Oftel emergency summit as BT's rivals shun local loop

NEWS The anticipated break up of BT's monopoly is faltering because competitors are staying away. The meeting between Oftel, BT and other key telecommunications players is to determine why this is the case. A spokeswoman for Oftel said: "There has definitely been a lower uptake than we expected." She did not wish to speculate whether BT's terms and conditions are a factor, but confirmed this will be a key topic at the meeting. Only one operator, Eircom, is currently offering unbundled services to customers and this is in Belfast. No other companies have taken up the opportunity, with BT having opened other exchanges in London, Edinburgh, Manchester and Leeds. Unbundling the local loop is part of an EC directive to free telephone lines from incumbents, creating a platform for competition. The idea being that with more players, prices will be cheaper for customers. Oftel has already come in for a great deal of criticism on the UK unbundling timetable, and previously admitted that it wished it had involved itself earlier. Operators such as Energis are citing expense and slow rollout as reasons for bailing out, saying it is cutting back its ADSL investment because of the way BT has handled the process.