ALTO says some telcos may leave Ireland

dahamsta

[ Ah, it's great to be posting a bust of Irish news these days. It's a weenchy bit less depressing than my Competition Crusade[TM]. ]

ALTO says some telcos may leave Ireland (ENN)

Telecoms lobby group ALTO has joined the chorus complaining about the lack of competition in the Irish telecommunications market.

ALTO, which represents new entrant telecoms operators such as Esat BT, WorldCom, and Colt, said that there is now a "serious risk" of withdrawal from the Irish market by leading players because it is difficult for them to make profits here.

"Market share of new entrants has stagnated at 20 percent and ALTO is concerned that there is a mounting lack of confidence in Ireland as a market in which telecom operators can transact business successfully," said the group's chairman, Iarla Flynn.

In a submission to the EU Commission as part of the preparation of the 8th Implementation Report, ALTO said that Ireland lags behind its EU counterparts in voice, broadband and mobile services.

In particular, noted ALTO, Ireland does not have a wholesale service for flat-rate Internet access, it is the worst of all EU member states for broadband penetration and roll out, and Irish consumers pay some of the highest mobile phone charges in the EU.

ALTO's remarks come shortly after international research organisation IDC found that the lack of competition in the Irish telecoms market has kept the price of broadband, mobile and corporate communication services high. While the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland also said recently that the telecommunications sector has failed to meet the Internet needs of SMEs.

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Anyone else find it a little odd that ALTO has highlighted high mobile charges?

adam

hmmm

Originally posted by dahamsta
Anyone else find it a little odd that ALTO has highlighted high mobile charges?

Who do ALTO represent - if they represent some companies who want to become 'virtual' mobile operators by buying wholesale minutes it would be a valid argument for them to make.

scojones

soon as i finish college i'm gone from here. I'm fed up of waiting and waiting and in the midst of this waiting for affordable internet, watching all the prices on EVERYthing go up and up and up. This country has become a joke, we rip ourselves off and our tourists off even more. Sorry for the offtopic rant, just recieved word that i won't be recieving a grant this year. Maybe they know of my spelling skills

jbkenn

soon as i finish college i'm gone from here

Dont let the door catch you on the ar$e on the way out.

Jumping ship will not solve anything, we have to campaign, lobby, pressurise the Telco's,ODTR, Government etc. to bring about change, remember BT in the UK had exactly the same attitude as Eircom until forced to change. Change will only come from inside, never from outside.

jbkenn

MDR

This is Ireland
This is IrelandOffline

We recognise a problem, we work towards its resolution, we work for Ireland. We have two thousand members, our members have friends and family, most will stay, so I fight for them.

I certainily won't blame anyone for leaving, the fields are greener elsewhere, I have lived away for quite some considerable time, I am away on business at the minute (as I am posting), so I know about greener fields. Ireland goes on, and so do the Irish. I love my country, I love its people, I love its cities, so I work for its benefit, I could leave, I could return to Paris (a place I miss deeply), but I prefer to work to change whats here, for the benefit of all.

I once had a very socailist french Professor, who said 'Si toute monde travail, toute la monde va profit' (bad, bad french ...memory is a bit rusty), if everyone works, everyone gains.

scojones

Originally posted by MDR
I love my country, I love its people, I love its cities. [/B]

As do i, but i hate the government.

MDR

As do i, but i hate the government

The people elect the government, there are very long list of candates on election day, plenty of choice our there. The people get the government they asked for and the government they deserve. If you hate the government/state, you hate the people, because ultimate in our democracy the government is the representative of the people.

dahamsta

I hate Fianna Fail supporters.

heh*

adam

Signifies humour. I don't hate many people, and I certainly wouldn't hate someone because of a political belief. I do, however, feel extremely sorry for people like the hardcore supporters of Chalie Haughey, and I think many FF supporters are either extremely naive or intellectually challenged. Sometimes both.