New Comms Minister: Eamon Ryan

Great news. He really knows his stuff.

He's a very capable politician with the added advantage of being new to the situation. I think this is a great opportunity to have some joined-up thinking on communications.

Rural areas still need broadband in a lot of cases. For most of those, wireless will have to be the approach. It's the only way to get proper cometition as we see how eircom can be inspired by any threat to enable "uneconomic" exchanges.

Also, mobile sites could be adapted to allow local wireless companies use them for their own products, if the mast is tall and/or prominent in altitude, at a low cost.


I wonder what will happen regarding ComReg, and if the decision to abolish ECAP was in any way related to the arrival of a new comms minister??

I hope Eamonn Ryan proves to be more than the communications part of the Programme for Govt. suggests. Almost lifted out of FF's manifesto.

http://www.greenparty.ie/programme_for_government

Below is the Communication's section from the agreed programme for government between FF and the Greens. Full doc is at http://www.greenparty.ie/programme_for_government

COMMUNICATIONS

Broadband
A world-class telecommunications sector is critical to our continued economic and social prosperity. We are committed to moving
Ireland to the forefront of knowledge-based economies in the world through the provision of open access broadband. A state-of-the-
art telecommunications network will be the key infrastructure that will enable this and support information intensive industry and
bandwidth-hungry citizens.

We will:
• Complete the roll-out of broadband throughout the country with the National Broadband Scheme (NBS). This will mean that
the last 10%-15% of the country, which will never have access to broadband without intervention or support, will now have
access to broadband, provided on a technology-neutral basis.
• Encourage the progressive shift to IP based Next Generation Networks.
• Encourage the separation of Eircom’s network from its commercial retail business into a separate entity to be regulated by
ComReg, on a fully open-access and transparent basis.
• Tender contracts to provide broadband availability to the final 10% of the country. The successful tenderers will have to
commit to deploy technological solutions to allow maximum competition.
• Expand the current free telephone rental scheme by providing for free broadband for older people. Industry will be invited to
tender for the provision of the new bundled broadband and rental service for older people.

Note how they mention the fabled "National Broadband Scheme" and then mention it again, except as a "Tender".

And encouragement is not what eircom needs. It needs to be told that line rental increases are not going to happen in the forseeable future. End of the decade preferably. It has more than enough to invest in IP network with the highest line rental in the world, as well as servicing the debt to its masters.

And their sites in city centres will be a very significant earner. They seem to own property far beyond exchange and area engineering sites, as you'd expect. A former semi-state comes with lots of property baggage.

Mabye this minister will take more of a direct approach (fixing prices etc.) instead of loading Comreg with responsibility. The poor dears are probably overwhelmed with drawing doughnuts around tall hills around Ireland.

The thing is, the governement (FF) dont have any incentives either way when it comes to communication regulation. The biggest problem with broadband is availability.
Most of the population live the 5 largest cities, and the various large towns around the country. These are areas served by Eircom and its resellers via enabled DSL lines, Cable operators, wireless and mobile phone providers. In these areas, or close to them, you have a good chance of being able to get it. Even if its only about 4-8% of the country give or take.
For people living in the rural areas, they have no chance. If they are lucky enough to be within 3 or Vodafone's HSDPA coverage, they can avail of that, but no cable operators and few wireless operators work in the rural majority of ireland. And Eircom is not going to enable exchanges that are not economical for them. Of course, DSL also has the range limits of about 6km give or take, but I believe DSL repeaters can extend this range a good bit also, bet Eircom hasn't heard of those <_<.

There are a few ways the problem can be dealth with.
1. Revoke Eircom's National Wireless licence and tender it to another company that will agree to roll out the service across Ireland, preferably prioritising rural areas first.
2. Buy back Eircoms network (possibly with a CPO? ) and run it as an open network for other competitors to easily get LLU access, and encourage companies to setup wireless options in the rural areas that will never be able to avail of DSL or Cable options due to technical limitations.
3. Leave the status quo, but pass legislation to give ComReg better powers and the ability to liase with the competition authority in order to deal more effectivly with eircoms stonewalling.

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3. is an option that Ryan could take, little risk of opposition from FF since they dont seem to give a damn one way or the other. And it would (for them) make it look like they really are trying to sort out their huge cockup.

2. is the preferred option, but I can see FF balking at it, admittance of a big mistake, and having to fork over money to a private company to fix it.. though on the other hand, Eircom's core network is worth less now then it was 10 years ago, and I am sure they will be only too happy to pass a law that allows them to take it back giving eircom the amount the network is worth as opposed to what eircom would want.

Sponge Bob wrote:

hand over regulation of eircom wholesale to the competition and simply abolish comreg .

This is the only sensible course of action.

Just remember that the minister is essentially powerless.