UK: The official yearbook of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland > 2003

Social and cultural affairs
17 The media and communications
Table 17.2 Telecommunications
statistics, UK
Call minutes 2001 Percentage change
(million) in call minutes
between 2000
and 2001
Fixed link
Local calls 75,945
National calls 54,947
International calls 8,073
Calls to mobile phones 13,440
Other calls' 147,599
All calls2 300,004
Cellular services
UK calls 43,089
Outgoing international calls 574
Calls while abroad 970
All calls 44,633
-6
7
9
19
54
22
26
37
15
26
1 Other calls include number translation services, premium rate calls,
directory enquiries, operator calls, the speaking clock, public
payphones and calls to Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
2 Figures may include a small amount of double counting, as in
some instances calls supplied by an operator to a reseller may be
counted by both operator and reseller.
Source: Oftel Market Information
Mobile communications
At the end of 2001 there were some 44.9 million
mobile phone users in the UK, 12 per cent more
than a year earlier. Call volumes are continuing to
rise, but at a slower rate as the market reaches
maturity. Text messaging is growing in popularity,
and the volume of text messages handled by
cellular network operators grew by 56 per cent in
2001. About 69 per cent of subscribers at the end
of 2001 were using pre-paid packages.
The four network suppliers in the UK are Orange
(part of France Telecom), MM02, Vodafone and
T-Mobile (a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom and
formerly known as One 2 One), with 12.4 million,
11.1 million, 11.0 million and 10.4 million
subscribers respectively at the end of 2001. There
are also around 50 independent service providers.
Vodafone is one of the worlds largest mobile
phone operators. It had over 101 million
customers worldwide through its operations in
28 countries in March 2002.
The next development in mobile phone services
will be the ‘third generation’ services, which will
provide users with high-speed access to the
Internet, e-mail facilities, video conferencing and
access to a large number of information services.
Five operators have licences in the UK: the four
network operators, together with Hutchison 3G.
Services are expected to begin later in 2002 and to
become widely available in 2003.
Regulation
Oftel (the Office of Telecommunications), a non-
ministerial government department headed by the
Director General of Telecommunications, is the
independent regulatory body for the
telecommunications industry. It promotes
competition in telecommunications networks and
services, and carries out regular reviews of
markets. It is encouraging greater broadband and
narrowband Internet access. During 2002/03 Oftel
will be undertaking work in preparation for the
proposed new Office of Communications (see
page 236), which would take over its functions.
In April 2002 the European Commission set out a
new European regulatory framework for European
electronic communications. The framework is
contained in four EC directives, covering all
telecommunications and broadcasting networks in
the EU, and will take effect in each Member State
in July 2003. Before implementation, country
regulators will be reviewing the
telecommunications markets to assess the need for
regulation, and in the UK Oftel will be conducting
an intensive examination of market competition.
The Internet
The Internet plays an increasingly important role
in the provision and distribution of information
and entertainment. Broadly speaking, it is a loose
collection of computer networks around the world
and links thousands of academic, government and
public computer systems, giving access to a wealth
of stored information and other resources. No one
owns the Internet and there is no centralised
controlling or regulating body.
The use of the Internet in the UK is growing
rapidly (see Figure 17.3). According to the ONS
Expenditure and Food Survey, in the first quarter
of 2002 an estimated 10.7 million households
(42 per cent) in the UK could access the Internet
from home, over three times the number in the
first quarter of 1999. Nearly all access the Internet
through a home computer, although a small
proportion access the Internet in another way,
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