DIRECTORATE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS
HISTORY; HISTORY OVERVIEW
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Based on a document by Ian Aitken, then Head of Field Service Operations, prepared in 1990 as part of the name change to DTELS, with added text by Steven R. Cole covering the period 1990-1994


Following the name change to DTELS in 1990, the organisation continued to strive towards reducing it's cost base. It set about reviewing and improving working practices, investing in new technology and improving flexibility to meet the changing requirements of customers, coupled with government directive to operate on a more commercial footing.

For the department and staff, 1992 represented a period of major change. As part of the re-structuring exercise to steer the organisation towards the impending trade sale, a number of locations which had been an integral part of the business were closed and operation transferred to other sites. Some of the Headquarters staff who undertook core functions, such as regulatory and spectrum assignment, were transferred to the Home Office Radio Frequency and Communications Planning Unit (RFCPU).

Headquarters, which had been based in Central London since its inception, transferred operation in October 1992 to a new purpose built establishment at Ruddington Business Park, situated to the south of Nottingham. The 30,000 sq ft building housed the management board, together with a number of teams which included engineering consultancy, specialists, training, purchasing, sales and marketing. The operation, which consolidated work previously carried out at Horseferry House (old HQ), Stanmore, Harrow, Weyhill Maintenance Planning Group and Bishops Cleeve Technical Services ceased and staff either transferred to Ruddington or other parts of the organisation, or accepted redundancy terms.

Much of the work previously carried out at Bishops Cleeve and Weyhill Maintenance Units was transferred to the Kippax Maintenance Unit, situated to the east of Leeds. Some aspects were contracted out, such as the repair of the departments vast holding of test equipment.

During 1993 the department underwent a detailed trade sale as part of the governments privatisation initiative, in which the assets were placed on the open market. After being sifted to three prospective bidders, it was finally sold on the 1st March 1994 to National Transcommunications Limited Group (ntl) for a reported £6.5 million and became a company within the private sector.

The departments assets and staff were subsequently integrated into NTL Group and the Headquarters at Ruddington was closed during the latter half of 1994. Inevitably, this led to reduction in staffing levels as consolidation took place to realise efficiency gains.

It is not the intention of this site to explore the why's and wherefore's of what lead up to the cessation of DTELS as a public sector organisation. For many of the staff, it was a proud association to have worked in the department during it's illustrious fifty-five year period. It grew from the seeds of an idea in 1939 to become a major organisation with strong regulatory and technological direction, coupled with an enviable service base which was able to provide fast and localised high quality field support to a considerable and constantly growing number of Public Safety users.

Although there will be differences of opinion as to the merits of retention of the status quo, inevitably the department by nature of its business was ultimately undertaking a commercial type operation, which was probably difficult to sustain in a changing marketplace.

Source: Ian Aitken, additional material by Steven R. Cole

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