BT TO OPEN UP NETWORK TO LOCAL COMPETITION BY JULY 2001.

The British telecommunications regulatory authority, Oftel, announced on November 30 that British Telecom (BT) had until July 2001 to allow competitors to gain access to its local telephone network Oftel is hoping the operators will upgrade the network so as to be able to provide digital services to customers, including rapid access to the Internet. This means a large swathe of telecommunications companies will have the opportunity to compete directly with BT in offering new broadband services to private...