THE TELECOMS regulator Comreg has proposed that the rental price charged by Eircom for shared access to the unbundled local loop (LLU) network should be cut by 65 per cent.

This is aimed at bringing down the cost of broadband here and boosting the Republic's penetration in this segment of the telecoms market.

In a consultation document just published, Comreg has suggested that the charge to "alternative operators" be slashed to €2.84 a month from the current price of €8.41.

This would place the Republic just below the the average price of €2.94 being charged across the euro zone.

The move has been welcomed by BT, the biggest residential operator in this market after Eircom. Its chief executive, Chris Clark, described the proposal as a "step in the right direction".

"We also welcome that a review of LLU pricing in general is under way by Comreg and look to further significant reductions in full unbundled LLU prices in the autumn to remove the barriers restricting this market," he said.

Mr Clark said Eircom's charge of €47 to move BT's own customers to LLU was "highly restrictive" and inhibited the "mass migration" of customers away from the incumbent as has happened in other countries.

A spokesman for Eircom said: "We are reviewing the consultation document and will be responding to Comreg accordingly."

The consultation period will run until April 16th and Comreg said it would publish its report in May.

Comreg plans to publish all of the submissions it receives.