ICTA launches new consultation on LLU
From TeleGeography
18 Jul 2013 Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands’ telecoms regulator the Information and Communications Technology Authority (ICTA) has opened a new public consultation on whether mandating the provision of access to the local loop in the Cayman Islands would be contrary to the public interest, after receiving mixed responses from LIME and Digicel in its previous consultation on the topic. According to Digicel, ‘the introduction of local loop unbundling (LLU) is a way of significantly accelerating broadband rollout in the Cayman Islands and enabling far more vigorous broadband competition.’ LIME, on the other hand, stated that ‘local loop unbundling would not serve the public i
nterest. To the contrary, the very threat of such a policy is anathema to facility-based competition and undermines the business case of the broadband investments already made and being considered by operators in the Cayman Islands today.’ The watchdog set a deadline of 29 July 2013 for interested parties to submit their comments on the topic.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, in late 2012 the regulator intervened in a dispute between LIME and Digicel, after LIME refused to provide Digicel with certain requested infrastructure sharing services to allow for the unbundling of the local loop. With Decision 2012-5 
(13 December 2012) ICTA stated that the Interconnection and Infrastructure Sharing Regulations (2003) apply to the negotiations between LIME and Digicel and consequently, on 27 May 2013, the regulator launched a public consultation on the potential unbundling of the local loop, with a deadline of 15 July 2013.
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