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sky and broadband in ireland

  • 11-04-2011 10:55am
    #1
    shadowcomplex
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,097 ✭✭✭


    Why dont sky do broadband in ireland? If they did I reckon UPC would go out of business


Comments

  • #2
    cgarvey
    Registered Users Posts: 3,884 ✭✭✭cgarvey


    shadowcomplex wrote: »
    Why dont sky do broadband in ireland? If they did I reckon UPC would go out of business

    Because the regulatory framework allows Eircom to charge crazy line rental (wholesale as well as retail). So if Sky wanted to offer broadband, they'd have to:

    a) roll out their own wired/fibre network (Sky don't have the resources, never mind the will to do that)
    b) use wireless (fixed wireless; they should see that all nomadic WiMax/3G tech isn't providing proper broadband), but that requires a lot of effort, and is very local
    c) use Eircom's BitStream (wholesale broadband offering, like most other DSL providers do), but there's damn all money in that, and you're always bound by eircom's conservative product offering/pricing
    d) use LLU (rent the line from eircom, and put your own equipment in), too expensive and crazy regulations/pricing in place. LLU is almost dead in the water anyway (with next generation / FTTC coming soon).
    e) use satellite (poor service, high equipment/install costs), nomadic WiMax (like Imagine have come to realise, it's not very practical especially on frequencies available, and is not up to wide-area consumer broadband delivery) or 3G/LTE (just no!) none of which are an attractive option.

    So, for a quick national rollout, reselling eircom is the only way, and that's expensive / offers very, very low margins.

    UPC are taking great chunks of the market, but are in a limited number of areas of a limited number of cities, so eircom (and its resellers) are still holding on to market share, but it's slipping. UPC technology is vastly superior to anything eircom can offer, so UPC won't be threatened by eircom for a good while yet!


  • #3
    Cantona's Collars
    Registered Users Posts: 33,709 ✭✭✭✭Cantona's Collars


    Been discussed to death in Satellite Forum http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056230107

    Short answer is No.


  • #4
    djdrobins
    Registered Users Posts: 37 ✭djdrobins


    Sorry - perhaps I am a missing something. Amacom offer a satalite service in my area (Rural Ireland) where the phone line is shared between about 30 houses - its so bad i can sometimes hear my neighbour talkingwhen i pick up. I have sky, at the moment, and have been resorting to 3's mobile broadband (slow but the only way possible to get any sort of internet).
    The next time i hear those poxy Eircom ads saying 20meg broadband and all that, i'll kick someones ass. It's only 20 meg if you live in Dublin, and even then next door to a mast, or distribution box.
    Ireland broadband annoys the crao outta me - why are Sky not allowed offer this service down the satalites we already have on the side of the house.


  • #5
    Ranicand
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,960 ✭✭✭Ranicand


    djdrobins wrote: »
    Sorry - perhaps I am a missing something. Amacom offer a satalite service in my area (Rural Ireland) where the phone line is shared between about 30 houses - its so bad i can sometimes hear my neighbour talkingwhen i pick up. I have sky, at the moment, and have been resorting to 3's mobile broadband (slow but the only way possible to get any sort of internet).
    The next time i hear those poxy Eircom ads saying 20meg broadband and all that, i'll kick someones ass. It's only 20 meg if you live in Dublin, and even then next door to a mast, or distribution box.
    Ireland broadband annoys the crao outta me - why are Sky not allowed offer this service down the satalites we already have on the side of the house.

    And why can't the ESB offer power down the water pipes?:D

    Sky uses the Astra satellite system and all the bandwidth is used for TV.

    Also what would you do for upload?
    Your dish can not send signals back to the satellite.


  • #6
    Minstrel27
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,818 ✭✭✭Minstrel27


    djdrobins wrote: »
    Ireland broadband annoys the crao outta me - why are Sky not allowed offer this service down the satalites we already have on the side of the house.

    They don't offer broadband via satellite in the UK either.


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  • #7
    CS Hasuki
    Registered Users Posts: 383 ✭✭CS Hasuki


    When Sky got into BB in the UK they bought infrastructure from Orange? or some company pulling out of the area of business. A little like how Vodafone started doing landline when BT pulled from rep of ireland.

    If Sky came to Ireland they would be no better than Eircom as the infrastructure sucks ass. Too busy paying the masters and the fat execs cheques and dealing with a highly unionised workforce. Sky BB in UK is DSL.

    UPC are the only crowd spending the cash on improving services. I would have said 12 months ago UPC sucks, but they were still better than Eircom.

    Now I would recommend UPC to a friend, they have made great strides of late with things, including customer service.


  • #8
    Solair
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,230 ✭✭✭Solair


    Sky Broadband's not that great in the UK. It's just DSL, same as eircom or Vodafone or anyone else.

    The only thing that sells it is that it's bundled with Sky Digital at a cheap price. It's not any better technology.

    Cable broadband blows DSL away in terms of the speeds it can offer. It's a totally different technology that cannot be replicated by DSL or satellite. Cable companies have fibre-to-kerb technology and high-bandwidth coaxial cable running into homes. They can easily offer >100mbit/s vs maximum of 24mbit/s (in ideal circumstances, hardly any lines anywhere in the world other than if you're living in a telephone exchange can provide anything like 24mbit/s DSL)

    Also, BT didn't pull out of the Republic of Ireland. They just ditched their residential operation. They're a huge infrastructure player here and own fibre optic networks, exchange equipment, DSL gear etc that other providers use. They also have an extensive corporate portfolio for big clients and they operate Three Ireland's mobile network for them!

    Vodafone was in a better position to make money out of the residential services as they've got the local customer care, billing, branding, marketing etc and they clearly wanted into the residential DSL market.

    See BT Ireland's products : http://www.btirelandwholesale.com/products_roi.html#all


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