phone

MJR: The Phone Coop

I'm a member of and agent AG471 for the Phone Coop, which is a consumer cooperative the provides telephone lines, calls and broadband service to customers in the UK.

Annual Meeting

Posted by mjr 2008-02-15 (permalink)

agmphoto Saturday 2 February 2008 was the annual meeting of the Phone Coop (agent link). I travelled to Chipping Norton for it and took a few abbreviated notes, which I've expanded slightly here. Ask questions if you want, but it's already fading in my memory:-

Local Loop Unbundling workshop: 20 years of calls for it. 1999 ofcom announced 01 eu announced. 05 threat to breakup BT. 06 openreach split. By 2007-04 there were 2million unbundled. Distribution points and cabinets. Exchange may make even cheaper faster video. TPC LLU should launch this summer. Should take minutes to transfer. Equivalence problems - want evidence of when BT is preferred. Alarm lines: coop unable to take some.

Broadband workshop: at year 2000 launch was a .5M service for GBP 40pcm. Now charge represents use. The coop has 4 ADSL specialists and it accounts for 15pc of income. Bought in three parts: tails are the links to the customers, bandwidth is then 155 or 622M fused 60m base plus extra. Home contention is 50:1, business is 20:1. Available in bundles. My.phone.coop offers a usage view with only a day's delay - might be a first for retail broadband.

Ambassadors workshop: Harness cooperative difference. Customers can help to get more customers. Possibly give half our local adverts to our phone agency. Interaction with agent scheme unknown yet. Someone asked about running cinema ads.

AGM: intros apologies evaluations mugs window stickers 1b 565m mins. Directors report record sales and growth. Profit again. Service progress: 2nd of 19 in Which surveys. Sven is new manager. Midcounties. Sustainability fund. Finances. Highest dividend. Sales mix changed kind rental growth. Costs down 200k. 9k postage saving. Record balance sheet. Recruiting membership manager and secretary. Currently 6735 members. Negotiating .5k sales acquisition - no info to members yet as commercially sensitive. Shortlisted for green business awards on 12 march.

Questions: Mobiles? high volume only economic. What is cws? Cooperative Wholesale Society, part of the Cooperative Group. Member profile. Coop purchases. Diversity. Southern acquisitions? Regulator Dependent. Name. Biodiesel. Satisfaction, corp members, large corp custs. Miles travelled. Walking payments. Group promotion of AOL is annoying. Third party card discouraged? Member-account links. Larger affinity. Works bus. 1 against scrutineer. Directors spend on average 4 hours a week on the coop.

Pete Boyd commented:

"Thanks for this, I found it informative.

For anyone interested in the my.phone.coop that MJRay mentions, which I was but found the domain name didn't work, you have to go to http://thephone.coop/paperless "

and his later comment added:-

"Actually, https://my.phone.coop will get you there."

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