Eircom's rivals criticise plans for network access

Eircom's competitors yesterday said its proposals for allowing access to its network did not go far enough and accused it of hindering the development of broadband services in the Republic.

The company has given a report to communications regulator, ComReg, and to its competitors detailing how it intends to open up access to the lines connecting its exchanges with consumers and businesses.

Opening up this link, known as the last mile or the local loop, would allow its competitors to connect their own equipment to customers, and offer them their own services. Currently they rent Eircom lines at wholesale rates.

Eircom has agreed to tackle one issue raised by competitors. This is allowing customers who switch from its service to a competitor's local loop product to keep their number. But it says this will take 18 months and will cost €13 million and warns that it will not carry this cost itself.

Another key issue for competitors is allowing customers using their wholesale services to switch to a local loop-based product without a break in service. Eircom is refusing to facilitate this.

Reacting to an Eircom statement detailing the proposals, BT chief executive for Ireland, Scotland and Wales, Danny McLoughlin said the company's stance would damage the Republic's competitiveness.

"The Eircom press release is very disappointing news for customers, for the development of innovative services and for the extension of choice through competitiveness," he said.

Chairman of consumer lobby group, Ireland Offline, Damien Mulley, argued that access to the last mile was key to the development of broadband. The Republic's low level of broadband availability is damaging its ability to attract multi-national investment.

"Ireland will never recover in the broadband stakes if this attitude is left to prevail," he said. "We feel now that only direct ministerial intervention can resolve this issue."

However, Eircom's commercial director, David McRedmond, said last night that the issue of broadband availability was not connected to access to the local loop.

Eircom's report says that facilitating the switch from wholesale to local loop-based products will simply aggravate the digital divide by allowing its competitors to invest most in profitable urban areas.

Mr McRedmond claimed that this could create a situation where Eircom would be forced to invest in equipment to allow competitors to sell wholesale products, which they could then bypass once they have recruited enough customers to make local loop-based services viable.

This would leave the company with large amounts of redundant equipment in its exchanges, he said.