Internet pressure group IrelandOffline has criticised last Friday's decision by communications regulator ComReg to fix Eircom's charges for Local Loop Unbundling at €14.65 a month.
This is the price other telecoms companies will pay for access to the copper connection between a local telephone exchange and a customer's premises.
IrelandOffline's John Timmons said the price, which has been fixed in real terms until December 1 2007, was 'nothing but detrimental to an already weakened market'. Mr Timmons said the new price was the second highest in Europe.
The group said the legal battles between Eircom and ComReg over the issue had created an unstable environment for new operators.
In its decision on Friday, ComReg said it was aware that some operators thought the price was too high, but added that it also had to encourage efficient market entry and allow Eircom a reasonable return on its costs.
