BBC NEWS | Technology | Net providers loosen ties with BT

BBC NEWS | Technology | Net providers loosen ties with BT

Moving to LLU is still a double edged sword. There are still issues with migrating from BT to LLU operators and potential problems with faults (i.e. who is responsible for the fault, BT or the LLU operator).

There's also the problem that Ofcom have agreed with BT to keep wholesale prices fixed until there are 1.5m unbundled lines. At the moment LLU accounts for around 1% or all broadband, which means the majority of existing customers are on BT lines (via BT Wholesale) so BT resellers can cut pricing, but they're cutting into already very thin margins.

Wanadoo are trialling a service in Leeds, based on Alcatel and other vendors equipment and then plan to go into at least 200 exchanges (though they are rumoured to have plans to go into 1000). Even if they go into 1000 it's still less than 1/5 of the total number of exchanges in the UK, but that'll cover a reasonable amount of the UK population.

This still leaves the issues of the LLU operators going into the same exchanges (or at least some of them) while they could share infrastructure and go into a far greater number and compete with BT's 21CN.