Eircom has said that, although it has put in place the infrastructure to support local loop unbundling (LLU), there has been no significant demand from other telecoms operators.

LLU is the process whereby other operators can locate broadband equipment in Eircom exchanges in order to provide services to customers over their phone lines.

Under a deal brokered by ComReg, Eircom committed to providing a fully automated LLU service by September 24th that would allow broadband users to easily switch between providers.

"That's come and gone now," said Eircom chief executive Rex Combs. "All the functionality is installed in our systems and was available from the 24th."

BT Ireland, which has unbundled 14 exchanges to date, reacted angrily to Mr Combs's assessment. "Eircom has stalled the introduction of LLU for over five years and now appears to blame the industry for lack of take-up," said a spokeswoman. "LLU is not a tap that can be turned on and off. It requires confidence in the supplier and also capital investment."