Staying equivalent

In 2005, BT gave legally binding Undertakings to Ofcom which resulted in the creation of an access services division – Openreach – to provide services to all communications providers (CPs) on an equivalent basis. This applies to both BT and external CPs.

Every CP has the same product or service provided on the same timescales, terms and conditions (including price and service levels) by means of the same systems and processes.

What do the Undertakings actually mean and how do they affect you?

The Undertakings are built on five key principles:

1. Equivalence of Inputs (EOI) – we use the same processes within our products for all CPs.
2. Sharing information – we are obliged to share commercial information (CI) about things such as product launches with all CPs in the same way to ensure that no-one gains a commercial advantage.
3. Protecting your information – we have a duty to ensure that your customer confidential information (CCI) is protected, and is not shared inappropriately.
4. Systems – the systems and processes we use to deliver products are the same for all CPs, so everyone experiences the same degree of reliability and performance. We have invested millions of pounds in creating the B2B gateway to make this possible.
5. Incentivisation – Openreach people have a Scorecard (for personal bonus incentivisation) which reflects our responsibilities to deliver fair and equal access to products. Openreach is not incentivised by the performance of any other division of BT.