The House of Commons Trade and Industry Committee today announced a decision to hold an inquiry into Ofcom’s Strategic Review of Telecommunications.

The committee say,

“In December 2003, Ofcom (the Office of Communications) launched its Strategic Review of Telecommunications (’the Telecoms Review’). It published its Phase Two consultation document in November 2004.

The Committee is inquiring into the review process to date, the interim conclusions reached in the Phase Two document, and the direction of the remainder of the Review. In the light of the Committee’s Report on the UK Broadband Market (Second Report of Session 2003-04, HC 321-I and II), the Committee will be focussing on the Review as it relates to the extensiveness and competitiveness of market for broadband in the UK, including local loop unbundling, and the functional separation of British Telecom.

The Committee would welcome written evidence on these or any other related issues by Friday 18 February 2005. Details of any oral evidence will be announced shortly after that date. If possible, written evidence should take the form of a memorandum with numbered paragraphs and should be submitted, as a MS Word document, by e-mail to tradeindcom@parliament.uk with a single hard copy sent to the Clerk at the address above.

For further information please contact the Committee Office on 020 7219 5777/ 5778″