France shaves six months off local loop deadline

France Telecom could be forced to open up the country's local loop infrastructure sooner than expected thanks to legislation being introduced later this month.

Christian Pierret, French Secretary of State for Industry, has proposed a new legal framework which will be considered by parliament in two weeks' time as part of a broader review of economic regulation.

The issue was originally scheduled for debate in the autumn.

Pierret said late last week: "The government is preparing legislation to introduce a French telecommunications law with a view to it coming into force in 2001. The unbundling of France Telecom's local loop is crucial in order to ensure the development of high-speed Internet in France."

He added: "High-speed Internet access is indispensable for the Internet in part for business and it cannot come about without competition on the local loop. Everyone admits that today - France Telecom as much as the other operators."

Robin Duke-Woolley, senior consultant at Schema, said the telecom giant currently attributes 42.6 per cent of its revenues to the local loop. "How [these revenues] are affected depends on what access others operators have to the it, what they are able to do with it and just how France Telecom is tied into the costs of access whether at the end of the copper cable or if they provide maintenance and security of the line.

"The more open the market is then the more choice the consumer has and the faster the market takes off so while France Telecom might experience a drop in revenue per line the overall revenue will increase as more lines are used," Duke-Woolley added.

In the UK, BT faces a similar situation. It has to offer its own exchanges - upgraded for ADSL services - to other operators this year, and from July 2001 will have to allow rival companies to install access technology in its exchange premises.