Unbundled broadband numbers fall

NEWS The number of lines connected to unbundled broadband exchanges has fallen since the summer as failing companies exit the business. BT's head of local loop unbundling Ian Stirrat said this morning that the number of unbundled loops was "around 150", down from a previously announced peak of 163. The local loop unbundling process was meant to allow broadband ISPs to compete with BT by putting their equipment in BT's local exchanges. Stirrat blamed the fall on the number of local loop unbundling companies such as OnCue that have gone out of business, dismantling or transferring their assets to others. However, a year and a half after the process began, the number of companies planning to use LLU has fallen from 40 to fewer than ten. Though intended as a way to bring DSL to consumers, LLU broadband now seems destined to become nothing more than an expensive niche product for business. Ironically, the news comes the same day that BT Wholesale switched on its "volume automation" system, a highly advanced XML-based system built to deal with thousands of orders for unbundled lines every week.