THE chief executive of BT Group this weekend urged competitors to set aside their “culture of complaint” so that Britain can seize the opportunity presented by Ofcom’s review of the telecoms sector.

Ben Verwaayen said last week’s Ofcom review gave Britain a chance to become “the world No1” in telecoms, “with the best communications technology and networks for businesses and consumers”.

However, Verwaayen said: “A cultural change has to take place in our competitors.” They had to stop the “finger-pointing” — constantly blaming their problems on BT. “I understand that people want to vent and get 20 years of frustration off their chest, but they have had their day in the field now.”

Ofcom called on BT to make “substantial behavioural changes” to allow its rivals to have equal rights of access to its national network.

Verwaayen would not say how BT will change the way it deals with its rivals. “It’s not BT that has to demonstrate to the industry,” he said. “It’s the industry that has to demonstrate to each other.”

BT’s chief executive suggested the company’s rivals were to blame for the slow and bureaucratic processes that many of them complain of. He said BT’s staff had little alternative under the detailed rules imposed by Oftel, Ofcom’s predecessor. These even prescribe what BT’s call-centre staff can say to customers.

“Our competitors have contributed to writing all these detailed rules,” said Verwaayen. “If people simply follow the rules, it’s not surprising.”

Verwaayen said he did not want to deal with “the beating” BT received from Ofcom but “look to the opportunity we have ahead of us”. He said: “The document is the document. I take it as a starting point.”

He said Britain could be the world No1 “in innovation, in speed to market of new capabilities, in having the most broadband of broadband markets, where networks work together, whether they are fixed or mobile”.

Britain already had the world’s No1 mobile operator in Vodafone; more internet service providers than any other country in the world; “all kinds of technology companies”; and a regulator willing to make a fresh start.

Verwaayen added: “We have to be less harsh on ourselves. We have the most open and competitive market in Europe and, I would argue, in the world. We have the best coverage of broadband anywhere in the G7.”

David Russell at Ernst & Young said the challenge for BT was to demonstrate transparency and equivalence of access. As BT Wholesale’s largest customer, BT Retail would inevitably command greater attention than its smaller rivals just as a matter of commercial reality.

The Ofcom proposals — its final recommendations will not be published until next spring — have been widely welcomed by the telecoms industry.

Francesco Caio, chief executive of Cable & Wireless, said: “It’s not always the more the merrier when it comes to competition in telecoms. We need to be able to combine choice for consumers and business customers with the ability to generate adequate returns.”

BT’s share price closed the week at 195p.

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