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Forty-five per cent of LLU lines are in the capital, with the South East and North West, especially Manchester, also showing relatively high levels of penetration. That contrasts markedly with Northern Ireland, for example, where not one exchange has been unbundled. These are the findings of PointTopic, which has analysed LLU numbers by BT telephone exchange.

Over the UK as a whole, just 6.6 per

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cent of broadband users are connected to ISP's own LLU kit in exchanges, despite the fact that the 820 unbundled exchanges cover 48.8 per cent of households. In France, by contrast, 30.2 per cent of lines are now LLU-based.

For its part, ADSL Guide notes that ISPs are failing to provide adequate service levels:
'If unbundling is to bring the option of an alternative telecoms and broadband provider to millions in the UK, then issues like cost and service quality need to be addressed,' it says. 'Low pricing will attract many people, but the danger that many will find the quality lacking and be put off of any future unbundled service does exist.'

The other concern is that LLU is creating a new divide and a three-tiered Internet: those who have access to LLU services; those who rely on BT's DSL network; and the refuseniks, who, for reasons of cost or technophobia, remain unconnected.