Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Effective unbundling key to broadband leadership
A press release from the European Commission says that over half of DSL lines (55.4%) are "either fully or partially unbundled." And, contrary to the U.S. telco propaganda at the height of the telco's campaign against U.S. unbundling, the report says, "Alternative operators also increasingly invest in their own networks compared to services based on the incumbents' infrastructure."
Also notable: Denmark, which has the highest broadband penetration in Europe (37%), also has the fastest growing broadband penetration (7.7 lines per hundred in the calendar year 7/2006 to 7/2007).
The report focusses on Europe's digital divide. In contrast to Denmark, Bulgaria has less than 6% broadband penetration. The EC report cites, " lack of competition and regulatory weaknesses," as the main determinants of lagging broadband. Hmmm . . . sounds familiar.
Thanks to Esme Vos for the pointer!
Also notable: Denmark, which has the highest broadband penetration in Europe (37%), also has the fastest growing broadband penetration (7.7 lines per hundred in the calendar year 7/2006 to 7/2007).
The report focusses on Europe's digital divide. In contrast to Denmark, Bulgaria has less than 6% broadband penetration. The EC report cites, " lack of competition and regulatory weaknesses," as the main determinants of lagging broadband. Hmmm . . . sounds familiar.
Thanks to Esme Vos for the pointer!
Technorati Tags: Broadband-per-capita, Competition, Unbundling
Comments:
unbundling spurs competition as we all know but as Nicholas Economides points out - if the unbundlers have to deal with a rival that's owned by the telco, that rival has an inherent advantage and the telco has strong incentive to interfere with QoS on the competitions lines, unless prevented by regulation from doing so. Unbundling, competition, and broadband penetration depend on those regulation being in place. So long as AT&T, Verizon et al have the financial wherewithal to bribe congress.
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