ComReg sets out broadband milestones

ardmacha

from rte.ie

ComReg sets out broadband milestones

May 30, 2006 18:41

Communications regulator ComReg has called on all sides of the telecommunications industry to re-engage in an industry forum to facilitate progress on Local Loop Unbundling.

LLU is a critical component in ensuring that consumers are provided with a wide choice of innovative and keenly priced broadband services. It is seen as vital to the country's competitiveness.

ComReg has called Eircom and other operators to a meeting tomorrow to move any outstanding LLU issues forward. The regulator says it will intervene 'robustly' to move things forward.

The regulator says that Eircom and the other operators have been working together in recent months in an effort to to solve some of the LLU issues. However, ComReg says that the other operators still think that Eircom's proposals fall below their requirements.

With a view to resolving these outstanding matters, ComReg has been meeting the parties over the past number of weeks to develop a programme to address the key issues. It has allotted the following milestones:

1 - May 31 - Meeting convened by ComReg for Eircom and other operators to resume progress on LLU issues
2 - June 19 - Eircom to permit operators to decide the method by which broadband is delivered when customers are taking calls and line rental from other operators.
3 - July 31 - ComReg to identify next steps around enabling customers to switch products and services seamlessly
4 - August 8 - An interim product to be available to allow customers to keep their existing phone number when changing broadband supplier
5 - August 8 - Commence development of a long term solution to permit customers to keep their existing phone number when changing broadband supplier.

'ComReg now expects all operators to work together on this important programme,' commented ComReg Commissioner John Doherty.

'While I welcome the progress that has been made over the past four weeks, ComReg intends to monitor progress on all the agreed areas in the coming weeks and is prepared to intervene robustly if necessary,' he added.

There are currently 330,000 broadband subscribers in Ireland, with take-up increased by 114% in the past 12 months.

* ALTO, the body representing new entrant operators in Ireland's telecoms market, today welcomed ComReg's 'roadmap' to un-bundle the local loop but warned that swift action must be taken by the regulator if Eircom continued to delay the process.

MunsterCycling

Seeing as I got beaten to it here is the link to the article:

http://www.rte.ie/business/2006/0530/comreg.html

But will this really change anything, €ircon will just take any changes to court once again mst likely.

bk

MunsterCycling wrote:

But will this really change anything, €ircon will just take any changes to court once again mst likely.

Maybe, maybe not. Eircom are very good at playing this game, but they know that there is some serious pressure starting to build up on the Minister of Communications about this issue. If they delay too long, the minister will likely take action. The one thing you don't want to do is piss off the gov, if you do they can cause you serious hurt.