Tiscali 2008 Annual Report Download - page 24

The proportion of buildings linked to unbundled sites (LLU)
rose by more than 15% between 2007 and 2008, reaching
more than 80% of the total.
Again in 2008, the incumbent operator BT announced an
infrastructure expansion plan based on fibre optics, which will
bring the super broadband to 10 million homes by 2012.
The initial speed according to BT will be around 40 Mbps,
but within new buildings it may also reach 100 Mbps.
With regard to the rate of penetration within households,
broadband rose from 52% in the first quarter of 2007 to 58%
in the same period in 2008 with a slight drop in the growth
rate with respect to that registered in previous years.
The proportion of households with a fixed connection remains
stable at 88% in the first quarter of 2008.
4.2 Regulatory background
Globally, the telecommunications sector has confirmed itself
to be one of the most dynamic spheres.
Both in Italy and the UK, the series of measures and resolutions
issued by national regulators (the Communications Watchdog
Committee - AGCOM, in Italy and the Office of Communications
– OFCOM in the UK) is in line with those introduced by the
corresponding regulatory authorities of the other leading
markets in the European Union.
However, on both markets there is still the need to improve
the efficacy of measures and their implementation.
Italy
In Italy, during 2008 the AGCOM concentrated on the following
macro-areas of intervention:
•Provisions relating to the Telecom Italia access network
•Improvement of the procedures relating to the Operator
changeover processes
•Accountability in the supply in favour of informed choices by
the users
•Consumer protection.
The most significant measures deriving from these activities are
indicated below:
Access network: TI’s commitments
On 29 December 2008, AGCOM – via Resolution No. 718/08/CONS
– finally approved the commitments presented by Telecom Italia,
pursuant to Article 14
bis of Italian Decree Law No. 233 dated 4
July 2006, converted by Italian Law No. 248 dated 4 August 2006,
on 24 July 2008, as amended on 29 October 2008 and 5 December
2008. The afore-mentioned commitments, having taken into
account the results of the public consultation pursuant to resolution
No. 208/07/CONS and the launch of procedures for the analysis
of the fixed network access markets as per resolution No.
626/7/CONS, aim at integrating and enhancing the provisions of
resolution No. 152/02/CONS concerning equal treatment, for the
purpose of furthering greater competitiveness on the fixed network
access markets, as well as the markets related to these. The
commitments are also aimed at eliminating both the assumptions,
and the consequences of the conduct challenged by the Authority
in the sanctioning procedures to the charge of Telecom Italia. In
particular, the commitments aim:
•to offer additional guarantees of equal treatment between
the Telecom commercial divisions and the other electronic
communications operators who acquire access services
wholesale from Telecom;
•to ensure the satisfaction of the Operators and the end customers,
by means of the development and the qualitative improvement
of the fixed access network and the related services;
•to make the evolution of Telecom’s fixed access network
more transparent for the Operators;
•to guarantee the maintenance of competitive conditions in
the transition towards the new generation networks.
The Commitments grouped into 14 groups for a total of 223
elementary commitments can be represented in 4 macro-areas
of competence/intervention:
REPORT ON OPERATIONS
23
SOURCE: OFCOM, 2008
FIG. 4.5: BROADBAND CONNECTIONS ON THE MOBILE NETWORK
IN THE UK FEBRUARY-JUNE 2008 (Mln)
FEB
69
6
63
86
9
77
98
10
88
124
28
96
133
32
101
MAR APR MAY JUN
pre-paied contract