telecoms news -local loop

MiCr0

from http://www.odtr.ie/docs/pres140600.doc


Irish Telecoms Market to take a major leap forward.
Competition will drive change and maximise consumer benefit.

New legislation necessary to meet the demands of the dynamic telecoms market.

Etain Doyle, Telecommunications Regulator in an address to the International Communications Users Group today (14th June 2000) indicated that the Irish telecoms market is poised for a major leap forward . With more and more players active in the market and additional means of accessing the market , increased competition will ensure that Irish consumers benefit from lower prices, more choice and better quality services.

Speaking at the conference, the Regulator said “Price is a function of costs and competition . Prices paid by other operators for interconnect and leased lines have fallen substantially and more cuts should follow . Major developments increasing competion including carrier pre selection, fixed wireless access, the arrival of Meteor, the third mobile operator into the Irish Market, local loop unbundling and the licensing of Third Generation mobile services are fundamental to the development of real competition. I believe that the impact of such developments will fundamentally alter the existing marketplace.”

She continued “ The regulator’s job is to open up markets, keep them open and flexible until competition is so well established that they remain open and flexible of their own accord. Operating within a clearly defined framework set out in law, but statutorily independent, my role is to move markets forward fast to the benefit of users.”

Referring to the latest quarterly review of the telecommunications market issued by the ODTR today she said “my role as regulator is to promote the rapid growth of competition. Of the 70 licensed operators in the fixed line market, 45 have commenced operation. I am very pleased to report that the latest figures available to my office indicate that new entrants share of the fixed line market is now over 10%. This is supported by the significant growth in eircom’s wholesale traffic (competitors traffic carried on eircom’s network) which grew almost 15 fold from 48 million minutes in the 12 months to March 1999 to 752 million minutes in the 12 months to March 31st 2000.”

“However, effective competition depends not only on customers being offered a choice of supplier but also on consumers having enough information to make the right decision on their supplier. I would ask organisations like the International Communications User Group to work with us in helping to ensure that consumers are well informed and understand the benefits that these services can bring.A major project on comparative performance indicators of licensed operators is underway and the first results will be published next year. New services developed by my office with the industry, including number portability and carrier pre-selection make it easier for consumers to exercise choice. “

Number portability allows consumers and business to retain their telephone number when they change operator. This means that disruption to consumers who wish to change service provider will be minimised in future. Carrier pre selection, introduced in January this year, allows customers to choose alternative suppliers without the inconvenience of having a router box installed. This again reduces the cost and inconvenience to consumers when switching operator, thereby increasing the scope for competition.

The development of the telecommunications market is the cornerstone of Ireland’s highly successful technology driven economy. In a recent study by Legg Mason, Ireland was ranked among the top four countries in the world in terms of creating a very hospitable environment for high growth prospects in the new information economy. Indeed Ireland, according to Legg Mason appears to have set in place the necessary foundations for telecoms sector that is conducive to continued growth. They identified telecommunications, Internet and Electronic Commerce as the necessary building blocks for the development and growth of the new information economy with the first been a pre – requisite for the second and so on.

Commenting on new legislation promised by the Minister for Public Enterprise, Etain Doyle, Telecommunications Regulator said “ I am very committed to the national objective of being at the forefront of telecommunications development and I look forward to the new legislation promised by the Minister. The global telecoms market is one of the fastest growing markets and if we do not progress at an advanced rate we run the risk of falling behind. In the absence of new legislation at EU and/or Irish levels we are likely to be increasingly constrained in pushing our agenda forward. Already we are at the margins of our legal capacity in respect of unbundling the local loop- an area the Minster intends tackling in the forthcoming legislation. Enhanced and simplified enforcement powers also signalled by the Minister will make a difference to our ability to ensure all decisions are quickly and effectively implemented.”

and

Unbundling the Local Loop

In April this year the Director issued a decision on Local Loop Unbundling. This provides for the rapid introduction of bitstream access by April 2001 and also sets the groundwork for investigation full physical local loop unbundling and line sharing local loop unbundling.



[This message has been edited by MiCr0 (edited 23-06-2000).]

topgold

The only way the Irish Local Loop will unbundle before the end of 2001 is if it becomes a real issue in a general election held in 2000. That's the tone of the cross-talk from people inside the technical discussions. [1]

Bernie Goldbach
[1] http://www.topgold.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000016.html