Ref: 68/01
Date: 10 October 2001

Further measures to improve access to BT exchanges for the purpose of unbundling local loops have been confirmed today by Oftel.

Operators will be able to install their DSL equipment in any operational part of a BT exchange to provide high speed services to customers.

The ability for operators to ‘co-mingle’ their equipment within a BT exchange could lead to significant savings on costs and time for installation of equipment.

Co-mingling is a form of physical co-location where an operator’s equipment is fitted and operated in the same area in an exchange as BT houses its own equipment without physical separation.

This step is likely to reduce operators’ start-up costs for installing equipment at BT exchanges and follows on from a draft proposal published by Oftel earlier in the year.

Proposals to set out the arrangements to allow other operators’ staff and contractors access to BT’s exchanges where they have co-location space have also been published today by Oftel. These proposals stem from Oftel’s investigation into co-mingling.

David Edmonds, Director General of Telecommunications, said today:

"Co-mingling should lead to a reduction in start-up costs and installation time for operators as BT will no longer need to provide purpose built rooms within its exchanges.

"Oftel accepts that security is vital and is seeking the views of the industry on proposals that, subject to security safeguards, approved contractors and other operators’ staff can have unescorted access in exchanges.

"Later this month, Oftel will issue final determinations on shared access pricing and service level agreements and publish the results of its investigations into BT's charges for co-location facilities. While demand for LLU is lower than originally forecast, all these regulatory measures should help provide a sound basis for both current and future plans by competing operators."

Notes to editors:

1. Two documents have been published today and are available on Oftel’s website:

• Local loop unbundling – provision of co-location in the form of co-mingling, www.oftel.gov.uk/publications/local_loop/comi1001.htm; and

• Local loop unbundling – access to BT’s exchanges for third parties, www.oftel.gov.uk/publications/local_loop/escac1001.htm.

2. Work has been completed at 41 distant location sites and is currently in progress at a further six sites. BT have also completed six physical co-location sites sites which are now in the process of being handed over to operators and a further ten sites are under construction. Over 100 physical co-location site survey requests have been placed under the business as usual ordering process.

3. Local loop unbundling enables other operators to upgrade BT’s local loop by placing Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology in the local exchange and at customer premises.

4. As well as local loop unbundling, high-speed services are also available through BT’s wholesale DSL products. BT has now upgraded over 1000 exchanges covering 60 per cent of UK addresses to provide ADSL services.

5. Telewest and ntl: also offer high-speed services over their cable networks via cable modems; almost 100,000 customers have taken up their service. Almost eight million homes also receive a digital television service.

6. Future developments, such as satellite and third generation mobile technology, will provide a further option for delivering broadband services to consumers.