The European Commission may take legal action against the Government over its failure to open Eircom's local telecoms network to competition 10 months after the EU deadline. The Commission said yesterday it would announce its intentions in mid-November following analysis of a report compiled from data collected in 15 EU member-states.
Portions of a leaked draft report show the Republic as one of the worst offenders on the issue of "unbundling", along with Greece and Luxembourg. It notes that not a single local loop (the copper phone line running into a premises from the local exchange) has yet been opened to competition here.
Unbundling is the term used to describe the process of opening an incumbent telecoms operator's network to competition by enabling other firms to offer services on it.
The Commission took the unusual step of mandating access to local networks from January 1st, 2001, to promote innovative multimedia and Net services in the EU.
A Commission spokesman for enterprise and information society yesterday confirmed legal action was being considered against member-states. He said the Commssion was adamant about the need for full implementation of local loop unbundling in member-states.
Last July, the EU's competition division started to collect information on unbundling in order to assess potential competition problems - a possible first step towards a full antitrust case.
The draft report shows there has been a slow pace on unbundling iFrance, Spain and Portugal.
The report says the process of unbundling had not yet begun in the Republic but this was disputed by telecoms regulator Ms Etain Doyle last night. "The process of liberalising the local loop in Ireland began some time ago and the regulatory framework is now in place for unbundling," said spokeswoman for the regulator.
Eircom and Esat are engaged in talks on this issue but there is much legal uncertainty. Eircom is suing the telecoms regulator on the pricing set for unbundling. The case is due to be heard next month in the High Court.
The Commission draft report says seven member-states have, in the past six months, doubled the number of fast internet connections offered over phone lines upgraded with DSL technology, which is not available in the Republic and is the subject of a major dispute between Eircom and the regulator.
The Republic is also likely to be formally censured by the Commission over its failure to award licences for third-generation mobile phones. This technology will enable firms to supply high-speed internet services over a variety of mobile devices.
The Commission deadline is January 1st, 2002, but a dispute over the cost of the licences is delaying the competition here. --(additional reporting by Reuters)
