NICC

From LINX Public Affairs

NICC Standards Ltd, formerly the Network Interoperability Consultative Committee is an industry-led body affiliated with Ofcom that determines certain technical standards relating to telco interconnect and, latterly, NGN interconnect. Many of its active members are also involved with ETSI, which is important to keep UK standards aligned with European ones; numerous ETSI standards are developed out of NICC's work.

NICC has a slightly ambivalent relationship with Ofcom due to the latter's reluctance to be seen to be interfering in technical standards and its desire that such matters should be decided by industry. NICC participants however often want Ofcom's "blessing" for their work. This desire for Ofcom endorsement has a number of causes:

• NICC, as a voluntary body, has no regulatory standing. NICC participants can be concerned that companies, even (perhaps especially) the companies they work for, will not feel justified in taking active steps to implement NICC standards unless there is regulatory backing to create a business case.
• Ofcom does have overarching regulatory requirements in the General Conditions, but these are phrased in extremely broad terms that do not obviously map to implementable technical instructions without guidance. Telcos seek that guidance, which Ofcom refuses to give. They therefore develop, in the form of NICC Standards, a consensus view of what Ofcom should say if it were to issue that guidance and seek, to the maximum extent possible, to create a general understanding that these standards interpret the General Conditions. This is thought to reduce uncertainty about regulatory compliance.

Despite Ofcom's reluctance to formally endorse NICC Standards, it does support the existence of NICC as a forum for industry to develop technical consensus. Ofcom has historically provided some practical secretarial support and use of office space; however, following NICC's incorporation in Autumn 2008 and the introduction of subscription fees in 2009, reliance on Ofcom's practical support is expected to end.