Ofcom updates leased line competition proposals

Ofcom updates leased line competition proposals

Ofcom has updated some of the proposals in its Business Connectivity Market Review consultation, launched to review competitiveness in the leased lines services market.

The consultation review was published on 18 June 2012 and whilst the telecommunications authority is still considering all the responses it has received so far, it has also decided to make changes to some of the proposals put forward in the document.

One key change is that the definition for the West, East and Central London area (WECLA) will be broadened to incorporate some postcodes from Slough. It is also proposed that circuit-routing rules should be applied to OpenReach’s Ethernet services which operate at 1Gbit/s or below. This would include revising the definition of trunk aggregation nodes ("TANs"); a simpler and more flexible set of circuit routing rules removing the need to define catchment areas for TANs; and minor changes to the proposed definition of a backhaul segment used in setting SMP conditions.

A briefing from law firm Eversheds also highlights the following proposal updates, “Changes to the drafting on the direction to be imposed on BT in relation to Service Level Guarantees to apply limits to the compensation payments payable by BT (such limits had inadvertently been omitted previously)” and, “Proposing that BT be subject to cost accounting obligations in markets where it is found to have SMP and that BT and KCOM should be subject to accounting separation obligations in each of the wholesale product markets in which Ofcom proposes they have SMP.”

Ofcom has also called for additional evidence on how competitive the conditions for leased line services are. It is asking for responses to be submitted by close of play today.

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