Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Access (or the lack of it) to broadband in Ireland.

Options
13

Comments

  • Options
    #62
    legocrazy505
    Closed Accounts Posts: 691 ✭✭✭legocrazy505


    wexfordman2 wrote: »
    I would still dearly love to know why the independent and the author chose to publish that article with no comments section to it.

    Well, I think I know why, primarily because 99% of the article was hogwash and it's best not to let people point it out underneath the article.

    It's clearly a paid advertisement too. Very poor journalism from the Independent.


  • Options
    #63
    BandMember
    Registered Users Posts: 1,704 ✭✭✭BandMember


    wexfordman2 wrote: »
    I would still dearly love to know why the independent and the author chose to publish that article with no comments section to it.

    Well, I think I know why, primarily because 99% of the article was hogwash and it's best not to let people point it out underneath the article.

    The reason that there was no comments allowed is because it was a paid advertisement. Obviously, the Independent should have pointed that out but what do you expect from that (electronic) rag of a publication.... :rolleyes:


  • Options
    #64
    Edups2.0
    Closed Accounts Posts: 256 ✭✭Edups2.0


    pilly wrote: »
    I don't live in a city, don't understand why people get all het up about these things. It's only my opinion. I've already stated I don't have broadband at home and manage quite well. It's not a human right is all I'm saying.

    And I didn't say it was either. What I said was it's attitudes like that poster that leaves people and businesses struggling in modern Ireland because they don't seem bothered to help them. You took it as a human rights issue, foolishly so.


  • Options
    #65
    Edups2.0
    Closed Accounts Posts: 256 ✭✭Edups2.0


    legocrazy505 wrote: »
    It's clearly a paid advertisement too. Very poor journalism from the Independent.

    A published article does not a journalist make.


  • Options
    #66
    AllGunsBlazing
    Registered Users Posts: 3,620 ✭✭✭AllGunsBlazing


    Remember in the early 00's when you couldn't even get flat rate dial up in this country for love nor money? (And thank you BT for jumping into the Irish market!)

    Only six and a half years ago getting a 5mb line from UPC was a massive deal for me. I wouldnt cross the street for that kind of speed now - it'd be like having to swap out a big screen hd tv for a black and white portable. :o


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #67
    pilly
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 9,005 ✭✭✭pilly


    wexfordman2 wrote: »
    Look, a lighbulb is not a necessity for survival either, you can get along perfectly well without it.

    And do you expect the government to provide light-bulbs to everyone in the country?


  • Options
    #68
    pilly
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 9,005 ✭✭✭pilly


    Buford T. Justice V wrote: »
    A a farmer in the SW of Ireland, broadband, or the lack of it is a huge issue. We currently have 6MB down and !.2 MB up on a 4G mobile network. I need broadband for registering calves, getting movement dockets, sending in information to the Dept of Agriculture, applying for schemes etc.

    I get less than 1 MB down and virtually nothing up at weekends so any work that needs to be uploaded during the weekend requires me to drive 5 miles to the local village with the laptop and dongle and send/receive any emails or documents required.

    A lot of farms and small business users in rural Ireland would have huge issues with access to broadband when it is faster to drive to the local town to rent a video than it would be to download over the internet.

    It's not a human right but it is getting close to being a basic right to have decent broadband access to carry on any semblance of a normal functioning life in the 21st century .

    This is probably the most reasoned argument I've heard for broadband across the country and I can see where that would be a big problem actually.

    My initial point was in response to a poster who called me "disgusting" for having the view that it wasn't essential for survival.

    I do still hold the view that it's not the biggest problem this country faces at the moment, homelessness is.

    I also understand the frustration of having to drive somewhere to get business done as I have to go to my local library on the weekend to do anything requiring fast internet.


  • Options
    #69
    legocrazy505
    Closed Accounts Posts: 691 ✭✭✭legocrazy505


    AllGunsBlazing wrote: »
    Remember in the early 00's when you couldn't even get flat rate dial up in this country for love nor money? (And thank you BT for jumping into the Irish market!)

    Only six and a half years ago getting a 5mb line from UPC was a massive deal for me. I wouldnt cross the street for that kind of speed now - it'd be like having to swap out a big screen hd tv for a black and white portable. :o

    By contrast 6 and a half years ago we were told we'd "soon be able to get next-generation broadband!"

    When we got it later that year, turns out "next-generation" was 0.40mbps down and 0.21mbps up

    Then in 2013 we saw an improvement to a whole 0.9mbps down and still 0.21mbps up.

    Last year with no help from Eir we discovered that by unplugging a sky box we could go from about 0.9mbps to a whole 1.7mbps down and 0.19 mbps up. No doing this did nothing until recently, only recently when we got a Sky+ HD box to replace an older Sky+ box.

    Now we've been told consisentently when cold called by Eir that "fibre" is "just around the corner!" That we should expect an upgrade "very soon." Thing is the cabinet has been "in progress" for two years. Two ****ing years.


  • Options
    #70
    maudgonner
    Registered Users Posts: 5,455 ✭✭✭maudgonner


    pilly wrote: »
    I also understand the frustration of having to drive somewhere to get business done as I have to go to my local library on the weekend to do anything requiring fast internet.

    Ironic that you were complaining earlier in the thread about the government paying for people to get internet, isn't it? :pac:


  • Options
    #71
    Edups2.0
    Closed Accounts Posts: 256 ✭✭Edups2.0


    pilly wrote: »
    This is probably the most reasoned argument I've heard for broadband across the country and I can see where that would be a big problem actually.

    My initial point was in response to a poster who called me "disgusting" for having the view that it wasn't essential for survival.

    I do still hold the view that it's not the biggest problem this country faces at the moment, homelessness is.

    I also understand the frustration of having to drive somewhere to get business done as I have to go to my local library on the weekend to do anything requiring fast internet.

    I said attitudes like that are. They are the very reason our government don't do anything useful.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #72
    pilly
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 9,005 ✭✭✭pilly


    maudgonner wrote: »
    Ironic that you were complaining earlier in the thread about the government paying for people to get internet, isn't it? :pac:

    Not really no, a public library serves 1000's of people so makes sense for it to be provided there. What I was complaining about was the assertion that the government should run a cable to every single door in the country.

    I don't expect them to do that for me when there are far greater problems going on is what I'm saying.


  • Options
    #73
    maudgonner
    Registered Users Posts: 5,455 ✭✭✭maudgonner


    pilly wrote: »
    Not really no, a public library serves 1000's of people so makes sense for it to be provided there. What I was complaining about was the assertion that the government should run a cable to every single door in the country.

    I don't expect them to do that for me when there are far greater problems going on is what I'm saying.

    You could go to an internet cafe and pay to use the internet.

    Instead, you go to a library and use the facilities that have been paid for by the taxpayer. That's the irony.

    Yes, there are people on trollies in hospitals and homeless people. But I'm really tired of the argument that we should sort out those problems before we do anything else in this country.


  • Options
    #74
    pilly
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 9,005 ✭✭✭pilly


    maudgonner wrote: »
    You could go to an internet cafe and pay to use the internet.

    Instead, you go to a library and use the facilities that have been paid for by the taxpayer. That's the irony.

    Yes, there are people on trollies in hospitals and homeless people. But I'm really tired of the argument that we should sort out those problems before we do anything else in this country.

    I am a taxpayer and I pay for services. Not ironic at all.


  • Options
    #75
    maudgonner
    Registered Users Posts: 5,455 ✭✭✭maudgonner


    pilly wrote: »
    I am a taxpayer and I pay for services. Not ironic at all.

    And most rural people who would be advantaged by a decent broadband rollout are also taxpayers who pay for services. As are the many rural businesses who benefit from this.


  • Options
    #76
    Permabear
    Closed Accounts Posts: 39,022 ✭✭✭✭Permabear


    This post has been deleted.


  • Options
    #77
    pilly
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 9,005 ✭✭✭pilly


    Permabear wrote: »
    This post had been deleted.


    Thank god someone sees my point of view. :) I was beginning to wonder.


  • Options
    #78
    maudgonner
    Registered Users Posts: 5,455 ✭✭✭maudgonner


    Permabear wrote: »
    This post had been deleted.


    I agree with you to a point. But using the term 'every far-flung farmer' is where the argument gets too simplistic. This isn't just about bringing fibre to houses that are so far flung they can't see their nearest neighbour. There are plenty of businesses and communities that have been completely neglected by commercial operators, and will continue to be without intervention. There needs to be some alternative if life in rural Ireland is going to be viable in a world where a decent standard of connectivity is increasingly vital. So unless you subscribe to the theory of 'fúck it, it's cheaper for everyone to live in cities, let them sell up and buy a house in Dublin', which is plainly ridiculous IMO, then what's the solution?

    (And yes, the standard of broadband that's being proposed does exceed requirements in a lot of cases. That's a sensible approach when you're building infrastructure that's designed to be somewhat future-proof given that our usage is only going to increase over the coming years).


  • Options
    #79
    Permabear
    Closed Accounts Posts: 39,022 ✭✭✭✭Permabear


    This post has been deleted.


  • Options
    #80
    Edups2.0
    Closed Accounts Posts: 256 ✭✭Edups2.0


    Permabear wrote: »
    This post had been deleted.

    Supplying electricity via power lines was no doubt an expensive task to small areas or far out houses

    Supplying water was

    Should they have been told to light candles and build wells instead? Indeed it does save some tax payer money. But I suppose then again, when farmers can't do their jobs properly and there's no meat, milk and crops in the stores, we'd soon eat our words.


  • Options
    #81
    maudgonner
    Registered Users Posts: 5,455 ✭✭✭maudgonner


    Permabear wrote: »
    This post had been deleted.

    I would disagree strongly that providing decent connectivity to rural towns is enough. There are businesses in every village in Ireland, and many in more rural locations than that. And there's massive growth potential for more - agribusiness and tourism are hugely important sectors for us. We should be encouraging people to work locally, work from home, start small businesses with low overheads - decent connectivity is vital for that.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #82
    Permabear
    Closed Accounts Posts: 39,022 ✭✭✭✭Permabear


    This post has been deleted.


  • Options
    #83
    Permabear
    Closed Accounts Posts: 39,022 ✭✭✭✭Permabear


    This post has been deleted.


  • Options
    #84
    maudgonner
    Registered Users Posts: 5,455 ✭✭✭maudgonner


    Permabear wrote: »
    This post had been deleted.

    Off the top of my head I would say at a minimum laying fibre along all R roads and providing a means for people living on L roads to pay a reasonable fee to get connected to it*.

    Areas that have been zoned industrial or granted planning permission for business use should also be included as a priority.

    (*Huge caveat: I'm not a network engineer so I don't know what's possible or not possible. What's a reasonable amount? It would obviously depend on how far from the access point you are, and also whether neighbours could come together to lessen the cost. Spitballing, I think it would be reasonable for a new build to pay up to 5k for a connection that was future proof and reliable, but a reduced rate for existing houses might be appropriate).


  • Options
    #85
    Edups2.0
    Closed Accounts Posts: 256 ✭✭Edups2.0


    Permabear wrote: »
    This post had been deleted.

    I only buy Irish products. And if those labels are lies, well I'm gonna have me a nice big court case.


  • Options
    #86
    wexfordman2
    Registered Users Posts: 2,541 ✭✭✭wexfordman2


    Permabear wrote: »
    This post had been deleted.

    While that may be your view, would you say the same for an electricity service ?

    Becuase the only difference is whether or not one takes the view that one or the other is or is not an essential service.

    So the argument is, is bb now, or will it be in the future an essential service ?

    To my mind, the answer to that is undoubtably yes! BB will be (if you cant take the view that it is already) an essential service in order to conduct your business, interact with the state and other services, for health, education and for communication and social needs.


  • Options
    #87
    pilly
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 9,005 ✭✭✭pilly


    Edups2.0 wrote: »
    Supplying electricity via power lines was no doubt an expensive task to small areas or far out houses

    Supplying water was

    Should they have been told to light candles and build wells instead? Indeed it does save some tax payer money. But I suppose then again, when farmers can't do their jobs properly and there's no meat, milk and crops in the stores, we'd soon eat our words.

    Once off houses have to pay to get electricity and water to their houses, it doesn't come free.


  • Options
    #88
    ED E
    Registered Users Posts: 36,165 ✭✭✭✭ED E


    We shouldn't be providing anything to a certain cohort, we should be reversing 40yrs of terrible planning.

    Jimmy builds house in the back arse of beyond.
    We spend a fortune to connect him to the mains grid.
    We spend a fortune to connect him to rural FTTH.
    In future we spend a fortune to connect him to service x, service y, ambulance cover etc.

    Stop throwing money at symptoms, fix the bloody problem. Reverse ribbon development. Not that one politician has the balls.


  • Options
    #89
    Buford T. Justice XIX
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,633 ✭✭✭✭Buford T. Justice XIX


    Permabear wrote: »
    This post had been deleted.

    Perhaps it would also make sense for urban dwellers to move closer to water and electricity supplies to save on piping and transmission costs from the areas they are produced in?

    How about we get broadband and Dublin gets water?

    Sounds fair to me.


  • Options
    #90
    pilly
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 9,005 ✭✭✭pilly


    Buford T. Justice V wrote: »
    Perhaps it would also make sense for urban dwellers to move closer to water and electricity supplies to save on piping and transmission costs from the areas they are produced in?

    How about we get broadband and Dublin gets water?

    Sounds fair to me.

    This is not a Dublin vs other counties issue, certainly not for me. I've lived in both Dublin and rural areas, currently in a very small village with no broadband and my life hasn't come to a standstill. If I'm honest I'm better off without it.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #91
    ItHurtsWhenIP
    Registered Users Posts: 1,958 ✭✭✭ItHurtsWhenIP


    Also, don't forget for the NBP, the government is only paying 50% or less of the cost of the roll out. The successful bidder(s) pays the remainder (which they then presumably recover over the 25 year contract).

    Also stringing fibre along poles is not massively more expensive than stringing copper along poles and actually if the USO for a copper pair to a house if it wants it were scrapped, Open Eir could start stripping the old lines off their poles and making shedloads of wedge from it.

    I met Big Phil's broadband adviser a couple of years ago at a rural broadband event. He was saying that the EU want to ultimately classify broadband as a utility.


Advertisement