Telekom Austria is using vectoring as an alternative way of providing fast internet connections until fibre deployment is complete. This means that alternative telecoms providers, such as Tele2 and UPC, have to give way to Telekom Austria. because only one provider can offer vectoring in order for it to work without interference, diepresse.com reports. Telecoms regulator Johannes Gungl is trying to mediate between the 35 parties involved. While Telekom Austria wants the exclusive rights for vectoring, some competitors even want to see it banned. RTR does not support either stance, as it wishes to preserve competition.
The telecoms watchdog has launched a market analysis to show, amongst other, the extent of local loop unbundling. Gungl estimates that out of 1,450 main distributor boxes owned by Telekom Austria, about 350 have been opened up, with Tele2 and UPC accounting for about 95 percent. For Gungl, one solution would be virtual unbundling, which would mean that providers pay Telekom Austria for the services, but not for the copper cables. Telekom welcomes this resolution if competitors pay an increased price.
For Tele2 Austria’s CEO Alfred Pufitsch, it is essential that consumers are still able to choose among different providers, and therefore he demands that this ability is secured through regulatory means and in line with competition law
