OFTEL boss Cruickshank to quit

OFTEL chief Don Cruickshank will quit as the UK's telecommunications regulator next March. The announcement comes less than a week after the forthright Cruickshank said that the regulatory framework should change to accommodate the increasing convergence with IT.

In his five years in the post, Cruickshank has been a thorn in the side of BT, which he criticised over ISDN pricing, and of politicians. Commentators said Cruickshank's convergence comments had gone way beyond the remit set by government minister Margaret Beckett.