3.6 Some end users have complained that they are having to pay more under the new system for moving and changing telephones than they did previously. The Department consider that this apparent increase is due to the fact that users and local budget holders are now being made more aware of the actual costs of changing their requirements than before.
3.7 Under the contract, telephone operator services have become centralised, with four large operator centres being constructed and implemented. Previously, some bases had their own local operator service, which had greater local knowledge than is now available, and some end users have complained about the lack of knowledge under the new arrangements. The Department are now following the practice in other large organisations which have sought cost efficiencies by reducing local operator services.
3.8 There have also been problems with the new operator service's handling of emergency calls, though there have been no serious incidents in response to an emergency to date as a result. While any new system is likely to encounter teething problems during the early period of its implementation and operation, we would have expected particular efforts to be made to avoid them affecting emergency services. We note that BT were aware of these problems and that these were reducing in April 1999.