Final adoption of unbundling of local loop
The final approval for the regulation of the Council and European Parliament to unbundle the local loop was given by the Industry Council on 6 December, establishing the conditions for telecommunications liberalisation in Europe. The move means that as from December 31, the last mile of the local loop of the public network will be opened up to competition, promising lower rates and greater variety of service for consumers. Erkki Liikanen, European Commissioner for Enterprise and the information society, claimed that the approval was 'historic' and praised the speed with which this decision was expedited. 'This regulation is an excellent demonstration of inter-institutional cooperation between the European Parliament and the Council under the French presidency, who have reached an agreement in a record time of less than five months on a subject of major importance,' he said.