When do you expect end-users across the UK to start moving to 21CN?
It’s underway. More than 75,000 end users have been successfully migrated to 21CN voice services in South Wales and already thousands of end users are receiving 21CN broadband services.
BT Wholesale has signed Ethernet deals worth £750 million and is now supporting four of the UK’s five mobile operators as they strive to cope with the ever-increasing end user demand for mobile broadband services. Wholesale Ethernet is providing solutions for fixed operators too.
BT is helping its wholesale customers move forward as quickly as possible to introduce end user products taking full advantage of this major investment.
How will the introduction of 21CN affect me as a customer? What do I need to do now?
Initially BT is focusing its activity on delivering exciting new wholesale products and services over 21CN to drive voluntary migration onto the new platform.
Communications providers (CPs) can choose to provide products and services based on these wholesale services for end users connected to 21CN broadband-enabled exchanges. However as these are new services, not upgrades of what’s available today - CPs will take time to implement new services for end users. They need to develop and market end user products and services, putting in place their systems and processes to underpin the customer experience.
How will end users be advised of their move to 21CN?
During the windows of customer-led migration, CPs and ISPs will market their new products and services and be responsible for communicating practical information to those end users signing-up for next generation services.
Switched-On - a pan-industry, independently branded communications programme for all end users – will continue to offer consumers and small, single premise businesses help with general 21CN–related enquiries, referring specific queries to communications providers. Visitors can either visit the Switched-On web site or call 0800 030 4000.
Communications providers will continue to deliver direct updates to corporate customers based on centrally agreed briefing materials.
What is Consult21?
21CN is challenging for large parts of the industry. Recognising this, BT took a strategic decision to be fully transparent and to take a wholly inclusive approach. It is consulting widely with operators, vendors, customers and policy makers. To ensure these key stakeholders can contribute to BT's plans we created Consult21, the largest voluntary industry consultation programme of its kind any where in the communications world today.