'ODTR pushes for September DSL launch'

Moriarty

Reproduced Verbatim - Article in yesterdays 'Sunday Tribune' - Business Section Pg9 -

Broadband DSL internet access will be available in September of this year according to the Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation (ODTR).

Eircom Chief Executive Alfie Kane said last weeek the technology would be available before March 2002 but the ODTR believes it will enter the markey six months before that.

No telecoms company can offer the service without access to Eircom's 'local loop', the wire strectching from local exchanges into homes. Operators were due to have access to that loop, in a process called unbundling, this month. But three weeks ago Eircom brought technical equipment problems to the ODTR, forcing a further delay in the service.

"Business users might have DSL before that but for hime use the most suitable kind of unbundling is bitstream access," said Aileen Canning of the ODTR.

Bitstream access is the name given to unbundling when other telecoms companies buy a managed service operated by Eircom and repackage it to consumers.

Eircom is legally obligied to offer this package of managed access to homes at the same wholesale price it changes to its own retail arm.

Canning believes most operators offering home services will offer this product. This means fast interst services from different operators are likely to be nearly identical since they will be based on the same Eircom package.

The September service depends on Eircom providing the ODTR with cost information this week so that a wholesale price can be determined. Eircom indeicated of a price of €32 monthly line rental but this was rejected by the ODTR, which predicted costs of €15-17.

A spokeswoman for the ODTR said it still considered €15-17 an appropriate range. The ODTR has the power to set the price without Eircom's consent. Regulator Etàin Doyle said last week its price range was based "on the workings of efficent operators".

Responding to the criticism of the ODTR by Kane last week, Doyle said the office's "understanding is that Eircom's delay was to do with technical and commercial issues, not regulatory ones."

</Verbatim>

Excuse any spelling mistakes, couldnt find their webby so decided to type it out quick.

<edit> Its also very ironic that Eircom have a 3/4 page add right beside this article, advertising their ATM broadband systems </edit>

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Moriarty
mrmoriarty@eircom.net

[This message has been edited by Moriarty (edited 16-04-2001).]

m1ke

what a load of shyte, so much stalling, waiting, decisions and regulations. The result ? in September adsl will become available to a very lucky FEW people who will be in a catchment test area. While 99% of Irish people will still be ****ed.

The only solution I can see working is if the state just move in, form a state company, take 12 months to lay wires and a decent infrastructure around ireland and bring broadband to the masses. Cause no telco is gonna be arsed doing it ... and if you live in the Country you're ****ed for at least 5 years.... best if the gov went and did it now.

Stonemason

Damn it worse than i thought if there predicting a march 2002 general release that means we will have to wait until march 2005.I wouldnt mind so much but Eircom engineers are some of the most highly paid workers in ireland and your telling me that the rest of the world has managed to work out the problems with ADSL and these guys cant.If there having that much trouble why dont they just go ask some guys in white jackets [clever people] to explain how this new fangled technolagy works ffs.Hand em there p45`s and let ireland join the 21st century.

Stone

Blitzkrieger

If the ODTR tell me I've got pasta - I'd check under the sauce to make sure

po0k

LOL!!!!!!!!!
I think I quoted much the same from the Sunday Tribune, only I took a hell of a lot longer to type it out ( I've no Secretary 'Skillz' you understand ).
I am going to move out of ths (broadband anyways) God-forasken country and go to California..........
I was there before, I liked the beaches, the weathere and the scantily clad women....the DSL sounds nice too

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No-one ever suspects the Duck
He who must die, must die in the dark even though he sells candles

Skeptic1

It seems like it's finally, slowly, and painfully getting through to the ODTR that Eircom is shafting its customers and the country. It also looks like the ODTR is comming under some pressure from somewhere - maybe Bertie. I know this goes against his initiatives such as the MIT Medialab. After reading this I think we can look forward to broadband before the decade is out.

Thanks for typing this out. I don't think the turbine has a web site.

Joe22

is anybody getting just abite ****ed off with this stuff and thinks it may be another 2 years before me have ADSL and secound rate bitesream access to the network from esat

Skeptic1

Yes. The ODTR are just kicking the ball into Eircom's court. I think Eircom will come down a couple of quid but not enough to make it economical for, say, Esat to offer services. Then the whole process will start all over again.

Joe22

what are you talking about economical
these *****s want to sell it for 50 to us,
eircom over llu for about 18 now(well they aid they might) but of course because its bitstream access and sircom still controls the exchanges theres rental so it probably works out as 25 anyway thenyou have wages and maintanace and adds so thats probably 30 its coasts the, ba bolox to this
it the rest of europe its cheaper access to the local loope and its its not bitstream