The Danish Business Authority (Erhvervsstyrelsen) has published a new decision outlining preferential wholesale terms for TDC, which it hopes will prompt the incumbent to upgrade its copper network with Vectoring technology, which can theoretically increase broadband speeds to 100Mbps/30Mbps (down/uplink).
According to a press release from the watchdog, the decision amends TDC’s obligations to offer wholesale access through copper (Market 4) and will enter into force on 1 January 2015. Under the terms set out by the legislation, TDC will be required to offer alternative telecom companies ‘virtual unbundled local access’ (VULA).
Erhvervsstyrelsen has explained that the updated regulations have been prompted by the fact that ‘only one company can handle the equipment to be used for Vectoring’, as the benefits of Vectoring will be lost if more companies establish equipment in the same street cabinet. According to TDC, end users within 400m of a street cabinet will benefit from the upgrade; the company expects more than 400,000 end users to be eligible to experience the upgraded speeds by 2015. TDC must now submit an updated wholesale standard offer by 1 April 2014; the company needs to submit a list of the remote areas where Vectoring cannot be implemented, and can start testing the technology from 1 June 2014. Further, the Erhvervsstyrelsen is investigating the possibility of also implementing Vectoring in telecoms exchanges, so that ‘carriers can offer higher speeds to more end-users’.