Smart going belly up?

dub45

In addition to the above points surely we should be looking for Comreg or the Department to put in place a plan that will guarantee continuity of telecom services in the future? It is easy to forget that the customers of other companies including Eircom's own customers were inconvenienced by Eircom's actions - for instance to give one small example - there is a 'little old lady' an Eircom customer who rings me daily and I pick up some groceries etc for her - apart from the errands it is a form of security for her to be able to contact somebody. How about a doctor who had moved to Smart and his patients not being able to contact him? and it goes on and on.

Nowadays the telcoms infrastructure is just as important as any physical infrastructure and no company should have the power to interfere with that.
Surely there are enough legal options open to Eircom to puruse debts without disrupting the telecommunications network?

Foxwood

dub45 wrote:

Surely there are enough legal options open to Eircom to puruse debts without disrupting the telecommunications network?

Eircom didn't cut Smart off so that they could collect on a debt. If eircom had been successful, Smart would have gone out of business, and eircom would happily have written off the 4 million that they allege was owed.

dub45

Foxwood wrote:

Eircom didn't cut Smart off so that they could collect on a debt. If eircom had been successful, Smart would have gone out of business, and eircom would happily have written off the 4 million that they allege was owed.

I accept that but my concern is to emphasise the importance of the continuity of services and that there should never be a reoccurence and thats what we should be looking for as 'concerned citizens'.

dub45

Foxwood wrote:

24 hours is nowhere near sufficient notice for such a drastic action. 2 weeks would be a far more appriate minimum-notice period.

I agree totally - I could not believe it when I read that they were talking about 24 hours notice - absolute lunacy! Not that it should be allowed at all!:mad:

rockal

dub45 wrote:

I agree totally - I could not believe it when I read that they were talking about 24 hours notice - absolute lunacy! Not that it should be allowed at all!:mad:

Agreed, and 24 hours notice to whom? Comreg?

Blackdragon

Dellas wrote:

Oh ok I thought they never raised the bond!!! But if Smart wernt prepared to comply with the T&C then I guess they had a right to take the 3G license back.

They changed the t&c's halfway through the deal i believe

Blackdragon

rockal wrote:

Agreed, and 24 hours notice to whom? Comreg?

Agreed - this is all bull and someone should really put the foot down on this one.

MOH

JJDoherty wrote:

I have just started a new thread for the letter of complaint I have just sent regarding all this. The thread is here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054999845

Nice letter JJDoherty

That thread doesn't work though?

Blackdragon

MOH wrote:

Nice letter JJDoherty

That thread doesn't work though?

Have to agree with that as well - i copyed your letter,changed it around just a little bit,signed my name to it and sent it off to the email addresses you were kind enough to provide

thefinalstage

Has anyone noticed that this co-incided with eircoms broadband price drop?

Sponge Bob

Foxwood wrote:

Eircom didn't cut Smart off so that they could collect on a debt. If eircom had been successful, Smart would have gone out of business, and eircom would happily have written off the 4 million that they allege was owed.

Correct.

Eircom have bid over €100m (but under €114m) on a 3g licence and lost .

If they had managed to crash Smart they would have added another €4m to that bid, in effect, and may then get that licence handed to them by the supine Comreg.

But it seems their attempt to crash Smart into liquidation may have misfired on them despite their having 500 temporary people in place on Monday last to do winback and telephone call handling to dismantle Smarts customer base by the end of the week.

Oh and BTW Eircom will be firing 200 winback people by the end of next week and sacking some 100 temporary clerical staff as well.

Sir Oxman

Foxwood wrote:

Eircom didn't cut Smart off so that they could collect on a debt. If eircom had been successful, Smart would have gone out of business, and eircom would happily have written off the 4 million that they allege was owed.

100% agree. Schysters, schysters, schysters.
And I am also writing to Dempsey and Goggins and 'Russell Crowe' (eircoms new MD) to express my disgust and utter contempt at what happened this week.

JJDoherty

MOH wrote:

Nice letter JJDoherty That thread doesn't work though?

Thanks, had a look and the thread I started has mysteriously disappeared! Any administrators have any idea what may have happened?

Anyway started the thread "SmartTelecom, Eircom & ComReg Debacle - My Letter of Complaint" again and it can be found here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=52162709#post52162709

digitaldr

Heard an ad during the right hook on newstalk. At first it seemed like it was a customer service announcment from Smart - it went something along the lines off:

Attention all Smart customers, Eircom has agreed to provide you with a temporary service for the next two weeks. You should therefore sign up with Eircom or another provider. Our dedicated freephone lines are open until 9pm

It certainly didn't make any distinction between bb and voice only services

Sponge Bob

I just heard that eircom have refused to reconnect the disconnected LLU BB customers unless either Comreg or Smart pay them €120 each for the work , cash upfront . Comreg said, thats OK , we don't mind. They have gone home for the weekend now.

4,000 of the 17,000 LLU customers had been disconnected before eircom stopped doing so on thursday . 13,000 are still OK

rockal

Latest update from Smart here http://support.smarttelecom.ie/forums/announcement.php?f=3&a=6

DonkeyStyle \o/

Sponge Bob wrote:

4,000 of the 17,000 LLU customers had been disconnected before eircom stopped doing so on thursday . 13,000 are still OK

Ouch, I hadn't realised they'd unhooked so many LLU people... that could have been me :eek:
Thankfully I'm one of the lucky 13k.

Blackdragon

DonkeyStyle \o/ wrote:

Ouch, I hadn't realised they'd unhooked so many LLU people... that could have been me :eek:
Thankfully I'm one of the lucky 13k.

Amen to both of us for that result.
Anyone finding there Eirscum copper cannot support the 3mb upgrade. Im operating at 4.75mb.
Still pretty good though

rockal

Blackdragon wrote:

Amen to both of us for that result.
Anyone finding there Eirscum copper cannot support the 3mb upgrade. Im operating at 4.75mb.
Still pretty good though

OK, You win, I'm on 4.2Mbs

the corpo

if they are going bust, at least they're going out in style!

constitutionus

Blackdragon wrote:

Amen to both of us for that result.
Anyone finding there Eirscum copper cannot support the 3mb upgrade. Im operating at 4.75mb.
Still pretty good though

still on 3mb, though glad to have it. those poor 4000. ****ers in eircom can move quick when they want
:mad:

Jor

Eircon are not the only ones putting the squeeze on Smart.
I often use Google to check for updates.
If you type in "Smart Telecom" in Google, the top sponsored link is for a company called Clarity Telecom, trying to take Smart customers as well.

kaizersoze

From RTE: http://www.rte.ie/business/2006/1006/smart.html

End for Smart as Murtagh takes over

October 06, 2006 19:54
The board of troubled telecoms group Smart is to sell off all of its businesses and assets for €1 to a private company controlled by its largest shareholders Brendan Murtagh.

A statement said the deal would allow Smart to provide a full service to its 160 corporate and 17,000 residential broadband customers 'effective immediately'.

Eircom began cutting off these customers earlier this week, having disconnected 40,000 of Smart's fixed-line customers, saying it was owed €4m by the company.


Mr Murtagh's company, BidCo, will also take on all of Smart's debts, estimated to amount to nearly €40m. Smart will be given a 10% stake in BidCo as part of the deal.

The deal is subject to approval of shareholders at an EGM. BidCo has received undertaking from shareholders representing 42% of Smart to back the agreement. BidCo will also provide funds to keep Smart going until the shareholder meeting.

Smart's acting chief executive Ciaran Casey said this was 'a very disappointing outcome' for shareholders, but was the only option.

Last month, Smart cut 250 jobs after a strategic review. Mr Murtagh, who holds 20% of the company, also agreed to lend the company €2.4m to keep it going.

Services to Smart's 40,000 fixed-line customers were restored after ComReg and Eircom hammered out an interim agreement. For two weeks, Smart's fixed-line customers will not be able to ring mobile phones or make international calls but they will be able to make national and local calls. They will then have to make alternative arrangements. It's understood Friday's deal does not cover these customers.

Sponge Bob

kaizersoze wrote:

From RTE: http://www.rte.ie/business/2006/1006/smart.html

A statement said the deal would allow Smart to provide a full service to its 160 corporate and 17,000 residential broadband customers 'effective immediately'.

Its not 17,000, its 13,000 according to Comreg who have decided not to bother reconnecting the 4,000 LLU customers that eircom disconnected and set th eir winback scum upon during the week .

Gadgetman496

::INTERNET & TELECOMS
Murtagh to take control of Smart Telecom
Friday, October 06 2006
by Maxim Kelly

Millionaire entrepreneur Brendan Murtagh has offered to buy Smart Telecom for the grand sum of EUR1, as well as a 10 percent stake in one of his companies, BidCo.

Construction and property industry magnate Murtagh already owns just under 20 percent of the seriously struggling telco, which had thousands of residential voice customers disconnected by Eircom during the week over a EUR1.7 million debt owed to the infrastructure owner.

The proposed deal as it currently stands is structured so that Smart will be de-listed from the London AIM market and the firm's shareholders will be offered a 10 percent stake in Murtagh's private company BidCo, which will become the new owner of Smart.

In a statement released on Friday evening, Smart said 42 percent of its shareholders had committed to the deal. Around 80 percent of shareholders will be needed to approve the transaction, which will be discussed at a Smart Telecom EGM expected soon.

The disposal recommended by Smart's directors means BidCo will assume Smart's estimated liabilities of EUR40 million.

The company's interim financial results for the first six months of 2006 showed fixed assets of EUR63 million, liabilities of EUR60 million, and shareholder funds of EUR3.4 million. Smart Telecom said its financial position had "deteriorated further" since June.

Smart Telecom's acting chief executive Ciaran Casey, who replaced Smart's co-founder Oisin Fanning who stepped down for health reasons recently, issued a statement saying the proposed transaction would allow the company to continue to provide a full service to its corporate and residential broadband customers.

"While this represents a very disappointing outcome for all shareholders who have supported the company over many years, it is the only option to ensure that shareholders have an opportunity to get some value for their shareholding. The proposal put forward by BidCo will allow Smart to deal responsibly with all its creditors in due course and ensure that a newly capitalised Smart will continue to deliver to its many customers the most competitive corporate and broadband offering in the market," he said.

A Smart Telecoms spokesman was unable to confirm if a cash alternative would be offered to shareholders if the 10 percent stake in BidCo was not accepted.

As a condition of the sale to BidCo, five of Smart's current directors will resign from the company's board. These are Ken Barry, Ray King, Paul Sullivan, Maria Pearl Roche and Tormod Hermansen. Kyran O'Dwyer has been appointed acting Chairman until the transaction is voted on by the shareholders.

Smart has already reduced its headcount from 348 to 100, and last month announced its intention to concentrate solely on broadband rather than on its low margin voice, call card and payphone business units.

watty

I wonder are the Fixed assets valued at real market disposal price, insured value or original cost, or original cost - "industry standard depreciation"?

The price for their BB package will have to go up, it would be better for everyone if this deal works and Smart Telecom run as a business in itself that has to be viable rather than as a something to be hypothetically bought out. They could probabily halve the workforce again too.

kaizersoze

No mention of whether they will continue the roll-out or just service existing customers.

Dellas

So Smart no longer offer phone call services anymore ?? Is it right that the customers will have 2 weeks to find another phone company for their calls?? If this is true then theres really no point just having BB and not be able to make calls. I presume the costs will go up to for BB. The next best option for a all in package would probebly be BT or UTV.

Prisoner6409

dub45 wrote:

How about a doctor who had moved to Smart and his patients not being able to contact him? and it goes on and on.

N

For God's sake. Why not blame the doctor that took out a subscription with a telecoms company not fully established with a firm foothold in the marketplace just to save a few bob. I have no love for Eircom but did you really expect Eircom to subsidise a competitor so they could continue reducing Eircom's customer base. Grow up. As soon as Eircom was privatised the only responsibility it had was to its own customers and shareholders, not its competitors. Plus any doctor I know has a mobile phone number.

Kensington

Dellas wrote:

Is it right that the customers will have 2 weeks to find another phone company for their calls?? If this is true then theres really no point just having BB and not be able to make calls. I presume the costs will go up to for BB. The next best option for a all in package would probebly be BT or UTV.

Voice only (Carrier Pre Select) customers only have 2 weeks to find an alternative supplier for their calls. If you have broadband through Smart LLU, you don't have to do anything - the broadband and phone services will stay the same so you'll still be able to make and take phonecalls as before. For anyone who wants to join smart in future though, they won't be able to take just voice service anymore, they will have to take the broadband service aswell. Also, smart do a broadband package with unlimited local and national phone calls included for another €10.99 on top of the BB subscription cost.