IrelandOffline Pressure Group Announces "Blackout" Protest

dahamsta

###BEGINS###

[FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE]

IRELANDOFFLINE PRESSURE GROUP ANNOUNCES "BLACKOUT" PROTEST

DUBLIN, IRELAND -- November 5, 2001 -- IrelandOffline, an independent
organisation working to bring affordable Internet access services to
Ireland, has announced the "IrelandOffline Blackout", a multipronged protest
scheduled to take place on Friday, November the 16th, 2001. The protest has
been organised to highlight the non-existence of flat-rate and broadband
Internet access services in Ireland - services that make Internet access
affordable and so promote the growth of Internet use, e-commerce, and
competition.

These services are widely available throughout Europe and the world, and the
IrelandOffline group contends that the lack of availability in Ireland has
already pushed the country into a position where it is unable to compete on
the global stage. It believes that Ireland can be kick-started back into
competitiveness, but to do that these products and services have to be
rolled out immediately. The IrelandOffline Blackout is the vehicle the group
has chosen to highlight this serious situation to the key parties involved.

The group suggests several types of protest, but of note is a request that
Irish Internet users abstain from connecting to the Internet on November the
16th, which it believes will send a clear message to Internet Service
Providers - that a significant portion of their customers are disillusioned
with the current situation, and demand the rollout of competitive services.
The group also proposes messages of support in email signatures, vacation
autoresponders and answering machines messages, and the replacement of web
pages with a supplied document that explains what the Blackout is, and why
it is happening.

Companies and organisations, large and small, who are even more directly
impacted by the ongoing lack of broadband and flat-rate connectivity options
in Ireland, are strongly encouraged to take part in the protest on this
date, up to and including replacing their corporate websites with the
IrelandOffline-supplied web page. The group is also encouraging student
groups and societies, college administrations, and consumer and business
groups to actively voice their support, both using the methods suggested,
and by communicating with the media on November the 16th.

The group states that it does not want to disrupt trade on November the
16th, but that it feels the Blackout protest is a necessary evil to
fast-track the rollout of these products and services. From the
IrelandOffline Blackout website: "The primary aim of the Blackout is to draw
attention to the problems in the telecommunications industry in Ireland, and
to educate consumers and businesspeople about these problems and how they
can be fixed. We are categorically not attempting to disrupt business in
Ireland. In the long term, in fact, we are trying to improve it."

For more information, please visit the IrelandOffline Blackout support
website at http://blackout.irelandoffline.org.

ABOUT IRELANDOFFLINE

The IrelandOffline users group, initially formed in response to Esat
Fusion's abrupt decision to cut off 2,000 subscribers of its "Surf NoLimits"
program, is campaigning for affordable flat-rate and high-speed Internet
access services for all of Ireland. As part of that initiative, Ireland
Offline has already had meetings with Esat Fusion, the ODTR, Minister Mary
O'Rourke, Eircom and other government members and telecoms companies; and
recently organised a seminar in Dublin with all of the key parties
involved - a first for any such organisation. The group currently represents
well over 1,000 Internet users, and this number continues to rise daily.

For more information on the organisation, please visit the IrelandOffline
website at http://www.irelandoffline.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Adam Beecher
+353 (0)XX XXX-XXXX
xx@x.xxxxxxx.xxx

Elana Kehoe
xxxxx@xxx.xxx

###ENDS###

Kairo

Wow...can't believe it's actually happening....

Just goes to show you how powerful the internet is as a form of communications. Exactly why we need this service at an affordable rate.

Well done to everyone.

Crash&Burn

Just wondering how many sites are going of line have u got a count on it yet ???

dahamsta

Just wondering how many sites are going of line have u got a count on it yet ???

I fired a quick list together this morning, from the thread below. There's about 40-odd there, but there's some missing. I haven't included duplicate entry points either, such as my own site, which can be accessed from dozens of URL's.

adam

logic1

Internet blackout campaign today
(The Irish Times)
Paul Anderson

A one-day boycott of the Internet and the use of email began today. The boycott has been called for by Irelandoffline in protest at the price of Internet connections and what they say is the slow rate of upgrading telecom services.

"Ireland is behind the times when it comes to the Internet. Unlike Britain, France, Germany and most European countries - most countries world-wide in fact - Ireland doesn't have Internet products and services that will allow its residents to use the Internet to its maximum potential," their website says.

"Our current products and services are overpriced, the products and services we should have aren't available, and the people who should be fixing all of this don't understand how to go about it," the statement continues.

Ireland offline is a lobby group set up earlier this year after Esat withdrew its unmetered ‘No Limits’ service to around 2,000 subscribers after it said that users were using the service too much.

Unmetered services allow the user pay a fixed fee for unlimited use of the Internet. Esat calimed over-use by customers made the service unviable.

One of Ireland’s more elebrated and innovative websites, boards.ie, closed today in support of the boycott.

"We apologise for this but we feel that without decent infrastructure and charging, the internet in Ireland will only ever be here to flog crud to you," a boards.ie statement said.

From: ireland.com

.logic.

DesertFox

Gwan ireland offline,