Starting today subscribers of the second largest ISP in the Netherlands will be able to freely access The Pirate Bay once again. According to UPC, anti-piracy group BREIN agreed to a lifting of the ban pending the outcome of a possible appeal in a case against two other Dutch Internet providers.

Last month The Court of The Hague handed down its decision in a long running case which had previously forced two Dutch ISPs, Ziggo and XS4ALL, to block The Pirate Bay.

The Court ruled against local anti-piracy outfit BREIN, concluding that the blockade was ineffective and restricted the ISPs’ entrepreneurial freedoms.

Responding to the verdict the two ISPs quickly unblocked the site, but with separate cases still pending The Pirate Bay remained inaccessible to users of various other Dutch ISPs.

In a surprise announcements today, this situation changed. UPC Netherlands, the second largest ISP in the country, said it has decided to lift the Pirate Bay blockade.

This is a significant move since the court has yet to decide on the appeal in UPC’s case, a decision which isn’t expected before April this year.

In a message on its website UPC says that it discussed the issue with anti-piracy group BREIN and reached an agreement to discontinue the blockade, at least for now.

“BREIN and UPC therefore agreed to lift The Pirate Bay blockade,” the statement reads.

BREIN has yet to decide whether to appeal the case against Ziggo and XS4ALL. If it does so successfully, the blockade may be reinstated again, but this could take years.

KPN, Tele2, T-Mobile and Telfort are the remaining ISPs who still block The Pirate Bay in the Netherlands. It is unknown whether they plan to lift the ban in the near future.

Update: KPN also unblocked The Pirate Bay after it reached an agreement with BREIN.