The local loop assets cover the last mile or so of wire between telephone exchanges and homes.

BBC: BT bidders in talks with watchdogs

He says the choke-point remains the local loop, where RBOCs don't need long-distance authority to upgrade their networks.

CNN: SBC lobbyists undercut by DSL rollout

By 12 September any, company wanting access to the local loop had to tell BT which exchanges they wanted access to.

BBC: BT rolls the dice

There is, however, one rather large problem with unbundling the local loop.

ECONOMIST: The slow progress of fast wires

Chiefs at the Earthlease consortium have told telecoms regulator Oftel details of plans to buy BT's so-called "local loop" assets, sources told news agency Reuters.

BBC: BT bidders in talks with watchdogs

Now BT will have to lease the local loop to the home to other operators and allow them to install the new equipment in its exchanges.

BBC: BT forced to open network

Being the first one to install a local loop to a particular household can be extremely profitable, since it gives you a captive customer with no alternatives.

FORBES: The Weird Economics of Utility Networks

As long as BT controls the "local loop", the last link from the network to a phone or modem, and insists on metered access, it hardly pays to offer unmetered web deals.

BBC: Unmetered web access in trouble

All they can do is to unbundle the local loop and keep a close regulatory eye on the behaviour of their telecoms incumbents, which can drive or delay the adoption of broadband pretty much as they choose.

ECONOMIST: High-speed Internet access