Why do more ISPs in the UK and other parts of Europe use local loop unbundling than we see in Canada?
Ofcom, the UK regulatory authority, is proposing increases in prices for BT Openreach services, with loops rising to £85 per year – roughly C$150 – from £81.69 today. It represents an increase of about C$0.50 per month.
Interestingly, most loops in Ontario are less than this, running C$145 in rate band B and as low as C$78 in band A (which covers the city core).
Ofcom issued a 250 page consultation document [
pdf, 933 KB] describing its proposal. In the document, Ofcom says that a third of all BT local exchanges have unbundled loops available, covering more than 80% of the population. The document says that 60% of the UK has access to 4 or more competitors.
It again raises the question in my mind as to why more Canadian ISPs aren’t taking control of their own service provision using local loops.