Local loop unbundling (LLU or LLUB) is the regulatory process of allowing multiple telecommunications operators to use connections from a telephone exchange to the customer's location.
Finally, they argue that the ILECs generally did not construct their local loop in a competitive market environment, but under legal monopoly protection and using taxpayer's money, meaning that, according to the new entrants, that ILECs should not to be entitled to continue to extract regulated rates of return, which often include monopoly rents from the local loop.
Most industrially developed nations, including the US, Australia, the European Union member states, and India, have introduced regulatory frameworks that provide for LLU.
European States that have been approved for membership to the EU have an obligation to introduce LLU as part of the liberalisation of their communications sector.
On 23 January 2001, Easynet became the first operator in the mainland UK to unbundle a local loop of copper wire from British Telecom's network and provide its own broadband service with it.
Although regulators in the UK admitted that the market could become competitive over time, the purpose of mandatory local loop unbundling in the United Kingdom was to speed up the delivery of advanced services to consumers.
[12] Pursuant to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires that ILECs lease local loops to competitors (CLECs).
Part of Telecom's commitment to the Commerce Commission to avoid unbundling was a promise to deliver 250,000 new residential broadband connections by the end of 2005, one-third of which were to be wholesaled through other providers.
[15] The claim was rejected by the Commerce Commission, and the publicised figure of 83,333 wholesale connections out of 250,000 was held to be the true target.
Regulatory actions such as information disclosure, the separate accounting of Telecom New Zealand business operations, and enhanced Commerce Commission monitoring were announced.
In March 2008, Telecom activated ADSL 2+ services from five Auckland exchanges (Glenfield, Browns Bay, Ellerslie, Mt.
Instead, under the Swiss ex post regulation system, each new entrant must first try to reach an individual agreement with Swisscom, the state-owned ILEC.
Mandatory local loop unbundling policy (termed Type II Interconnection (Traditional Chinese:第二類互連) in Hong Kong[17]) started on 1 July 1995 (the same day of telephone market liberalisation) to give choices to customers.
[18] After 10 years, new operators have built their networks, covering a large region of Hong Kong; the government considered it a good time to withdraw mandatory local loop unbundling policy, to persuade operators to build their own networks, and let businesses run themselves with a minimum of government intervention.
[21] At the end of March 2010, nothing had occurred; however, a deadline of 1 November 2011 was set by the Minister of Communications for the monopoly holder, Telkom SA, to finalise the unbundling process.