The Oftel Director General last night announced that he has demanded to see the plans the four UK mobile phone companies have put in place to cope with the Christmas demand. If these plans are not satisfactory Oftel will order the companies to make the necessary improvements.

Oftel is working to ensure that the expected 3.5m purchasers of pre-pay mobile phones in the run up to Christmas do not experience the problems faced by consumers last year. The surge of demand in 1998 left the mobile phone companies struggling to cope with demand at peak times.

The Director General, David Edmunds, said at an industry dinner last night that, "consumers need accurate information from mobile phone suppliers on the level of service they can expect to receive when purchasing their pre-pay phone."

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