Rival telecom operators could be offering high-speed internet services on BT's local loop as early as next year after telecommunications watchdog Oftel laid out draft guidelines yesterday for the former state-owned monopoly to open up its service to competition.
Oftel had initially placed a deadline on BT to have its local loop service unbundled by July, 2001. However, yesterday Oftel said BT should be ready to take orders from September from other operators who want to install their equipment in BT's exchanges and use BT's lines to provide high speed services to customers.
"Oftel expects progressive roll-out with unbundled loops available in volume by the middle of next year," the telecoms regulator said in a statement.
BT's network is being upgraded with digital subscriber line services that will permit high-speed internet access and video-on-demand facilities.
Oftel has estimated it should only take BT four months to accommodate an initial operator on one of its loops and then four weeks for subsequent competitors.
The draft ruling from Oftel also warned BT that it must not give undue preference to its own business against other operators.
It said BT must ensure that other operators are able to compete on the same terms as BT, namely in pricing, when delivering high bandwidth services. BT must also show that set prices are derived from costs.
Oftel is still consulting with the telecoms industry on the draft guidelines. Other telecom operators have voiced dismay at what has been described as BT dragging its feet over the opening-up of its local loop to competition.
Unbundling will allow BT's competitors to install technology at its exchanges that will transform copper wires into fast internet pipelines.
It will give them greater flexibility to compete with BT's own ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) connections, which BT expects to start installing for home users in October and November.
Oftel's latest announcement, and BT's delay in launching ADSL, means the former monopoly's head start in ADSL is fast shrinking.
Sir Iain Vallance, BT chairman, has said July, 2001 is the earliest feasible date for opening up BT's local loop for the use of other service providers.
The European Commission, however, has proposed a draft ruling that all members unbundle their local networks by year end.
As a result some operators, like Energis and Colt, have said they may consider a joint industry legal action against BT if it fails to comply with such an EC ruling.
Ade Ajibulu of telecoms consultants Analysys, was sceptical that the Oftel's draft guidelines for unbundling the local loop could be enforced.
"There's a general problem of unequal knowledge," Mr Ajibulu said. "If you are another telecoms operator, you don't know the quality [of line] that BT is providing to its own [businesses] compared with the quality of the copper line you have, making it very difficult to do anything."
He said the market would have to be carefully monitored by Oftel.
"The incumbent operators try to protect what they see as their best interests and this makes the process of unbundling quite difficult for their competitors."
