*** IOFFL Newsletter ***

Dangger

IrelandOffline Newsletter 25th June 2002

A Chara,

IrelandOffline is more active than ever, thanks to the input and actions of individual members, and a continued commitment from the committee. Did you know there is a members forum at www.boards.ie/irelandoffline which is contributed to daily by members, as well as an all new web site at
www.irelandoffline.org ?

We realise that many of you may not frequent the member's forum or the new site, but would like to encourage you to do so. Have a look, find out what you can do to help us 'Stop the Clock' on Internet access, and help us all to get a better deal on Internet access in Ireland. It's as simple as spreading the word, so do it. There is now a recognised organisation that is committed to cutting through the spin and highlighting the fact, that we are paying too much to go online, and you can help. Spread the word, pass on this newsletter and please take the time to complete our survey.

Yours sincerely,

David Long
Chairman IrelandOffline


1. Introduction.
a) The Facts.

2. What can you do?
a) People Power.
b) Brussels.
c) Can you help in Brussels?
d) The Ireland Offline 'Stop the clock' Survey.
e) Make a donation.
f) AGM.

3. Conclusion


1) Introduction

Since January we have continued to meet with the main relevant players on the Irish telecommunications scene. We have met with Department of Public Enterprise officials (Department of Communications) covering telecommunications, the ODTR (Office of the Director of Telecoms Regulation), Forfás, the Small Firms Association, Eircom, Esat, Nevada tele.com, UTVInternet, Connect Ireland, LEAP and many community and voluntary groups who recognise the unfair deal we are getting. We also spoke at the National Digital Media conference on the 1st of May (www.ndmc.info for a full report) and continue to enjoy high profile media interest in the campaign. Most recently this has included a feature in the Sunday Business Post.

a)The Facts.
We continue to meet the players and highlight the high cost of Internet access and lack of 'affordable' broadband in Ireland. We aim to educate with the facts and highlight shortcomings. Today, there is still no flat rate dial up Internet access in Ireland. Our incumbent operator is only now offering a prohibitively expensive broadband offering for a whopping 1,700 euros a year with a limit on how much you can use it! They say its flat rate but the entry level I-Stream Solo package is capped at a 3 gigabyte a month download, with a charge of 3 cents a megabyte for downloads in excess of that limit.

Yet despite the facts our government continues to label us the E-Hub of Europe, the truth of the situation today is very far from this aspiration. Our e-government initiatives (e-government initiatives, give citizens access to services and information over the web), are being praised by the EU. But this is not a question of build it and they will come, especially when citizens have an understandable fear of clocking up high telephone charges and rarely "dare" to go online before 6pm.


2) What can you do?

Last January the IrelandOffline committee recognised that we did not have the resources to meet with every TD to educate them; we focused instead in meeting and lobbying the ODTR, the Department of Public Enterprise and the CEO's of our licensed telecom operators. We encouraged and continue to encourage our members to contact their TD's and in doing so asked them to
mention their membership of IrelandOffline. The response from our members has been fantastic, but we need to keep it up! Recently a member made a complaint to the advertising standards complaints authority regarding the wording of some of Eircom's advertisements, the complaint was accepted as valid and as a result changes were made.

a) People Power.
On the day of the Dáil debate of the Telecommunications Bill 2002, Jim O'Higgins tabled an amendment to insert a provision for flat rate into the bill. Brian O'Shea also highlighted the importance of Internet Access for all. Jim O'Higgins said that his fax machine was clogged and his email jammed with people calling for the much-needed amendment, to ensure flat rate provision was addressed. However, the then Minister for the Department of Communications Mary O'Rourke rejected the amendment.

b) Brussels.
Since the amendment's rejection we went looking for answers, details of which are in the reports of our meetings on our web site. But we are far from happy with what has happened and the answers we have heard. So, we are going to the upcoming EU commission hearing on the 8th of July in Brussels to highlight Ireland's position in it's the provision of broadband to all, and the lack of flat rate Internet access.

c) Get heard.
Its long overdue that the voice of the Irish Internet user be they child, student, teacher, parent, disabled user, teleworker, community group, voluntary organisation or senior citizen be heard, because this situation has gone on too long. Our government has shown poor co-ordination and even
misunderstanding of Ireland's possible digital future. It's the year 2002 and most are all STILL on what many would consider antiquated 56k dial up Internet access for which we pay a per-minute charge.

Citizens of nations such as Iran and Russia, enjoy the basic flat-rate Internet access Ireland is still denied. How can we sell Ireland as the E-Hub of Europe, when its citizens are denied this basic service?

Write to your local TD, drawing attention to the facts, and how badly we compare with the rest of Europe in Internet connection services and costs, no dial up flat rate, and no affordable broadband. Write to the Director of Telecommunication Regulations at the ODTR (www.odtr.ie), expressing your
concern that not enough is being done to ensure we have a market free from monopolistic practices, and tell them that the current pricing for DSL services in Ireland are unacceptable.

d) Can you help us in Brussels?
We are organising several meetings to coincide with our trip to Brussels on the 8th of July to push our brief at a European level. We have been invited to make a presentation to the Information Society of Ireland on our return on the 9th of July. However as you know we are a voluntary organisation, and we would greatly appreciate any donations you could make, towards getting
two IrelandOffline committee members to Brussels.

e) AGM
If the total amount of donations received exceeds the costs of our flights and accommodation, the excess in the IrelandOffline account will be put towards our AGM which is to be held on the 20th of July in Dublin. The venue is yet to be confirmed. Our activities in Brussels will be reported on as well as our meetings throughout the year. There will be an opportunity to join the IrelandOffline committee as elections will be taking place.
IrelandOffline has carved out a niche for itself in representing the home and small business user, the future of role and actions of IrelandOffline will be addressed and decided on.

f) The Ireland Offline 'Stop the clock' Survey.
We need you to respond to the IrelandOffline survey, its at
www.irelandoffline.org/survey . We need each and every member to take the time to complete the survey, it's very straightforward. We are also asking that you pass on the "IrelandOffline 'Stop the clock' Internet Survey" mail you will soon receive, to every Irish resident person in your address book.

e) Make a donation.
To make a contribution towards the costs of our Brussels trip, contact us at chairman@irelandoffline.org, to let us know, here are our bank details:

AIB
Sort Code: 93-35-70
Account No.: 13015146


3. Conclusion.

You have the power to make a difference. Let other people know the situation who may be unaware. By now you are aware of the high costs associated with accessing the Internet in Ireland with 'per minute' charging. You are also likely to have been shocked at the high pricing of Eircom's long overdue ADSL offering called I-Stream (close to 1700 euros a year). It's not even flat rate, it's capped at a 3 gigabyte download limit a month. Our European neighbours enjoy much better speeds and costs in their Internet access, however, our position in this regard has remained stagnant for several years, with the ODTR and the government doing nothing to improve the overall situation for the Irish Internet user.

Make you feelings heard, WRITE to the ODTR, WRITE to your TD, copy your letters to IrelandOffline. COMPLAIN to the ADVERTISING STANDARDS AUTHORITY about misleading ADVERTS - we are all tired of hearing how we can have "Hi-Speed" Internet access for 59 cents a day. Members who have complained in the past have succeeded in getting adverts altered. WRITE to the DIRECTOR
OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, and the COMPETITION AUTHORITY, voicing your complaints. If you need assistance in getting your facts straight contact the committee or post your question on the message board, we are happy to assist.

Thank you for your time and continued support.

The committee of IrelandOffline.

vinnyfitz

Keep it up!

MrPudding

Nice one.

fabien

Thanks for all your efforts, it would be great if you could publish addresses for all the people you mentioned above...I'll be the first to send them my thoughts.

Dangger

fabien I will assemble the address and add them to the IOFFL home page later today. I'll post a link here and make them visible on the home page. Thanks.