Telecoms firms looking to offer line rental to their customers will pay Eircom a transfer fee of €9.05 for each account, the regulator ruled yesterday.
The decision by the telecoms regulator, the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), paves the way for the introduction of wholesale line rental before a deadline for the product set for March 31st.
Wholesale line rental is a service that will enable competing operators to offer a single bill to consumers for line rental and call charges. Until now, Eircom has been the only telecoms firm offering line rental to consumers, which hindered rivals from retaining their customers.
The introduction of wholesale line rental has proved very controversial and is running more than a year behind schedule.
Eircom's rivals had highlighted a previous transfer fee set at about €24 for each line as unworkable. Rivals had refused to offer the service at this fee. The new transfer fee of €9.05 is slightly below a charge of €9.16 proposed in ComReg's consultation. This was as a result of new costing data collected by the regulator.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Communications, Mr Ahern, plans to publish new policy directions for ComReg within days. These directions could force the regulator to place a new cap on Eircom's line rental fees unless the introduction of wholesale line rental is successful.
