Industry Engagement
Monthly Summary of Industry Engagement activities
Monthly summary report – July 2009
Date: July 2009
Important note
This document is supplied by BT to Communications Providers, being
customers of BT Wholesale and/or Openreach, as part of the Industry
Engagement team activities.
Details within it may be subject to change as a result of that process
and/or for technical, commercial or operational reasons.
Objective of summary document - this document aims to give a monthly précis of
activities via the Industry Engagement team, by workstream, for those who cannot
attend all of the working groups/ meetings. The summary document will not, of
course, provide all of the detail of the activities and it is recommended that, for fuller
information, the relevant documents and areas of the associated websites are
referred to.
Key information for this issue:
This document looks different – what’s changed and why? The Industry
Engagement team has evolved. Hopefully you will have seen the recent briefing
document C21-MG-30, or heard an update at various meetings or webcalls, which
give details of the team’s changes.
The team now has three distinct workstream areas; Consult21, Customer Experience
and Wholesale Futures. To provide clarity on the engagement areas for the three
workstreams we’ve changed several of our key documents, including this one, and
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hope that it makes it easier for you to read about the areas you are interested in and
the context of the discussions. Fuller information is included in the summary below,
including links to the associated briefings.
We of course welcome and value any feedback on this document and the changes
we’ve made – please email them to helen.nurse@bt.com
The Industry Engagement, which included Consult21, has evolved into three distinct workstreams
covering:
1) Consult21 – hopefully you are aware of the Consult21 team and there is no change to its original remit. This
workstream focuses on consultation between BT and Communication Providers on BT’s 21st Century Network
(21CN) programme and plans, in particular relating to the obligatory products and planned migrations to 21CN
network / products to ensure industry are aware of the 21CN vision and progress towards it, achieve a shared
understanding and ensure industry has an opportunity to input and influence 21CN development and activities.
2) Customer Experience – this workstream aims to ensure that BT Wholesale is truly listening to requirements to
ensure an excellent customer experience for Communication Providers, including activities on Right First Time
and Cycle time as applied to key business processes. Some Customer Experience activities were previously
conducted under Consult21.
3) Wholesale Futures – this new workstream will collaborate with industry on BT’s future non-obligatory product
developments, focussing on delivering new and enhanced wholesale products to meet specific market needs and
introducing new areas for discussion. A lot of the recent broadband work, for example relating to WBC using Fibre
to the Cabinet (FTTC), will move from Consult21 into this workstream.
These three workstreams provide clarity and context for our activities and each has its own programme
look and feel to help with the separation, these can be seen in the monthly summaries below. For this
reason we’ve aligned several of our key documents to show the changes, using either the “umbrella
term” of Industry Engagement or the specific workstream.
As well as enhancing our document and briefings we’ll also be making changes to our website areas
and our distribution lists.
Please refer to the following link for fuller information and details of the changes you will see over the
next few months: Evolution of the Consult21 team
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Activity area
July 09 summary
Associated
working group
(if applicable)
Service Availability
Schedule
As part of our ongoing commitment to gain CP
understanding around the datasets a document
briefing 21CN network inventory (C21-NS11) was up issued on 13 July 2009. This briefing
gives a thorough explanation of the datasets and
the relationship between them and covers the
latest changes following the recent e-survey and
bi-laterals. To view the briefing please visit: Service
availability (dataset) descriptions
The candidate list of sites for migration, beyond
Pathfinder Volume POTS, is currently being
prepared and will be shared via the normal
deployment schedule publication.
The next Broadband summary webcall will take
place on 7th September 09 at 10.30am for one
hour. This webcall (depending on the agenda
topics) will cover both Consult21 and Wholesale
Futures workstreams and hence has been listed in
each of these areas.
Forthcoming 21CN /
Consult21 webcalls
Comms
Registration for the webcall is via:
https://cossprereg.btci.com/prereg/key.process?key=PK9
BFWB9C
21CN / Consult21 webcalls
held
1) The latest 21CN Quarterly update webcall was
held on 27th July 09. Replay details and slides
used on the call can be found via:
Comms
Slides and Replay
2) Broadband Summary Update Webcall – a
webcall was held on 23rd June 09 to provide
customers with a general update on current
broadband consultation and product development
activities. This one hour session provided an
opportunity for customers to get the latest
information in a consolidated way and also have
access to a panel of broadband product experts to
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Most recent consultation
documents (Condocs)
support any questions. The agenda for last month
included details from the IPstream and Datastream
consultations as well as a review of the updated
product roadmaps for WBC and WBMC and an
insight into the FTTC pilot. The call was recorded
and is available for replay via Broadband Summary
Update 23 June 09 .
There are currently no open consultations that
require responses.
IPstream EUA withdrawal consultation – CP
feedback is currently being reviewed and an
interim summary briefing will be issued in early
August 09.
Key Consult21 documents
update
Pathfinder and moving into
Pathfinder Volume POTS
An interim closure document on the NGN contract
options has been published with a final closure
document to be issued shortly.
The 21CN Deployment Strategy Plan (DSP)
(C21-MG-015) was published on 15th July 2009
and now incorporates the broader view of the
21CN product portfolio previously published in the
21CN Overall Product Plan (C21-MG-016). The
document draws together BT’s current view of its
21CN deployment plans including points of
interconnection, regulated product availability and
migration plans on an exchange by exchange
basis. The 21CN Deployment Strategy is updated
on a quarterly basis and can be found in the
Secure area of the Consult21 website –
www.btwholesale.com/consult21
If you require access to the Secure area of the
website please email consult21@bt.com
The 21CN network remains very stable with circa
2.5 million calls per week being carried across it.
Implementation &
Migration (IMWG)
Preparations are continuing in readiness for the
next phase of voice migrations, again in the South
Wales area, known as Pathfinder Volume POTS
and the associated Call Server and MSAN
upgrades.
In the latest issue of the 21CN Deployment
Strategy Plan the Pathfinder voice trials strategy
has been clarified into seven key elements: Pathfinder1 (current South Wales
deployment of up to 75k lines)
 Pathfinder Volume POTS (previously
referred to as Pathfinder 275k)
 Huawei ISDN Service Trial (a BT own-use*
service trial at 3 national sites using Huawei
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MSANs)
Huawei Northern Ireland (migration of
POTS/ISDN customers)
 Fujitsu ISDN Service Trial (a BT own-use
service trial at nominated Pathfinder sites in
South Wales using Fujitsu MSANs)
 Pathfinder Volume All Voice Products
(previously known as Thamesmead and
Redditch)
 Pathfinder ISDN (migration of ISDN
customers on the Pathfinder exchanges in
South Wales).
* Own-use: In this context own-use refers to live
BT internal traffic being used to prove the service
before we open it up to CP traffic.

The previous term of Pathfinder+ has on the whole
been consumed into the new elements but with the
redundant projects such as the SIP call server,
WVC and WBCC removed.
Smart Divert workshop
Part of the readiness for Pathfinder Volume POTS
will be the migration of groomed lines, which were
not migrated to 21CN and currently remain on the
20C network, this includes Smart Divert lines. To
prepare for the migration of these a specific
workshop is planned for 5th August 09, details of
which can be found on the planner via link:
IMWG
www.btwholesale.com/c21mp
The workshop will focus on ensuring a full
understanding of the customer experience,
mapping the impacts and producing initial
proposals for customer communications. The
output from the workshop will be submitted to the
wider 21CN programme team for agreement and
will be followed up with a series of meetings
(expected to be live meetings or audios) in order to
gain final agreement and track the activities
through to conclusion.
TDM / Ethernet
The TDM experts sub group met on 15th July 09.
(Wholesale)
The first trial as part of the implementation of the
agreed 2Mbit/s and above strategic solution
(technology swap outs within the core network to
sustain the current service) has been announced
to commence later this year.
Consult21
experts group
Good progress has been made on the feasibility
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study for the sub 2Mbit/s and analogue services,
however some detailed questions are still being
pursued with our potential suppliers. The feasibility
study is looking at both a 21CN compatible solution
to deliver a sub 2Mbit/s interface and to extend the
life time of the current delivery methods.
Further information may be found at: TDM experts
Ethernet (Openreach)
The latest Openreach Ethernet forum was held on
16th July 09 and information may be found at
http://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/products/etherne
t/forum.do#3
MSA Contracts
The NGN contract options consultation is drawing
to a close with five responses received. An interim
closure document has been published, a final
closure for this consultation will be released in the
next few weeks. The interim closure document
can be found via:
Contracts
NGN CC Contracts options Interim conclusions
IPstream EUA withdrawal consultation – we are
now in the process of reviewing all the CP
feedback that we have received during the
consultation and will be issuing an interim
summary briefing as well as holding an update
webcall early in August 09. The intention is to
conclude the consultation by the end of August 09.
To date, six CPs have provided formal
responses/attended bi-laterals in addition to the 12
other CPs that attended the workshop held on 21st
May 09. More details will follow via the Consult21
Meeting Planner and weekly Broadband cascade.
Broadband
Consult21
experts group
Datastream withdrawal consultation – the
current consultation has now drawn to a close and
the final briefing document will be issued by the
end of July 09. We have been working very closely
with many of our Datastream customers during the
consultation period and all future engagement
relating to the withdrawal of this product will now
switch to bi-lateral discussions. The Product Line
will be leading these bi-laterals and the aim of
these sessions will be at work with customers to
understand and develop their individual migration
strategies. If you wish to request a bi-lateral,
please e-mail simon.brisbourne@bt.com
Activities that were undertaken in the Consult21
Systems & processes
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systems and processes working group will now be
aligned to the Customer Experience workstream.
Portfolio working group
As part of the Industry Engagement team evolution
the Consult21 Portfolio working group will no
longer continue. Any ongoing expert groups that
were associated with the Portfolio working group
will continue as applicable as stand alone expert
groups. Any cross-portfolio issues will be
discussed via the Consult21 Steering Board.
Consult21
experts group
The BT Wholesale Customer Experience system and process interface
workshop was held on 20th July 09. The workshop brought together BT
Wholesale’s system architects and designers and their counterparts
from Communication Providers and provided ideal forum for sharing
information and ideas on BT Wholesale’s systems architecture,
strategy and plans for the processes, principles and interfaces. The
workshop included focus groups to drill down into areas for
improvement and how to collaborate better with customers throughout
the C2M life-cycle.
Slides from the workshop and the output from the focus groups can be
found via:
BT Wholesale Customer
Experience workshops held
Systems & process interface workshop
For the latest details of the CE programme please see:
http://www.btwholesale.com/21CCE
WBC End User Migrations
‘Knowledge Sharing’
Webcall
WBC End User Migrations ‘Knowledge Sharing’ Webcall – customers
that are currently going through Service Establishment for the new
WBC/WBMC products or are actively considering this were invited to
attend a webcall on 15th July 09 to provide an overview of the
migration processes and share some ‘top tips’ for best practice. In
addition to providing customers with some useful strategies for
planning their migrations, the call also provided an insight into some of
the performance improvements. The call generated a lot of interest and
was attended by over 45 individuals from 19 different CPs – the webcall
was recorded and the replay is available to download via WBC
Migrations 15th July 09
We are always keen to get feedback on how well these sessions have
met your expectations and also provide us with a steer on what the
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next steps may need to be, for this reason an online survey following
the webcall has been developed and, if you attended it, your feedback
would be much appreciated.
You can access the survey via
http://www2.formwize.com/run/survey3.cfm?ID=1863&close=1
Business requirements
workshop
A workshop has been scheduled for Monday 3rd August 09 in London
to continue on from initial discussions held during the Market Sector
workshops in April 09. This session will also tie-in some of the work
that has been ongoing as part of the Datastream/SDSL withdrawal
discussions and will also contribute towards the ongoing FTTC product
development. The aim will be to understand customers requirements
for ‘business quality’ broadband in more detail in terms of speed,
functionality/features and service levels etc as well as exploring what
other value added opportunities/market trends we may need to
consider. BTW will also be sharing some updates on the key roadmap
items e.g. Real Time QoS, Annex M and the Service Harmonisation. If
you wish to register for this workshop, please e-mail
felicity.webster@bt.com
WBC/WBMC FTTC Pilot
We are continuing to work closely with the CPs that are involved in the
collaborative trial of Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) at Muswell Hill
(London) and Whitchurch (Cardiff) with the first CP order successfully
placed at the beginning of July 09. The objective of the pilot is to test
the product, system interfaces and processes for launch. The trial
processes that we are adopting will also enable customers to work in
collaboration with BTW to develop the service and roadmap for launch
and follows on from the consultation held at the end of 2008 to spec
out the product definition. The first end user went live on 17th July 09
Super fast Broadband
Britain
An introductory webcall was held on 1st July 09 to share more details
on the opportunities on the Regional Development Agency funding
opportunity in Cornwall. BT has been shortlisted as part of a
competitive bid to work with Cornwall County Council and South West
Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) to deliver, promote and
encourage the use of the Next Generation Broadband (NGB)
infrastructure and end user applications amongst consumers. This call
was followed up by a workshop on 8th July 09 where discussions were
focused on how CPs can collaborate with BTW. If any customers were
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unable to attend the workshop, but are interested in finding out more,
please e-mail liz.e.walsh@bt.com. The webcall replay is available via
http://www.livemeeting.com/cc/bt_uk_event1/view
Note: you’ll need to enter your name, the recording ID (K6720406) and
Key (561989)
The next Broadband summary webcall will take place on 7th September
09 at 10.30am for one hour. This webcall (depending on the agenda
topics) will cover both Consult21 and Wholesale Futures workstreams
and hence has been listed in each of these areas.
Forthcoming Wholesale
Futures webcalls
Registration for the webcall is via:
https://cossprereg.btci.com/prereg/key.process?key=PK9BFWB9C
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1 Document history
Date
Comment
Author
July 09
Issued to distribution list & posted onto the website
Helen Nurse
2 Enquiries
To help us ensure that this document is of value and meets its objective, we would be very
interested in your feedback - please email helen.nurse@bt.com with any comments you may
have and for any general enquiries on Industry Engagement.
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