Comment Articles

Free the local loop!

Tony Westbrook AnchorDesk

Published: 15 Mar 2000 16:57 GMT

Breaking BT's monopoly of this local loop has been a personal mission for AnchorDesk's very own Rupert Goodwins for a long time. In recent months ZDNN's intrepid reporter Jane Wakefield has also lifted the lid on many of the cans of worms relating to lowering the cost of access to the internet. And most of those cans seem to be sitting on BT's shelf.

All the while the party politicians have mumbled about a knowledge economy and getting schools connected and how the Internet is critical to the UK's success as part of the knowledge economy and how we should be the high tech hub of Europe and blah this and blah, blah that. But those same politicians have steadfastly failed to address the local loop issue and the fact that because it costs so much to access the Internet its growth is now being stunted.

We observers have done our bit. Rupert Goodwins and Jane Wakefield have been highlighting the importance of cutting the cost of internet access for years - but they were by no means the only ones who have felt that things have moved far too slowly and always in BT's favour. BT's approach to its customers is well known, because most of us are BT customers. That's what a monopoly does for you. More 'mature' readers will recall the roll out of ISDN being handled in almost exactly the same way as that of ADSL today - both classic examples of monopolistic marketing at its best so my marketing chum assures me.

And what happens when things finally start to move along after this endless barrage of criticism, aimed mostly at BT, from consumers and competitors? The woodwork comes alive with an army of politicians eager to take the credit for getting the job done and being the single person responsible for saving the Internet by bring low cost access to the masses. It's enough to make you stamp your feet and get jolly angry.

Very recently Gordon Brown, in an interview broadcast on the web, after all the usual knowledge economy patter, agreed that BT keeping its monopoly on the local loop until July 2001 (as currently proposed by OFTEL) was maybe a bit inappropriate. He muttered something about seeing if this date could be brought forward. Too right Gordy! We await further news with bated breath.

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