Access and Interconnection

Local Loop Unbundling

In many cases the duplication of resources at the lowest level of the network - i.e. those connections spanning the network and its end-users - is both non-viable and undesirable. Accordingly, one of the basic tenets of the competitive telecommunications environment has become that new entrant operators are able to gain access to the lowest network level, the ‘local loop’ or ‘last mile’ of established operators. This is done through Local Loop Unbundling (LLU).

The implementation of LLU is a requirement of European Union competition policy and has been introduced, to various extents, in all Member States. Fixed network operators considered as having SMP are required to develop wholesale products to facilitate access to their networks by other licensed operators, and to publish a Reference Unbundling Offer (RUO) detailing the various LLU products on offer along with their associated tariffs.

For both consumers and new-entrant operators, Local Loop Unbundling promises significant benefits. By reducing the capital financial outlay necessary to reach end-users, it has made it easier for service providers to market their offerings to a far greater variety of customers. Those customers, in turn, have benefited from a considerably enhanced availability of services, not least Broadband offerings. For incumbent operators, however, it poses a number of significant challenges, not least the additional burdens placed upon them combined with the potential competitive threat to their markets and revenues. This has resulted in calls on regulators to recognise commercial realities when creating pro-competitive measures.

InterConnect Communications can provide expert support to regulators, new entrant and incumbent operators on all matters concerning Local Loop Unbundling. Our team of access engineers, business planners and regulatory professionals can draw on experience gained in Europe and elsewhere to create practical regulatory structures capable of delivering policy objectives, as well as business models that maximise the opportunities afforded by LLU regulation. Our services include:

Developing regulatory Guidelines for LLU;
Developing and reviewing incumbent operators’ RUOs;
Advising incumbent and challenger operators in the negotiation and implementation of LLU services.

We have undertaken work connected with the development and implementation of LLU across a range of national access networks, including developing business plans for new entrants wishing to enter the market, analysing costs for LLU services, determining availability for collocation, and determining regulatory policy for the introduction of LLU services.

Key Service Areas:

Local Loop Unbundling

25 Apr 2008InterConnect News

Interconnection Master Class

The first Interconnection Master Class of 2008 will take place on 19 - 23 May 2008.

More Information?

For more information about InterConnect's LLU services, please contact Eric Tyson by phone on +44 (0) 1291 638400.