I can confirm that is indeed the case. Something I wrote a long time ago and although some of the dept names may have changed slightly.. its still the same.
All ISPs regardless do have to go through the same channels, its just that some are more efficient than others when it comes to dealing with BTo or BTw.. whilst some will fob off before getting BTw involved due to any charges that may be incurred.
I have on many occasions heard of BTr (ISP staff) implying that they have more weight with BTw/BTo when it comes to trying to make a 'sale' to a new customer, but this is baloney.. and OFCOM would come down on BT like a ton of bricks if ever such a case existed where BTr was given preference over any other LLU operator. However the telesale type BT staff who have implied this in the past has put doubts in peoples minds.
I'll call BT when theyve done wrong, but this is one instance where BT actually have it harder than some other SP's and the rules seem to be much harser on BT for certain things... and are stopped from doing some things that other SP's may be able to get away with.
Maybe BS can confirm whether this is still the case, but when I spent time with a BTo guy during one of my exchange visits, the engineer had no idea who their ISP was.. it wasnt even mentioned any where on the job that came in.
They even had WOOSH facility withdrawn for a while since it was considered an unfair advantage.. even though it was basically an essential diagnostic
Hi Kitz, apologies as I've only just read this.
Firstly, thank you for confirming my mutterings regarding 'Equivalence'. Your own post is bang-on the money about Ofcom, there really is no way anybody in our LOB would risk the slightest chance that they could get involved. It would be professional suicide, and in the first few years of being formed, we were constantly being made aware that breaking the 'Equivalence' COP, could result in losing our operators licence. It really is serious stuff.
Again, your observations are correct. In the early days we weren't made aware of who the SP/ISP was, as in reality, 'Equivalence' meant we didn't need to know ......... we just treat everbody on an equal footing. These days though, we are having to co-op more with ISP's when faulting circuits and therefore the name and cono of the company has to be made available to us. I say that with a wry grin as often, the ISP will request a co-op call, and then omit to enter any details of who they are and how to contact them.
Now then, WHOOSH. I've got a raft of e-mails saved on my works laptop all concerning access to WHOOSH and addressed to higher management. You are 100% correct Kitz, we did have access in the early days, then they revoked it as it was a BTw tool. We now have full access back and it is a god-send when working on high-volume repeat vists, or REIN-related tasks.
Cheers for the assistance in clearing up another potential myth.