advanced-television: Boxer roll-out delayed

reslfj

Are there any other sources to this story ?

http://www.advanced-television.com/2008/jul28_aug1.htm#t7

except this quote: http://www.digitag.org/DTTNews/article.php?Id=2331

Lars

watty

Never mind coincide with RTE, January was not realistic.

Very believable as I can't see them doing it much faster. They have nothing agreed or in place. Almost none of the infrastructure (unlike RTE's own MUX) exists yet.

channelsurfer

seeing as this was one of Boxer's key elements in their submission i.e. roll out dates, it would be interesting to see how much marks Boxer got against One vision and Easy in relation to speed of roll out.

Surely the BCI must have considered this and now must re-assess the applications? or did they know all along that Boxers time frame was un-realistic?

flogen

It was in the Sunday Business Post this week:
http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2008/07/27/story34651.asp

reslfj

flogen wrote: »

It was in the Sunday Business Post this week:
http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2008/07/27/story34651.asp

Sunday Business Post wrote:

Coordination issue likely to delay DTT roll-out
Sunday, July 27, 2008 - By Catherine O’Mahony
The roll-out of commercial digital terrestrial television (DTT) services is likely to be delayed in order to encourage a more coordinated approach.
Boxer DTT, which has provisionally won the licence to provide commercial DTT services, has said it will be ready to launch services on a phased basis from January 2009. However, RTE, which is running the public service DTT service, will not be ready to begin its offering until the end of the third quarter of 2009 - up to nine months after Boxer.
Boxer is dependent on RTE’s transmission network operator, RTE NL, to support its transmission of a DTT signal.

‘‘It is likely that the timing might slip,” conceded Lucy Gaffney, the Communicorp executive who heads the Boxer DTT group. ‘‘We have to run in parallel with the rollout of RTE’s service . . .We have to sign a contract with the BCI, we have to sign contracts with BT and RTE NL. I want to do it in the first quarter of 2009 but there is a lot to it.”
A lack of co-ordination would run counter to the government’s plan to synchronise marketing efforts on the DTT project, in the run-up to the planned 2012 switch-off of the analogue signal.

Part of the plan for DTT was to establish a so-called ‘‘DTT champion’’, an independent entity that would oversee a coordinated roll-out of services nationwide, with input from all the various interest groups: the government, RTE, the BCI and the commercial sector. In Britain, an organisation called Digital UK performs this role. ‘‘We will be working with all the parties concerned from September to help with this co-ordination,” said a BCI spokeswoman.

Gaffney said Boxer DTT was happy to play a role in educating the public about DTT ‘‘from a generic point of view’’, but only up to a point. ‘‘Obviously we want to own this thing.”

An RTE spokesman said it was too soon to comment, although executives privately said they considered the lack of co-ordination to be a potential problem.
An RTE spokesman said: ‘‘In relation to the synchronisation of the roll-out of the commercial MUX and the public service MUX, given that there are a number of parties involved and that the contracts have not been agreed, it would not be appropriate for RTE to comment at this stage.”

The failure to secure the commercial DTT licence comes as a disappointment to RTE, which had been working for more than a year on developing the project.
The BCI’s spokeswoman said the BCI board had assessed the merits of each application according to strict criteria and with the help of external consultants.

‘‘The applications were scored and weighted on the criteria laid down for this process. It was a straightforward decision.”
The Boxer consortium is made up of the Denis O’Brien-owned Communicorp group, Swedish digital terrestrial television operator Boxer TV Access, and BT Ireland as a business partner.
The BCI will begin further talks with Boxer DTT in September before contracts are signed. On offer is a 12-year licence.
The three commercial multiplexes will transmit about 30 channels of digital TV through existing aerials, supported by set-top boxes.

The service will start in major cities, and coverage is due to be extended to the whole country by 2012,when current analogue TV signals are expected to be phased out.

Entry level costs will be €9.99 a month, with set-top boxes to be widely available in supermarkets, as well as specialist retailers.

This article seems worse than the original links.

How was it ever possible to start in January 2009 ? When did they realise " there is a lot to it.” and is it news to Boxer that the BCI needs to "begin further talks with Boxer in September before contracts are signed" ? :mad:


Lars

watty

Mmwhaa haahha ....

Watty said

JanusGeminius

reslfj wrote: »

This article seems worse than the original links.

How was it ever possible to start in January 2009 ? When did they realize " there is a lot to it.” and is it news to Boxer that the BCI needs to "begin further talks with Boxer in September before contracts are signed" ? :mad:


Lars

Never mind the delay, I'm wondering why the BCI went with Boxer in the first place, their not offering something which will excite the public so I suspect that they're hoping that Boxer will complete their infrastructure work then fold. If that's what they are think then it's smart but extremely dangerous, if it's not what they are thinking then they are just idiots.

And Incidentally, Realise, Thou Not Zed.

channelsurfer

for those that arent familar with the public procurement process it goes like this...
all 3 applicants are assessed on a score card of 100%(the max.)
I dont know how many categories there were but say there were 5 and boxer scored highest in the 5 assessment categories then the BCI has no option but to go with them.
It beggars belief how they could come top unless one of the cagtegories used i.e infastructre roll out was pretty high i.e 40% or so.

scath

I think myself that RTÉ's mux reciprocity plan as in their letter to the EC was the best for Irish DTT. Pity they didn't engage UPC earlier on it. I think if cable does a deal with Boxer for disabled pay DTT in return for free UK TV to both customers via gifting the UK terrestrials 1 mux to keep customers going to satellite that this is the best solution. Then Boxer can focus on real premium TV.

JanusGeminius wrote: »

Never mind the delay, I'm wondering why the BCI went with Boxer in the first place, their not offering something which will excite the public so I suspect that they're hoping that Boxer will complete their infrastructure work then fold. If that's what they are think then it's smart but extremely dangerous, if it's not what they are thinking then they are just idiots.

And Incidentally, Realise, Thou Not Zed.