Eircom granted judicial review in ComReg row

Eircom was granted a judicial review by the High Court yesterday against a series of enforcement rulings issued against it by the communications regulator.

The court also agreed to put a stay on rulings made by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) on "local loop unbundling" - the process of opening the last mile of Eircom's telephone network to rival firms.

ComReg said last night it would contest the High Court ruling, which follows a public dispute between the two parties.

Eircom sought the judicial review against a directive issued against it by ComReg, which the firm argued removed its leave to appeal against regulatory orders.

ComReg had sought to compel Eircom to respond to a series of directions on local loop unbundling by today or face financial penalties. The regulator is seeking to introduce new processes to make it easier for rival firms to gain access to the last mile of Eircom's access network.

Eircom disputed the timeframe that the regulator set for it to respond to its directions, and subsequently issued an appeal to the Electronics Communications Appeals Panel - a State body recently set up to oversee ComReg's regulatory decisions.

However, ComReg sought to make Eircom comply with its ruling on unbundling while the appeal was pending. This prompted Eircom to apply to the High Court for the review.

A spokesman for Eircom said last night the firm was pleased with the court's decision.

He added that the High Court had also put a "stay" on new rulings by ComReg on the issue of local loop unbundling until the appeal is heard.

A ComReg spokesman said the regulator planned to appeal.

The issue of local loop unbundling is highly contentious, as ComReg wants to make it easier for rivals to use Eircom's network to promote competition.

The regulator is seeking to change the way Eircom transfers customers to unbundled lines.

Eircom says that ComReg has not assessed the impact of the changes and is not allowing enough time for a response.