UK sees drop in unbundled lines

The first monthly drop in years has been recorded in the number of UK local-loop unbundled lines, which may suggest a rise in the popularity of cable and fibre broadband alternatives.

In the Office of the Telecommunications Adjudicator's (OTA) latest assessment of the UK's local-loop unbundling (LLU) landscape, the total number of such lines at the end of May was shown to be 7.56 million, the total a month earlier having been 7.62 million.

LLU involves the installation by BT's rivals of their own equipment in BT's exchanges, meaning they can control their own networks and avoid having to resell BT connectivity. It was a big development for UK broadband, breaking BT's monopoly, but according to the OTA its popularity may now be now plateauing.

"There are several factors that have an influence on these numbers and we will continue to monitor progress," the OTA said.