Oftel further muddies local loop waters

Oftel has disappointed the UK's beleaguered high-speed DSL internet access providers with the announcement of a new series of local loop regulations.

The announcement contained no references to the hot issue of BT's slow installations of DSL for rival ISPs. Under the new provisions, BT will have to pay compensation if service level agreements over co-location of local exchanges are not met. They have until the end of April to agree the service level agreements with rival telcos, or Oftel will step in and draw up the agreements itself. However, the compensation has been capped at £500,000 per operator per exchange per year, subject to a maximum of £20m across the board. With nine operators still participating in the local loop unbundling trials, this would make BT subject to a maximum possible compensation payment of £180m a year. Rival operators will also be able to trade space with each other if they order more than they need, rather than having to hand it back to BT. Competing operators will also have the right to refer disputes to an independent expert under a new dispute resolution procedure. Oftel could not immediately say whether this would be faster than the normal procedure or not. Andy Frost, Director of Products and Services at World Online, said "They've addressed a few concerns, but they've not really got to the heart of the problem." World Online pulled out of the local loop unbundling process earlier this month. Frost confirmed that the new regulations would not be sufficient to entice them back in. None of the operators who are still in the process responded to our invitation to welcome the new provisions.