Posted: 08th Nov, 2004 By: MarkJ
Telco and network supplier Energis has ruled out any larger scale investment in local loop unbundling (LLU) because it felt the method of unlocking BT's local exchanges to be "uneconomic":
Said Energis chief exec John Pluthero: "LLU is uneconomic for national roll-out. It involves a significant up-front investment with no apparent return in any realistic timeframe. Frankly, we've got better things to do with our cash. We're putting all our time and effort into executing our strategy. Yes LLU success could be good for consumers, but there are other exciting technologies that we will invest in which will offer our customers even more services."
Although Energis has rejected national investment in LLU, it may still consider unbundling individual exchanges if there was a genuine need. What's more, the company is examining wireless technologies that might prove an alternative to investing in LLU.The price of LLU has recently been brought sharply down, which in turn has sparked a growth in investment from unexpected areas, such as NTL and even BT itself.
There's no doubt that LLU is best utilised as part of a longer-term strategy and clearly it's interesting enough to attract investment from other quarters. More @
The Register.