lost all faith in Irelands dark-age internet

Tellox

yes,today is the day I lost the last shred of hope in Irelands dark-age Internet.

We've been in the dark for 10months now, In that time I have received over €1300 in bills.

Over the past 10months, We've heard nothing but excuses and false information.

Eircom have continued to hold a grip over Ireland, preventing us from advancing to the next stage in our development.

I've lost all faith in Eircom and even our own government for not forcing it out of them. I'm going to sleep on it,and if I havent felt different by tommorow, Im cancelling my account with NTL and Im not planning on reconnecting until a flat rate internet.

has anybody else ever felt this way?

stormkeeper

I'd say my bills (just for the internet) over the last 10 months has probably come up to around... €1500. Not something to be proud of though

I feel that this is a terrible way to live... I've already had to pay Eircom a extra 18 euros to get my phone reconnected (last bi-monthly bill, not current). I rely on the internet for a good many things... for example, I do mIRC scripting and html editing in my spare time, as well as give out the odd bit of computing help. Unfortunately the people I help or work with are scattered thoughout different timezones, so i end up having to hang around for hours on end to see the people i want to see, thus bringing my internet bill up.

Perhaps we should consider doing another blackout to see what happens... or would that be a little too extreme?

Stonemason

Just about everyone here id say I already gave up ISDN which i got two years ago thinking flatrate would surely be only a matter of months away.Two years later and a hell of alot poorer i fianly lit up the cigarette that was my good sense and burnt the leeche that is know as Eircon off my back.The first time i connected to the net after reverting to 56k was a truly depressing 5 minutes.



Stone

Paddy20

I feel like that every "Day", but I am stuck I have to use the EIRCOM - "SKINTERNET" - service to order lifes essentials, like me groceries and other online shopping/banking and basic e-mails as I am disabled/housebound and MAD.

Yours,paddy20.;)

Tellox

ken, Im the excact same way. I took up VB and some Delphi programming, was going brilliant, and then everything fell apart when nolimits ended. Im still trying to program by downloading source codes, but my programmer friends are all in different time zones too, Its very rare for me to see them any more. Its a real shame, they used to be the best people I knew.

paddy,I respect your situation greatly, I find it sickening that eircom are even taking advantage of disabled/housebound customers.

something has to be done about this.

stormkeeper

Students are the countries future, and Eircom don't seem to take aboard that fact. Us students have other bills to worry about, like rent for accommodation, electricity bills, food, transport, and most important of all, educational materials. (not all of them apply to everyone, but that would be someone in college, just say) How are we supposed to make a living if we rely on the internet for educational resources that are not readily available in our areas and because of this, we run up huge phone bills and have to make tough decisions... Ie: something has to go, and it has to be the net.

As I have mentioned before, I used to be on SNL myself for about 2 weeks before I got cut off due to a clerical error... I was fairly upset about it, which was understandable at the time. Unfortunately for me, I still indulge in the odd bit of mIRC scriptig and html, as well as the tech support (I refuse to leave the problem alone, unless it goes way over my head). I do this technical support for nothing, as I like helping people. Sure, I may not know as much as a qualified person, but I'm willing to try my best to help anyone out if I can.

Anyway, back to the point.... If Eircom took look at the patterns of their customers phone bills, they would see how many households spend hundreds of Euros online, which emphasises the need for an unmetered net service...

Also, I do think it is terrible that disadvataged people get taken advnatage of in this way... They have no other form of income, besides their disability benefit.

I think it is wrong that eircom exploits everyone in this manner, but what makes it worse is they are taking advantage of people who can barely afford it, yet need it for essential things, like communication, information and many ther things that come to mind.

I don't think I can add to that for the time being... Anyone want to take a whack at continuing, or making another point?

Tellox

Tell0x: how much does cable internet cost you a month?
nick 0las: 45
Tell0x: and you get what, 100kps?
nick 0las: prob
Tell0x: whos your ISP?
nick 0las: att roadrunner
Tell0x: ty

so for 3-6 times what I pay per month for 4.2kps, I could go to america and get it at 100kps+ for much less. depressing...

gurramok

As a new years resolution, I got rid of isdn at xmas(was on it for 6 months, migrated to it after i got kicked off SNL) and never re-connected to the internet from home, i have connected from work ONLY !
My goal is to only re-connect when affordable access solution comes, as long as it takes!
The money saved does magic on the bills, before i use to get IR£200 bills from eircom, now i only get something like 20 euro monthly bills !!

Similar to Kenneth, i'm a IRC addict since '96, its amazing and shameful about the Irish situation and the lack of progress when i talk to foreign people online in IRC. As Tizlox demonstrated practically everyone bar us unfortunates here have some form of flat-rate access whether it would be 56k/isdn or broadband.
So called third world countries such as Brazil and Peru have decent faster affordable access models(cable to u and me ). When i talk to irc friends from there, they think of Ireland as some sort of techie advanced paradise !!
As far as i'm concerned, the money i'm saving can go on other essentials in life.
Sadly internet access is too much of a luxury because of EircoN. :mad:

Matfinn

The people in Eircom who are responsible for us paying so much for internet access ( and thus lining their pockets with gold ) are criminals, and our country is being run by criminals. What are we to do?

Matt

Paddy20

Originally posted by gurramok
As a new years resolution, I got rid of isdn at xmas(was on it for 6 months, migrated to it after i got kicked off SNL) and never re-connected to the internet from home, i have connected from work ONLY !
My goal is to only re-connect when affordable access solution comes, as long as it takes!
The money saved does magic on the bills, before i use to get IR£200 bills from eircom, now i only get something like 20 euro monthly bills !!

Similar to Kenneth, i'm a IRC addict since '96, its amazing and shameful about the Irish situation and the lack of progress when i talk to foreign people online in IRC. As Tizlox demonstrated practically everyone bar us unfortunates here have some form of flat-rate access whether it would be 56k/isdn or broadband.
So called third world countries such as Brazil and Peru have decent faster affordable access models(cable to u and me ). When i talk to irc friends from there, they think of Ireland as some sort of techie advanced paradise !!
As far as i'm concerned, the money i'm saving can go on other essentials in life.
Sadly internet access is too much of a luxury because of EircoN. :mad:

Gurramok,

My beloved computer looks as though it is going to be "Heading" out the window shortly.

Unless I can get an "Affordable" for someone on "disability Allowance" of 122.70 Euros per week, fair deal - Unmetered flat-rate internet access service.

I am embarrased when talking to friends in the States. That I have to "GO NOW" because my phone bill will be getting un-affordable. They literally "DO NOT" believe me , so I am seriously considering going back to "snail-mail" and going back to watching the damn TV. After me cancelling my "Sky" subscription to help with my "Sky High" internet usage - phone bills?...

stormkeeper

Oh dear....

Tellox

Im embarresed to speak about our internet rates also. When somebody asks me how much I spend a month on it, I simply dont respond.