Broadband surge in UK shows need to breakup Telstra, says CCC

Stuart Corner
Wednesday, 12 August 2009 09:47

IT Industry - Strategy

Curiously the report was not even mentioned in the press release nor did Ofcom see fit to announce publication of the very substantial (350 page ) document with a press release.

The report said that: "Although local loop unbundling (LLU) had been introduced several years previously, it was only in 2005 that it became an attractive alternative to BT's wholesale DSL products for ISPs and the larger providers started to roll out their own LLU networks"

It continued "There are three factors which we consider contributed to this: the creation of the Office of the Telecoms Adjudicator (OTA) in 2004 to address operational issues that had previously dogged LLU, significant cuts in monthly charges in June 2004 and December 2005 and BT's Undertakings (which took effect in 2005 and created expressions of interest whereby providers could make BT aware of those exchanges which they wished to unbundle).

In Australia, in theory at least all these conditions already exist under the access regime defined in the Trade Practices Act and administered by the ACCC. It gives the ACCC the ability to resolve disputes and set prices for the ULL, and access seekers can request access to unbundled local loops from any Telstra exchange. They do not have to rely on Telstra deciding which exchanges to unbundle.

Ofcom also attributed the surge in broadband services in the UK to bundling saying "the introduction of 'free' or discounted broadband offers (when bundling broadband with other communication services), have been pivotal in extending the reach of fixed broadband services to a mass-market audience."