TELECOMMUNICATIONS: COMMISSION ADOPTS RECOMMENDATION ON HIGH-SPEED LEASED LINE DELIVERY DEADLINES.

• Position: Brief Article

Leased lines are fundamental building blocks in the communications market, used by network operators and service providers as the basic transport infrastructure upon which their services are built, and by large business users as the means of linking their locations world-wide. They are provided by telecommunications operators to their direct competitors in the case of incumbents needing lines to establish their own network.

The Commission says in its explanatory statement to the Recommendation that the timely and efficient availability of leased lines "is a necessary condition for the development of a world-class communications infrastructure in Europe". However, many new entrants to the retail leased-line market complain that incumbents are much faster at providing leased lines to their own retail businesses than to their competitors. This leads to loss of revenue and puts incumbents at a competitive disadvantage.

The deadlines recommended by the Commission for the delivery of lines range from 18 days to 52 days...