BT is obliged, by deregulation laws dating back to November 1999
to offer local loop access to its competitors. “Local loop” refers
to the last mile or so of wire between telephone exchanges and
homes. BT’s 5500 exchanges connect over 25 million customers to the
BT network and although the local loop is viewed by some as an
antiquated piece of technology, its value to internet operators is
enormous by virtue of it offering a direct line into every
household in the country.
David Edmonds, The Director General of Telecommunications
said:
“These announcements provide further
clarification for operators planning to offer services over
unbundled local loops. Final prices for shared access to local
loops are lower than those originally proposed, following analysis
of additional information received by Oftel during the consultation
period.”
In addition, Oftel has stipulated that BT must not charge a firm
in advance for preparing a site inside a telephone exchange and
must not charge them a discriminatory rent for use of such
premises. In fact, Edmonds pointed out that “the rental charge is
now below the EU average.”
Although the changes will be viewed favourably by BT’s rivals,
less demand for broadband services than anticipated and decline of
the telecoms sector means that there are fewer companies still
around to enjoy the benefits.
Of the 40 companies which expressed interest in accessing BT’s
local loop a year ago, about 30 have abandoned their efforts and
several have gone bankrupt. Now there are only 5 companies actively
pursuing access to the local loop with a further 5 keeping the
option open.
