BTIreland Always-on Broadband €15

damien

The entry level promotional offer will bring always-on broadband to first time users for as little as €15 per month. The promotional discounts, which will apply to the first four months of service, include:

- Always-on broadband (1MB) for €15 per month
- Always-on broadband (1MB) including line rental for a total of €25 per month
- Always-on broadband (2MB) for €25 per month
- Always-on broadband (2MB) including line rental for total of €35 per month

Small Print:

Promotional discount applies to first four months of service. Standard pricing applies after that period.
- Promotional offer applies to broadband connections up to September 2005.
- All prices are inclusive of VAT.
- In line with our strategy to web-enable our business, all customers will automatically receive an online bill for this service. A charge of €2.50 per month will apply to customers who require paper bills.

Standard pricing goes to €30 for month 5 and 6. That means it works out at €20 a month. Still a very good deal. You do have to pay for the modem which is €50 though.

Chalk

/me points and laughs at eircom

i wonder if theyll contiune with their time product,
now that its more expensive than an always on service?

Paddy20

Goodness , this makes me feel like singing "Everyday it's getting better, it's getting better all the time ?...that's part of a song from the sixtie's, when I was in my prime, and not the cynical old git that I have become ! :cool: .

Bit off topic, but what the hell.

P.

www.makepovertyhistory.ie/

Urban Weigl

BT Ireland:
Line rental + 1Mb DSL, no time limit = €25 (promotional offer)

Eircom:
Line rental + 1Mb DSL, 20 hour limit = €45 (promotional offer)

And while I can find many shortcomings in both the product specs (for one, the upload speed is hilariously slow), the real issue that I see is availability. Right now, 40% of the population likely simply cannot get broadband at all, even if they wanted to.

bk

Haha, as i predicted, bye bye Eircom Broadband Time.

I thought it wouldn't last until this time next year. It looks like I'm wrong, it looks like it will be gone very soon

8track

Always-on broadband (2MB) including line rental for total of €35 per month

No accident that this matches Smart's price? - at least for first four months. I've been waiting since March for Smart (signed up last week for BT as a stop gap), but to be fair to them at least they've given the idea of broadband competition a shot in the arm.

However, still a long way to go compared to other countries re price, speed (up & down), contention and most importantly availability. Moves by DSL, Wireless providers etc. all very well, but still a lot more complicated for rural dwellers.

Sponge Bob

Comparative Total Cost Of Ownership Over 6 Months

Over 6 Months I ASSUME you RENT the modem (cheaper €2 x 6 = €12 rather than €50 ) and that a nice Eircom person will collect it at the end and say thanks , therefore it costs you nothing to send back .

Signup date 15th July 2005 . Contract Ends 15th Jan 2005

Eircom Time Best Assumption 6 Months (No Cap Breaking now, stay at 20 Hours or less)

€19.99 (Time) + €24.19 (Line Rental) + €0 Setup + €2 Modem rental = €46.18 Month x 6 or €277.08 over 6 months. 20 Hours Max a month .

= €46.18 Month x 6 or €277.08 over 6 months. 20 Hours Max a month .

BT Always On Best Assumption 6 Months (No Time Cap , Data cap not announced yet but could be as high as 12Gb )

€15 (BB) + €10 (Line Rental) + €50 (Setup) + €0 Modem rental (1st 4 months) (€37.50)
€30 (BB) + €10 (Line Rental + €0 (setup) + €0 Modem Rental for (last 2 months) (€40)

= €38.33 a Month averaged out x 6 months or €230 total over 6 months.

The Difference is that BT is about €8 a month cheaper over 6 months minimum and you can stay on as long as you like too with no extra charges.

If you buy the Eircom modem from them Eircom are a further €6.33 a month dearer .

If you buy their modem and bust your cap Eircom are up to €36.33 a month dearer than BT

Time is not on Eircoms Side.

De Rebel

bk wrote:

Haha, as i predicted, bye bye Eircom Broadband Time.

I thought it wouldn't last until this time next year. It looks like I'm wrong, it looks like it will be gone very soon

With a bit of luck that manky eircom product won't last until this time next week.......

De Rebel

8track wrote:

No accident that this matches Smart's price?

There is great credit due to Smart and Oisin Fanning for shaking up the market and doing what comreg, DCMNR, esat and all the rest couldn't or wouldn't do - get the competition ball rolling.

A Great Day. And better again if there is some reaction from the other players and a bit of a price war !!!

And in fairness to BT, it looks like they did a bit of last minute adjusting on this product. The prices shown on the Broadband and Broadband Plus pages are quite a bit lower than those appearing on the Broadband FAQ page ! I'd say the pricing model was severly tweaked in the last 48 hours!! Which is great - responsiveneess to customers and to the market at long long last.

Per the BT Broadband Page
1Mb without line rental = €15 per month going to €30 per month after 4 months.
1Mb with line rental = €25 per month going to €40 per month after 4 months.

Per the BT Broadband Plus Page
2Mb without line rental = €25 per month going to €40 per month after 4 months.
2Mb with line rental = €35 per month goin to €50 per month after 4 months.

Per the Broadband FAQ page
Your monthly rental fee will be €49 per month including line rental. With this you get 12GB upload/download data-transfer per month.
If you choose Broadband Plus the rental fee will be €57 per month including line rental. You get 24GB upload/download data-transfer per month.

So it would suggest that the prices of the product dropped €9/€7 respectively at the last minute.

There is similar confusion regarding installation: The Broadband and Broadband plus pages show "Reduced one-time connection fee €50", whereas the FAQ page says "If you install the service yourself there is a self-installation charge of €80. If you order Broadband online self-installation is free. If you choose an engineer installation you will be charged €110 for installation (normally €190)"

Unless of course they are confused about VAT again...............

Sponge Bob

Nahh, the FAQ page refers to the current offer/product. The new one is launched on July the 11th. BT appear to have stopped selling the current offer (to Jun 30th) unless you ring them up for it.

BT have one new product that takes a swipe at Smart and another new product that takes a swipe at Eircom yellowpack .

The Smart one can't be beaten but they have wiped the floor with Eircom IMO .

Kazujo

Only problem with Smart is a lack of coverage. The same as when NTL rolled out there Eircom beating broadband a few years back.

viking

http://www.electricnews.net/frontpage/news-9615061.html

Reaction to BT's product has been noticeably more positive than the wide-spread criticism Eircom has received. Damien Mulley, chairmand of lobby group IrelandOffline said, "The new offering from BT Ireland could well prove to be what brings the rest of the online Irish population over to broadband. This could well be the tipping point for broadband adoption in Ireland and a motivator for other operators to also give the people what they want."

Unbelievably, eircom are now introducing a business version of its new "innovative" product:

On Thursday, [eircom] announced that it was to extend its "time-based" offering to SMEs. Eircom Broadband Time will be available at a promotional price of EUR16.52 (ex-VAT) per month for businesses that sign up between July and September 2005. After the 20-hour allowance, customers will be charged EUR0.03 per minute for additional usage.... "Whatever about offering a time-based product in the consumer market for low-end consumers I doubt that there's any business which is going to connect to the internet for just 45 minutes or so each day," said Peter Evans, product director, BT Ireland.

Me wonders if eircom have completely lost touch or are up to something else...?

damien

I think all the complaints to the ASAI as well as this new BT product will cost eircom dearly in research and marketing. But they can afford it. Pity it wasn't used to upgrade some exchanges.

eircomtribunal

Sponge Bob wrote:

BT Always On Best Assumption 6 Months (No Time Cap , Data cap not announced yet but could be as high as 12Gb )

Data cap is 12 GB, according to BT web site.


Finally we see bb prices at a realistic level. But there is no room to get complacent. Prices are moving all around us.

For example: Deutsche Telekom have just announced halving their entry level flat-rate broadband offer (no time or volume cap) to € 14.99/month, their 3gig volume capped offer is now €9.95, and a 30 hour capped product is € 4.95 per month.
France is much lower in price and much higher in bandwidth.

It is nice to see BT going hard for customers. With the low margins on the Eircom wholesale products and the 10% (!) margin on the single billing, BT really goes in to secure customers, not for making money. Later, when the LLU mess (courtesy of our failed regulator) is settled, hopefully not breaking Oisin Fanning's back, BT is in a good position to make use of its LLU-presence in the major exchanges.

Shame, that the Eircom crowd will still pocket most of our money, either from the highest line rental in Europe or from the second highest LLU fee in Europe.

P.

Cabaal

"Whatever about offering a time-based product in the consumer market for low-end consumers I doubt that there's any business which is going to connect to the internet for just 45 minutes or so each day," said Peter Evans, product director, BT Ireland.

I'd like to agree with BT on the subject of time based BB for Business from Eircom, it needs no words just lots of :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

JohnC.

Cabaal wrote:

"Whatever about offering a time-based product in the consumer market for low-end consumers I doubt that there's any business which is going to connect to the internet for just 45 minutes or so each day," said Peter Evans, product director, BT Ireland.

Heh, right now I wish I was a business so I could literally laugh in their face!

eircomtribunal

Press Release for ComWreck 22th June 2005

"Kathryn Thomas in Compromising Position"

As BT Ireland pulls the carpet from under Eircom's latest bizarre attempt to gouge the Irish Internet user even more with an overpriced, booby trapped, 20-hour Internet offer for the gullible, we write an open letter to Eircom's ad-girl Kathryn Thomas.

Also on the latest Comwreck blog: How Eircom mouthpiece David McRedmond's nose must have grown a couple of inches longer during his recent PR-interview on the "Last Word". Read the full commented transcript of the interview with Matt Cooper.


See all the facts on www.comwreck.com. Direct link to the article is here

P.

Sponge Bob

Seems McRedmond is most unhappy with his product managers and has them in there still trying to counter this BT product or else give him some quality BS for 8am when the radio stations come looking . Someone will have reinvented the Rat by then .

We got some long range photos , they aint pretty .

parasite

eircomtribunal wrote:

Press Release for ComWreck 22th June 2005

Dear Kathryn Thomas,
...
You are giving your good body and name ..

P.

good work as always

Blaster99

This BT offer is clearly a repackaging of Eircom's you-get-the-first-two-months-free-if-you-sign-up-for-6-months. It has nothing to do with Eircom's yellowpack broadband product. It is in fact just a promotional offer just like the free trials were. I see no reason to get excited and if anything, the three month trials were better value. I haven't done the figures, but I would think BT's promo product offers a marginal saving over Eircom's offering. As you would expect considering they're both selling the same underlying Eircom wholesale product. If I were IOFFL I would go a bit easy on praising this type of stuff in press releases.

I presume BT has dropped the no-minimum-contract then.

bk

Blaster99 wrote:

but I would think BT's promo product offers a marginal saving over Eircom's offering. As you would expect considering they're both selling the same underlying Eircom wholesale product. If I were IOFFL I would go a bit easy on praising this type of stuff in press releases.

Actually, if you include line rental, BT product is about €150 cheaper then Eircom over a 6 month period and these savings continue well after the initial 6 month period. This is far more then a "marginal saving". Yes BT are only reselling Eircom's products, but they are doing so in a much more price competitve manner.

Blaster99 wrote:

I presume BT has dropped the no-minimum-contract then.

Yes, 6 months.

eircomtribunal

Blaster99 wrote:

<...>It is in fact just a promotional offer just like the free trials were. I see no reason to get excited and if anything, the three month trials were better value. I haven't done the figures, <...>If I were IOFFL I would go a bit easy on praising this type of stuff in press releases.

Do your figures then and you'll understand the significance of the BT offer:

BT offers (and of course it's a resale of Eircom's bitsstream, thanks to ComReg and Eircom messing up the LLU since years) a 1 Mbs broadband with a 12 gig volume allowance for a monthly price of effectively
€13.33 in the first 6 months (and minimum contract period),
€14/month in the first year,
and € 15/month thereafter.
(those figures are from the broadband offer here: "Get BT Broadband and line rental for just € 25"

This is a price range for real broadband that we can no longer moan about. BT are finally going in full guns blazing, taking the loss (you can't make a profit with these prices from the eircom wholesale offer) in order to get customers: all the better for the consumer.

BT are not following Eircom on the consumer gouging "time" route and I'd praise them for this alone.

P.

Blaster99

They've been offering the BB/line-rental bundle for quite a while, so nothing new there. This offer is basically a reduced payment for four months, so (€40 - €25) x 4 then which is a whopping €60 saving. They then take most of that off you with the €50 connection fee.

My point was simply that this has nothing to do with Eircom yellowpack and in essence offers nothing worth talking about as it's just a time limited special offer. The other stuff has been around for months.

It looks like Eircom has dropped the two months free thing and instead offer 1Mbps for €30, so it's not really that easy to compare. BT's line rental bundle is obviously better value, but we already knew that.

Urban Weigl

It is not just better value, it is dramatically better value. That is an unprecedented shift by BT, who traditionally offered only minor discount when compared to Eircom.

As far as it being a bundle, because there is no "naked DSL" in Ireland, it doesn't make any real world difference because you have to pay for line rental in order to get broadband. The only exception are wireless operators, who have limited coverage so far (even with cable internet, I believe you have to take a TV subscription as well, so that's comparable).

Edit: As far as your point that it has nothing to do with yellowpack, while you are correct that it is not time limited like yellowpack, it is BT's direct response to it, so in that way it does have something to do with it. Further, even after the first 4 months, the price of the broadband part essentially goes up to only about €15 a month, which still is dramatically cheaper than anything Eircom is offering, it's even dramatically cheaper than yellowpack (even assuming yellowpack was not time limited and did not go up to 50 euro if you use it for an additional 12 hours), which in itself is also just a special offer, and will go up from 20 to 25 after the promotion ends.

juliuspret

Yeah this must be a loss making venture on BT's part to gain new customers.

UTV wont be able to match BT...so in about 6months you will see a large amount of UTV users moving to BT.

But as we all know BT want to cement their presence in Ireland and BT Ireland parent in the UK is bursting with financial backing and technical expertise for the day that eircom is dragged, kicking and screaming, to allow cheap LLU in Ireland.

In time BT may very well end up, if LLU works out, with more customers in Ireland than eircom...creating manymore jobs in the process!!!

Blaster99

There's no disagreement that BT's bundle is cheaper, probably the cheapest Eircom derived product in fact. But that bundle has been available for months.

This special offer isn't that special considering the previous special offer was zero (0) cost for three months. Hence it's nothing to get excited about. And I incidently find special introductory offers particularly uninteresting as they are all without fail just a gimmick. Certainly nothing I would write a press release about that implies that this is somehow ground breaking. BT Ireland has never really innovated in any shape or form, they're just resellers. They could do something innovative with their unbundled exchanges, but their LLU products, as much as it's possible to find any info on them, are generally more expensive than Eircom's services. Anyways, I've made my point, it doesn't any clearer or more convincing by repeating it over and over.

I don't think BT's limited offer is a loss maker as they're reselling an Eircom wholesale introductory offer. If they can make money on €40pm inc line rental, then they can make money by piggybacking on the wholesale deal.

A bit quiet in UTV's corner these days. If their product is still 1Mbps for €30pm plus they charge for exceeding the cap, then they're even more expensive than Eircom.

Somewhat unrelated, but one thing Eircom has in its favour is the bundling of hotspots with the BB product. €10pm all you can eat hotspots is not a bad deal. If Eircom does a serious hotspot rollout they could give the mobile operators the good kick in arse they need.

damien

Blaster99 wrote:

If I were IOFFL I would go a bit easy on praising this type of stuff in press releases.

We never praised this stuff in a press release. We did comment on this offer when the press came calling. It's a good offer. I think it would be quite hypocritical for us to lobby for affordable broadband and when it comes about to not say "well done". We might even say the same if eircom matches this. We've been waiting a long for this and if the BT offer inspires eircom to get a clue like the Smart offer did a few months back then it will be the start of something good. But please don't think that because we praised a telco on something that we've gone soft.