Communications regulator ComReg has published a preliminary report on the market for wholesale unbundled access - under which rival telecoms operators can use Eircom's network to offer services to customers.
The report proposes to designate Eircom as a 'significant market power' and maintain most of the obligations and price controls it imposes on the company to ensure competition.
Smart Telecom has welcomed the consultation paper and said it planned to 'dramatically increase' its network coverage using unbundling. It also announced that it would offer a €38 a month broadband and phone service using a speed of 1 megabit per second.
