BT told to unbundle local loop by year-end

European regulators will today force BT to unbundle the local loop before the end of the year, cutting the telco's current deadline in half.

Dominant telco operators in Europe currently have until July 2001 to open their entire networks to competition.

But at midday today, the European Commission (EC) will announce regulations to force this through within six months.

Per Haugaard, spokesman for European Commissioner for Innovation, Errki Liikanen, said: "We are trying to remove the bottleneck. This is a very important measure that will introduce new technologies like broadband and DSL into local networks."

But UK telco regulator, Oftel, does not interpret the EC's statement as a change to the current situation. A spokesman said yesterday: "We understand it will only be the legal framework that will need to be put in place by the end of the year."

A BT spokeswoman would not comment on the feasibility of bringing the deadlines forward. She said: "Everyone is working very hard to meet the agreed deadlines."

Patrick Clark, associate at law firm Taylor Joynson Garrett, commented: "This obviously brings forward BT's timetable, but not every operator will be affected. Under a new definition of 'market dominance', only network operators with around 40 per cent market share will be affected."

The EC will issue its proposed regulation alongside five directives for creating a single market in electronic communications. Unlike directives, which require ratification by member states, the regulation will simply need approval from the European Union (EU) Council of Ministers and the country which currently holds the EU Presidency, France.

Haugaard said that the French Presidency supported the proposals and has suggested it may vote them in with a single reading.

In related news, Oftel yesterday announced a consultation into changes to BT's licence, as the final piece of legislation required to unbundle the local loop in the UK.