Esprit enters telco market

A new entrant to the European telecoms market has blamed an ?old boys network? of previously state-owned telcos for keeping charges high.

Esprit Telecom?s director of communications Glenn Manoff said that the high cost of cross-border leased lines ? sometimes 25 up to times the price of the same lines inside borders had led Esprit to invest in its own European network.

The high cost of leased lines into Europe has been the subject of a campaign by the Telecommunications Managers Association (TMA) and government user group Socitm.

The TMA is currently undertaking a survey of its members on the subject of leased lines in Europe, and plans to use the findings to decide whether to launch a formal complaint about high costs to the Department of Trade and Industry and the European Commission.

Manoff said because of a lack of competition only one route ? London to Paris ? was in any way competitive in Europe.

?Every market is like that when it goes from monopoly to competition,? he said.

A number of telcos are racing to roll out European networks and Manoff said these new networks would impact on prices in Europe.

? Report by Steve Ranger.