Local Loop Unbundling

British Telecommunications PLC
10 November 2000


               BT GOES THE EXTRA MILE ON LOCAL LOOP UNBUNDLING

BT today put forward a new plan for more rapid progress in local loop
unbundling (LLU), with the aim of delivering widespread availability earlier.

At an Oftel forum attended by representatives of other UK telecommunications
operators, BT made firm proposals developed in the light of experience gained
working with the industry. LLU is intended to enable other operators to rent
BT's local lines and run their own services over them.

The plan provides opportunities for the industry to work with BT to launch LLU
in an initial 600 exchange areas progressively between January and June 2001,
using a combination of facilities within BT exchanges and in nearby buildings.

Ian Morfett, BT's director, regulatory affairs, said: 'BT is working flat out
on the complex process of unbundling. It has delivered all its commitments to
date in a challenging programme and is determined to maintain that record. We
need the rest of the industry to play its part in turn to meet our common
objectives.

'We have always said that we would examine ways to speed unbundling, if and
when we were confident that it could be done successfully.

'The past month's experience is significant in giving us a fuller
understanding of what is practicable.

'Our proposals will substantially boost early availability of unbundling. The
UK already has more competing local loop infrastructure than anywhere else in
Europe, and this package will position the UK firmly as one of the leading
European countries in the practical delivery of LLU. We see significant
commercial value in LLU across Europe and expect it to bring exciting
opportunities for our ventures in other EU countries.'

NOTES TO EDITORS

Increased availability in early months

BT expects unbundling in at least 600 exchange areas (190 where operators have
equipment in BT exchanges and 410 where operators have equipment in adjacent
buildings) to become available progressively from January to June 2000. This
could mean as many as 2000 points of presence (POPs) by June for new entrants.
Each POP is one new operator's connection in one exchange area. For example,
if five new operators each had unbundling facilities in 100 exchange areas,
the result would be 500 new POPs.

BT proposes adding a new phase to LLU from January, in advance of the
availability of automated order processing and provisioning which will be
provided by the planned full strategic operational support system (OSS). The
new phase will allow lines to be unbundled earlier in the process for all
operators who have established location. This phase will be partly manual, and
partly supported by a short-term tactical OSS development.

BT has also put forward proposals that will:

  * significantly speed up the initial surveying of popular exchanges
  * reduce delays in scheduling building work
  * provide penalty payments for late delivery

Industry trials

LLU trials are proceeding ahead of original expectations. BT plans to work
closely with the triallists whose co-location facilities are complete before
the end of 2000 to provide unbundled lines which will allow technical trials
and valuable advance testing of the delivery processes before January 2001.
Currently the first facilities are expected to be ready by mid-November, with
initial unbundled loops to follow.

Use of nearby buildings

Unbundling can be achieved either by physically siting operators' equipment in
BT's exchanges (co-location) or by siting the equipment in nearby buildings
and connecting it by tie cable to BT's main distribution frames (distant or
adjacent location).

Of the 381 exchange sites which have so far had initial surveys at the request
of operators, nine out of ten are available for co-location for at least some
operators. Using nearby buildings can potentially enable every operator that
wants it to have access to the lines in any given exchange area.

With some BT exchange buildings having insufficient space to pack in the
numbers of operators who have expressed interest, using adjacent buildings is
one of the most effective paths to greater availability of LLU.

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