Icasa publishes LLU findings

LLU is the regulatory process of allowing multiple telecommunications operators to use connections from the telephone exchange to the customers' premises.

Speaking in Sandton, Icasa chairman Stephen Mncube said: "This finding is the outcome of a consultative process, and I thank those many concerned individuals and stakeholders who devoted their time and energy to making this process a success.

"Without consultation with the experts in the industry and civil society, Icasa's job would be far harder.

"Nevertheless, they frequently disagree with each other, which is where we need to bring our own judgement to bear."

Mncube said that LLU was an intervention that offered significant advantages to operators and to the consumer.

Phased approach

"However, it also involves significant disruption to operators, particularly the incumbent.

"The authority has determined that the existence of an Access Line Deficit is a significant obstacle to the introduction of fixed line local loop unbundling," he said.

The authority said it would therefore take a phased approach to the introduction of LLU.

"As a first step, the authority will undertake a public consultation process to establish an Access Line Deficit Recovery Scheme. This will commence in February next year.

"Secondly, the authority will engage with industry to ensure that the price of the existing service, IP Connect, is reduced. It is expected that this will be with effect from March 31, next year.

"Thirdly, the authority will engage with industry to ensure that a true Bitstream product is introduced, by November 1 next year.

"Bitstream is generally considered the first step of LLU, and was requested by a number of stakeholders."

Working group to be established

Icasa said that in order to facilitate the introduction of Bitstream, it would establish an industry working group to address technical issues, including the establishment of an ordering system specification mechanism. This would convene starting in February 2012.

The authority said it would also conduct a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) on the costs and benefits of the fixed line full loop, sub loop and shared line forms of LLU, commencing in mid-2012.

"Thereafter, depending on the outcome of the RIA, the authority will conduct a market review on the fixed line local access market and introduce supplementary LLU regulations," the chair said.

As a separate process, Icasa said it would also undertake an inquiry into the unbundling of wireless access networks.