Problems	Solutions
Interconnect Regulation Secrecy Implementing unmetering Local loop unbundling	Interconnect Regulation Secrecy Implementing unmetering Local loop unbundling

The problem of interconnect A call initiated at operator A which reaches its destination over operator B's network results in A paying B an interconnect charge for the use of B's network to carry the call. With A being your provider (BT, Cable and Wireless Communications, NTL, TeleWest ...), and B being, to take the best-known example, Energis (who provide the bandwidth for Freeserve), there you have the raison d'être for 'free' ISPs. Given a little clever trickery to ensure that every call you make to Freeserve is switched from the local loop (your phone to the exchange) onto the Energis trunk network and not someone else's, they've managed to get your phone provider to collect the call cost from your bill, subtract a small proportion (X) for using the local loop, and then pass a much larger share (Z) on to Energis. Currently the X:Z ratio is 3:7. The big problem, though, is that the interconnect charge is metered. Metering begets metering and, for national or local-type calls (0345/0645/0845), it is hard to develop tariffs which don't involve metering. With true local calls (for example, 0171 and 0181 calls, plus those for surrounding areas, in London), where there may not be any interconnect charge as such calls can run over a single network, there is much more flexibility in tariffing. The marginal cost of such intra-network calls, as even BT admit off-the-record, is next to nil. This has already been exploited by some cable operators, such as The Cable Corporation, for 'cable-cable' calls within their networks. For an alternative view of the interconnect problem read John Naughton. Not a wasted word!