5 years ago... Oftel sharpens its teeth

Oftel... remember it?

15.01.1999: UK telecoms regulator Oftel has outlined the new powers it will gain under the new Competition Act, due to come into force by 2000. Oftel and the Office of Fair Trading have been chosen to enforce the law.

The Act has been drafted to fight anti-competitive business practices, giving its enforcers the power to seize documents and carry out searches of companies under suspicion of anti-competitive behaviour. Telcos that breach the Act could be fined as much as 10 per cent of their UK turnover.

Oftel director general David Edmonds said in a statement: "These powers will give Oftel more teeth. The penalties should force telecoms companies to be much more careful in the future."

15.01.2004: Well, if a week is a long time in politics, then five years is an eternity.

In the half decade that followed the publication of this story, Oftel faced accusations of toothlessness and a pro-BT stance. It was blamed for the slow rollout of broadband services, and it was slammed for permitting a perceived monopoly in the telco market and price-fixing cartels in the mobile sector.

Then, most importantly, it was binned and Oftel was no more - its activities brought within the overarching remit of super-regulator Ofcom. Very few people have bemoaned its demise.