Posted: 13th Feb, 2004 By: MarkJ
Industry rumours are circulating that UK ISP
Freeserve may be in the market to buy a telecoms operator in order to sever its reliance on BT for broadband and go the LLU (local loop unbundling) rout:
A senior spokesman for the ISP declined to be drawn on these market whispers. But he did confirm that Freeserve is convinced that LLU - which enables rival operators to provide telecoms services direct to end users - is the way forward if the UK wants effective broadband competition.
This was confirmed in a letter to the Trade and Industry Select Committee (TISC), which earlier this week published its report into the UK's broadband market.
Wrote Freeserve General Counsel David Melville: "Freeserve, with over 2.6 million subscribers, would be prepared to invest in LLU provided access costs significantly decrease in line with the rest of Europe."The Register's item notes how the ISP feels that current UK LLU costs are still too high. If they were to come down then the provider might be prepared to step forward into the unbundled market.
Ofcom is expected to carry out a review of LLU sometime later this year; perhaps it will suggest some meaningful price reductions to encourage competition?