comreg: like being savaged by a giant bloated rabbit

bealtine

http://www.tribune.ie/business/news/article/2009/sep/20/broadband-is-working-comreg-defends-itself/

'Broadband is working': Comreg defends itself
Right to reply: Comreg chairman John Doherty takes issue with claims about the failures of national broadband roll-out in an opinion article in last week's 'Sunday Tribune'

ComReg, the public body responsible for regulating the electronic communications' sector, agrees with the claim of your correspondent Eamon McGrane, in an article in the Sunday Tribune on 13 September, that the development of the smart economy will depend in part on the further roll-out of broadband in Ireland. However, we disagree with certain assertions in the article.

The European Commission defines broadband as capacity equal to, or higher than, 144 kilobits per second, so it would be inconsistent to describe mobile broadband as a form of dial-up. Mobile broadband offers internet users speeds of up to 7.2 megabits per second (mbps) and enables them to use their broadband connection at home, at work or on the move. More than ever, mobility is a key component of modern communications and the trend is for an increasing number of consumers to opt for broadband in this format.

The article claims that "BT Ireland has thrown its hands up in relation to broadband". In fact, as part of a recently-announced partnership with Vodafone, BT has committed to investing in a major expansion of the LLU infrastructure used to deliver faster broadband services. The additional investment and scale of the combined operation will add momentum to the further roll-out of broadband in Ireland.

Comreg is criticised for "publishing endless consultations". Every year, Comreg makes numerous decisions that have a significant impact on competition, consumer welfare and the development of the market. We make no apology for consulting publicly in advance of these decisions, as we are obliged to under Irish and EU law. If Comreg did not consult with its stakeholders, we would rightly be criticised for making decisions that were closed and secret, and not based on the best available information.

To put these issues in context, it is worth examining the development of broadband in Ireland over the past few years. At the beginning of 2005, there were just over 150,000 broadband subscriptions. Latest figures show there are now over 1.3 million broadband subscribers. In the relatively short space of five years, over a million subscribers have signed up to broadband in Ireland. Consumers and businesses have been enthusiastic adopters of broadband.

During this period, Comreg has taken several initiatives which have led to the wider availability of broadband, and to the strengthening of competition. In particular, Comreg made available a significant amount of radio spectrum to companies that wanted to provide wireless broadband. As a result, over 110,000 residential and non-residential customers are getting broadband through fixed wireless access.

Comreg has also licensed four mobile network operators to provide 3G services, a level of competition and choice which compares favourably with other European countries. And Comreg continues to regulate the wholesale prices and access terms on which competitors can use Eircom's infrastructure.

The emergence of wireless providers acted as a spur to fixed-line broadband providers, causing them to respond by making more competitive offerings. Irish consumers can receive broadband through a range of methods: their fixed phone line (52.7%), mobile broadband (28.3%), cable (9.5%), and fixed wireless broadband (8.6%). In terms of competition, Eircom provides 36.5% of all retail broadband subscriptions, while the remaining 63.5% is provided by all other operators in the market. Again, this level of competition against the main fixed operator is high by European standards.

Looking ahead, Ireland has solid foundations upon which to build. We have an increasingly capable and fibre-rich core and fixed-line network, four mobile networks with increasing broadband data capability, a significant cable upgrade programme due to be completed next year bringing speeds of up to 50 mbps, and new technologies such as WiMax bringing new communications offerings to Irish consumers and businesses. The National Broadband Scheme will provide broadband to areas of the country where it is unavailable.

Ireland's smart economy requires high-speed, next-generation communications. Much of the required investment to enable these services is taking place today. But it is a challenge for the industry to make the business case to provide as much capacity as will be needed if current trends persist.

The size of the investment required and its associated risks, the competitive interplay between market operators, and the pressures of the overall economic situation: all these factors mitigate against an early, easy solution. Comreg has set out clearly its view of how these challenges can best be confronted in our paper 'Next Generation Broadband in Ireland' (available at www.comreg.ie).

We look forward to working with government and industry to help make faster broadband a success. The media also has a role to play in providing objective analysis and facilitating an informed debate about progress to date and challenges ahead.

John Doherty is chairman of the Commission for Communications Regulation

September 20, 2009

Galen

Now you wouldn't expect them to starting the truth after all this time. They have pouring out this BS for so long that I think they're actually starting to believe all the crap they tell us.

cgarvey

John Doherty wrote:

We look forward to working with government and industry to help make faster broadband a success. The media also has a role to play in providing objective analysis and facilitating an informed debate about progress to date and challenges ahead.

I think that paragraph speaks volumes. It says more about ComReg than anything else he said.

Hint: Consumer?