Regulated Markets

A brief description of each SMP market currently regulated is provided below. Check the section below on Relevant Market Analysis Decisions and SMP Obligations for further details on existing and previous market analysis decisions. 

ComReg identifies how these markets relate to the various European Commission recommendations according to the reference “Market Number”/”Year of Recommendation”. For example, “01/2020” is market 1 identified in the European Commission’s 2020 Recommendation. If a market is not identified in a recommendation it is denoted by the symbol *. 

Physical Infrastructure Access (*) 

Wholesale Physical Infrastructure Access (‘PIA’) is a wholesale service that involves the supply of access to telecommunications specific poles, ducts and other equivalent conduits (and associated facilities) to support wired electronic communication networks and services. The term PIA is also synonymous with Civil Engineering Infrastructure (‘CEI’). 

Wholesale Dedicated Capacity (01/2020) 

Wholesale Dedicated Capacity (‘WDC’) is a wholesale service that involves the supply of dedicated transmission capacity between fixed locations via fixed connections commonly referred to as leased lines (‘LL’). WDC service typically includes guaranteed high quality service levels, symmetric upload and download speeds, and guaranteed availability. 

Wholesale Local Access (02/2020) 

Wholesale local access (‘WLA’) services are wholesale services ultimately used in the supply of a range of downstream retail services including (but not limited to) fixed telephone, broadband internet/connectivity and television (‘TV’) services to residential and business consumers. WLA inputs can also be utilised by service providers to supply other downstream wholesale services. In general, WLA is the connection between the local serving exchange/access node and the end user’s premises, with this connection being either provided by the service providers themselves or purchased/rented from another service provider. 

Wholesale Access to National Terrestrial Broadcast Transmission Services (18/2003) 

This is a wholesale market where a terrestrial transmission network provider supplies a transmission and distribution service via its towers / mast infrastructure and relevant associated facilities (including transmission and distribution equipment, buildings etc.) in order to enable: 

• The broadcast of national analogue terrestrial radio signals to end-users; and 

• The broadcast by a „Multiplex Operator‟ (i.e. operator providing multiplexing services) of its digital terrestrial broadcasting signals to end-users. 

Wholesale Access to Digital Terrestrial Television (‘DTT’) Multiplexing Services (18/2003) 

This is a wholesale market where a DTT Multiplex Operator using wholesale inputs purchased (or self-supplied) in the market for Wholesale Access to National Terrestrial Broadcast Transmission Services, combined with carriage on its own DTT multiplex supplies a managed digital multiplexing service to terrestrial Downstream TV Broadcasters enabling the transmission of their DTT broadcasting signals to end-users.