Eircom, regulator mend fences on interconnect rates

Eircom and the telecommunications regulator, Ms Etain Doyle, made progress towards resolving their legal wrangle yesterday, with…

Eircom and the telecommunications regulator, Ms Etain Doyle, made progress towards resolving their legal wrangle yesterday, with both sides issuing conciliatory statements and agreeing to work together.

Eircom's challenge to the regulator's ruling on a key business issue remains listed for a High Court hearing, but it is likely to be dropped if the two sides make enough progress.

The controversy centres on Eircom's interconnection rate - how much it charges rival phone companies for calls that pass through its network. Eircom obtained an interim injunction against the regulator last November, preventing her from implementing a new interconnect rate until after the court heard its complaints.

According to Eircom, the regulator did not give the company enough time to respond to her proposals on the issue. The company also objected to a clause that would oblige it to reveal its marketing strategy to competitors in advance.

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In its statement yesterday, Eircom said it would "endeavour to resolve the dispute" with Ms Doyle. The press release from the regulator's office spoke of "a new consultation" being opened on the matter.

"This is an important step in keeping the interconnection market in Ireland moving in the right direction in line with best European practice," she said. "I believe these developments will benefit the market and ultimately telecommunications users."

The regulator said the provision of interconnection on fair and efficient terms was widely recognised as an essential requirement for the creation of a competitive telecommunications market.

"Interconnection charges can account for a substantial proportion of operators' costs and their importance cannot be overstated," she said.

Industry sources said they were not surprised by the move, adding that with the regulator's appeal to the Supreme Court of the High Court ruling on the third mobile licence still pending, she would be anxious to avoid further legal battles. The Eircom challenge was not due before the High Court until May, the sources added, and it seemed likely the issues of contention would be resolved in the intervening weeks.

Ocean said last night it had made an official complaint to the regulator about Eircom, accusing the former State company of "abuse of privileged information". Ocean, now owned entirely by British Telecom, said its customers were being deliberately misled by Eircom sales staff attempting to keep their business.

While Ocean characterised Eircom's actions as "a cynical attempt to stifle competition", its rival said it had done nothing wrong.