We heard evidence during our inquiry supporting the Government’s assessment that network operators’ preference for vendors with proven track records acts as a barrier to potential market entrants. The Government’s proposals to establish testing and validation facilities, and to reduce regulatory disincentives for network operators to integrate new vendors into their networks, align with the recommendations for addressing this barrier made by many of the contributors to our inquiry. Following consultation with industrial and other stakeholders, the Government should report on the required scale and specification of the National Telecoms Lab, to ensure that network operators trust the equipment that it validates for integration into their networks.