Enhancing competition in telecoms

The Malta Communications Authority yesterday published the so-called Maltacom reference unbundling offer for public consultation.

Maltacom is obliged at law to publish the document, which mandates that another licensed operator will be able to access Maltacom's "local loop".

The "local loop" is the physical twisted metallic pair circuit in the fixed public telephone network connecting the subscriber's telephone to the main distribution frame or equivalent facility.

Providing access to the local loop means that new entrants will be able to compete with notified operators in offering high bit-rate data transmission services for continuous internet access and multimedia applications based on digital subscriber line (DSL) technology as well as voice telephony services.

A spokesman for the MCA said: "Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) is another way of delivering choice to consumers, encouraging growth of the market and delivery of new services. It presents new entrants with another potential delivery mechanism in providing services to a growing electronic communications market.

"Looking at the experience in other jurisdictions, LLU can be particularly useful in the early stages of competition when new entrants have limited networks of their own. It is not a magic formula for opening the market to increased competition but a potentially useful additional mechanism to stimulate growth and competition".

The consultation period will run until December 11.

Copies of Maltacom's reference unbundling offer can be downloaded from the MCA's website or copies can be obtained free of charge from the MCA's offices. The remaining annexes to the document will be published by the end of October 2004.

www.mca.org.mt