed and actioned in their Group meeting. So this gives us the essential overview of what’s been happening in the past four weeks. The Working Group buddies and Co-Chairs are also welcome to talk to us direct if they have any key issue or topic they’d like to bring to the Board’s attention or discuss in detail and they can do this by phone or in person.
Why did you accept the invitation to Co-Chair the Board?
I felt I had the right combination of experience for the role — both to understand and deal with the technical challenges and on the regulatory side. It’s a mix of skills that perhaps not many other people in the industry might have. I also welcomed the chance to get a far broader perspective. My own company — Kingston Communications — is one of the smaller ones in the UK marketplace so this is a great opportunity for me — and us — to see what’s happening across every aspect of communications. And in this respect I also make a point of regularly attending other Working Group meetings on the topics that particularly interest me — Interconnect, Network Structure and Implementation & Migration — but obviously without my Industry Steering Board hat on.
What would you rate as the main achievement ofthe Industry Steering Board to date?
I think the fact that the UK’s communications companies are all still talking to each other! It’s testimony that where there have been issues or points of disagreement in the past two years, the Industry Steering Board has been successful in finding a resolution to them. So there’s been no breakdown in communications that could have potentially halted or delayed the progress of the 21CN programme.
What’s the most challenging aspect of the Board’s role?
The question we repeatedly ask ourselves is “How can we best reach the most equitable outcome here for all concerned?” For us that means the right solution not just for every communications industry sector and for BT but also for every end-customer too. There’s a big ongoing challenge in the diplomacy required to broker the deals to achieve that.
And the most fulfilling aspect?
The fact that we’re meeting that most challenging aspect with success and that we’ve helped the Working Groups and the 21CN programme to hit the Pathfinder pilot on schedule.