Confirmed: EsatBt to offer 256K ADSL for E50 before Christmas

seamus

http://www.electricnews.net/news.html?code=8667089

BoneCollector

By Christmas eh!? Hmmm
but they failed to say WHICH! Christmas

KdjaCL

That is just really excellent ,looks like IOFFL done good.
Normally 256 is 256 up as well but i doubt that will be offered.

Fair balls to them offering.


To all the ppl who will post here complaing its not enough once you are DSL enabled on a 256 exchange its only a matter of time before the service is upped to a faster speed.


Well done guys.

kdja

BuffyBot

Interesting - 256k for 50 Euro - a bit steep, but it would satisfy the needs of some users - wonder if it will be capped

[EDIT] It will suit me fine![/EDIT]

crawler

No reason why they wouldnt do it - and I guess the take up will be excellent.

Pity so many lines fail for DSL though...

Gunn4r

hmm what to do....

esat bt or irishbroadband...?

rymus

40 exchanges by launch? Heres hoping they concentrate on Cork

BoneCollector

40 exchanges by launch? Heres hoping they concentrate on Cork

Hey!! get OUTTA HERE!!! Dublin is #1
Now here`s the thing.. will people who went to UTVip begoing over to this... and if so.. will UTVip be planning a competative product to keep them!? Hmmmm

LoBo

like I said in the other thread this was mentioned in - 256kb always on for €50 a month is a HUGE advance over what most users are stuck with in ireland : 56kb at €0.01/min or €0.04/min peak.

Our (almost exclusively offpeak) internet bills were usually in the order of €100-150 per month (not per bill). I think i'd go for an always on service costing over half what I currently pay that is 5 times as fast.

Nice to see this kind of residential offering cropping up. Prices will go down as competition hots up. Its fantastic to actually see competition taking baby steps in Ireland.

spongebob

Nevada cannot offer this product on bitstream (too pricey) so the question is

Have they any kit in €ircon exchanges or have they any agreement with someone who has?

M

MDR

Vapourware for the minute, will believe it when i see it ...

kamobe

I agree with MDR, too many articles claiming great things flying about the place

But i would have no problems paying Eur50 a month for that service. It is expensive, but not super ridiculously expensive (Eur107). All this of course, provided there is no cap. I would assume that the reduction to 256, would be to avoid a cap being necessary?

DannyD

Originally posted by rymus
40 exchanges by launch? Heres hoping they concentrate on Cork

Dude, two exchanges are live in Cork, Quakers road and Churchfield.

ADSL Expected Speeds
192 Kbps / 128 Kbps - up to 27K ft *** (3.4 miles)
384 Kbps / 128 Kbps - up to 22K ft *** (2.8 miles)
768 Kbps / 384 Kbps - up to 22K ft *** (2.4 miles)
1.9 Kbs / 850 Kbps - up to 18K ft *** (2.1 miles)
4.0 Mbps / 900 Kbps - up to14K ft *** (2.0 miles)
7.5 Mbps / 1 Mbps - up to 11K ft *** (1.8 miles)

spongebob

1. Remember that you can go with UTV until this product is available.
2. Remember that the disruption of changing from
Eircom
to
UTV
to
Eircom
to
Esat
will be hairy.....I see 4 week transitions here folks during which eircom will cream u at their usual rates.
3. I see ESAT taking FAR too many orders for this and not being able to service them.....even in 4 weeks.
4. The 40 exchange target mentioned in the vapour trail ....AFTER which the product IS supposed to be available.....will not be reached until December anyway. Allowing for this and the transition very few if any will have it by Christmas.

Happy New Year though...assuming it ain't got a silly cap or crappy contention ratios.

And congratulations to the IoffL committee for driving this, both past and present members.

M

Bard

Excellent news! Here's hoping it actually materialises now, as I, for one, would almost definitely subscribe.

Wolff

Did y'all see this: NO CAP

http://www.electricnews.net/news.html?code=8666261



Additionally, Esat BT's connection fee is somewhat lower, at just over EUR175, compared to Eircom's current published fee of nearly EUR200. Lastly, Eircom has placed a 3GB monthly limit on the amount of data that users can download, with a EUR0.036 charge for each MB over the limit. Esat BT has no such limit.

b20uvkft6m5xwg

Thats 50 yoyos plus VAT just to clarify-
If so still spankingly good value- assuming theres no d/l cap

From the ENN piece...

People within the appropriate range of these exchanges, or about 5 kilometres, will be able to express their interest in receiving ADSL via a Web site that will be launched by Esat BT within weeks.

I always thought you had to be about 2 kms's ??
If it is 5km thats good news because where I'm currently staying its over about 2 kms anyway

Dustaz

Hmm.

Theres no doubt that this is great news for a lot of people and i applaud esat for making broadband more commercially viable in this country.

However, Im worried that it might set a bad precedent at the start of Irelands Broadband adventure. Theres no doubt that LFC is actually right and per kb/s this service is actually more expensive than both Eircom and Esats 512 offering.

Eircom will no doubt make a similar offer and my worry is the model will then be set. After having ISDN touted as "broadband" for so long, the last thing we want is a 256 service to be accepted as the norm when it comes to broadband.

Looking to the UK and how broadband evolved there, youll notice that DSL was introduced at the normal speed of 512 at a huge price. Due to market forces and demand, price came down and there was a massive take up of the tech. The 512 speed is the speed that is most volatile in terms of price. I could be wrong and please correct my if i am, but my impression is that 1 meg speeds are not as readily availble and do not get offered in "price wars" such as the aol/freeserve one that is on at the moment. Speeds of 1 meg and above seem to be aimed at business users in the uk.

It would be a nightmare for the country if it was the 256 service that dropped in price due these reasons leaving 512 to be regarded as the "business" level product.

Tellox

what a day this has turned out to be!
a nice 24/7 product will do me grand until xmas,when I can take up on ADSL

LFCFan

Originally posted by Dustaz

However, Im worried that it might set a bad precedent at the start of Irelands Broadband adventure. Theres no doubt that LFC is actually right and per kb/s this service is actually more expensive than both Eircom and Esats 512 offering.

Thanks. Finally someone sees where I'm coming from. We are so used to getting shafted that we fail to see yet another atempt to do it to us again. The price is actually €60.50 a month(including VAT) and not €50. I dunno why people insist on talking about the ex Vat price all the time when we're gonna have to pay the extra too. Even €60.50 a month for uncapped 512Kbs access is a bit steep. Dustaz is right that there is a real chance that 256 could become the 'norm' for broadband and could do more harm then good in the long run for what IoffL are trying to achieve.

spongebob

Which of these apply

ADSL Expected Speeds
192 Kbps / 128 Kbps - up to 27K ft *** (3.4 miles)
384 Kbps / 128 Kbps - up to 22K ft *** (2.8 miles)
768 Kbps / 384 Kbps - up to 22K ft *** (2.4 miles)
1.9 Kbs / 850 Kbps - up to 18K ft *** (2.1 miles)
4.0 Mbps / 900 Kbps - up to14K ft *** (2.0 miles)
7.5 Mbps / 1 Mbps - up to 11K ft *** (1.8 miles)

The FEET or the MILES which is applicable.

There are 5300 feet in a mile so a 27k Feet link is just over 5 miles from the exchange .....impossible for ADSL but not IDSL/RADSL , you seem to know someone in there so I'd be interested if you could check a bit further.

It could be a PR bunny misconverting , they should avoid math.

TIA

M

LFCFan

Another thing I'd like to know is. Is there anything extra that has to be done to your line in the exchange to boost your speed? I am currently living 300 metres from my local exchange so could potentially have massive speeds. In other words if you are paying for 512Kbs access, could this be increased to 1Mbs without any cost to the Telco?

DannyD

The distance measurements above are generic to all ASDL , they do not come from EsatBt.

BoneCollector

:

Vapourware for the minute, will believe it when i see it ...

On that Note!
just called esatBT spoke to several people.. they said they have no idea what im talking about except they are launching a flatrate dial up product in the new year..

They have no information on the so called up comming ADSL product and the only package they know of is the 512k business package.
she checked with her supervisor and she came back and said we have all been misinformed ?? :rolleyes:

vinnyfitz

Originally posted by BoneCollector
:

she checked with her supervisor and she came back and said we have all been misinformed ?? :rolleyes:

Odd - Did you quote Andrew McLindon of ENN to her:
"Esat BT Chief Executive Bill Murphy told the annual conference of IBEC's Telecommunications and Internet Federation that the company would be introducing a 250kbs ADSL product priced at EUR50 per month (excluding VAT) in time for Christmas. Its exact launch date is unknown at this time, as is its implementation fee."?

BoneCollector

Did you quote Andrew McLindon of ENN to her: "Esat BT Chief Executive Bill Murphy "

I quoted everything word for word

LFCFan

I wouldn't expect the muppets in the call centre to know anything bar their own name.

crawler

It's in the press release....cant download it for some reaosn but I have a hardcopy....it is a true statement. hopefully not Vapourware

spongebob

ahh c'mon, the best vapourware ALWAYS starts with a statement, ask Bill why dontcha

M

crawler

true - dont think Bill would set himself up for a fall like that though...IBEC , Minister etc etc...if he did it would be a serious shot in the foot!

milltown

Along with most people on this board I dearly hope this is not vapourware. Assuming it isn't, I welcome this with open wallet. Working shifts and therefore wanting to use the net during the day quite a bit I pay between €150 and €200 a bi-month to eircom for speeds that have never breached 45k. If esat can reduce this bill to €120 ish a bi-month and almost sextuple my speed they can count me in.
I'm not using my PC to transfer huge multimedia files. I don't intend spending my days d/ling copies of movies. I do like my music but my file "sharing" has a decidedly one way slant to it (especially with my bandwidth being so precious) and I have yet to get into online gaming. Hence, I don't much care if I can't upload as fast as I can download and if my pings can be measured on a stopwatch I won't cry about it.
What I do find strange is the statement that 40 (was it?) exchanges will be upgraded by christmas but they will be following the lead of BT in the UK and asking people to register their interest to get their exchange upgraded. This being the case, how can they predict how many exchanges will be upgraded and where these are likely to be?
Just in case though, I will be checking to see where my local exchange is.

Mr.M

does anyone have any news on IDSL or DLL as i will never be able to get DSL as i am to far away from my local exchange.

PiE

So basically, people will be buying this product for its flatrate nature.

Paying €60 per month for flat rate.

Swell.

rymus

Originally posted by DannyD
Dude, two exchanges are live in Cork, Quakers road and Churchfield.

Dude, I like totally know that!

The facts are though that I am not living anywhere near either of them and I'm not quite at the stage of moving house for the sole purpose of getting ADSL quite yet

ando

Originally posted by Mr.M
does anyone have any news on IDSL or DLL as i will never be able to get DSL as i am to far away from my local exchange.

ditto

sceptre

Originally posted by PiE
So basically, people will be buying this product for its flatrate nature.

Paying €60 per month for flat rate.

Swell.

Yeah, silly.

However I'd possibly even take it (under protest - genuinely - I'm far more interested in 56k flatrate at a reasonable price). The adage "if it's cheaper than your current internet bill..." is fairly applicable if anyone's considering it. The extra download speed would come as a bonus.

And I'm a student who literally has no money.

pork99

hmm what to do....

esat bt or irishbroadband...?

go with Irish Broadband; 512k for app 50 eur pm and as far as I can see not a cent goes to Eircom

Dustaz

I really am surprised at the lack of concern about this lowerering of the bar of access speeds.

I absolutley agree that this makes sense if you pay a fortune in 56k connection costs at the moment. I feel the same way about 512 dsl. However, we have been reactive in this country for far too long.
Just last week people were pointing at korea and mentioning home connections of 2 and 3 mb/s. Now we think that 256k is acceptable?

Maybe if i knew for a fact that a huge signup would encourage speeds to be raised in the future i would be more confident. However, from long bitter experience in this country, im not.


As to wether the product is vaporware , i really dont think it is. This statement was made very much in the public eye and the last thing esat need is a vaporware tag. Thier media image is on the up at the moment and i really dont think they want to jeapordise this.

Stonemason

I like this bit

Philip Nolan, chief executive of Eircom, who also spoke at the IBEC event, somewhat echoed these remarks by calling for a more collaborative approach between the government, the telecoms industry and the regulator to deliver a more transparent regulatory policy that would enable a greater take-up of broadband.

Eircon hands out for goverment grants to make the irish broadband dream come true.No mention of the fact that Eircon with its rediculus wholesale pricing and stuborn determation to stop anyone getting in to its exchanges has held that dream at bay for the last few years

De Rebel

wtf...

from Esat BT pushes for low-cost broadband final paragraph

Philip Nolan, chief executive of Eircom, who also spoke at the IBEC event, somewhat echoed these remarks by calling for a more collaborative approach between the government, the telecoms industry and the regulator to deliver a more transparent regulatory policy that would enable a greater take-up of broadband.

ahmmm, hello ? lights on, nobody home, philly?

jd

Originally posted by LFCFan
I wouldn't expect the muppets in the call centre to know anything bar their own name.

tut tut..
I don't work in a call centre, but I hate this attitude towards people who do..
if they don't know what is going on, I blame the b'commed management (I could be ignorant, and say a qualification rather than an education... )

kamobe

ESAT BT is to launch a new Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service, charging €49.50 per month including VAT the first of its kind in the Irish market.

Interesting, so who's telling the truth?

Article here.

longword

Originally posted by Dustaz
Now we think that 256k is acceptable?

Maybe if i knew for a fact that a huge signup would encourage speeds to be raised in the future i would be more confident. However, from long bitter experience in this country, im not.

I say let's get the count of DSLAM lines up first, then complain about the speed. Sure we're getting ripped off, but we're getting ripped off for less than before (comparing price per kilobit/sec with dialup rather than the high speed DSL offerings priced so high no sane person will buy) and that's A Good Thing. A trend to be encouraged.

Every line plugged into a DSLAM is capable of anything up to 8Mbit/sec at the flick of a switch. Way easier than the fight to get the DSLAM installed and the line connected in the first place.

ESAT have already shown a willingness to blow full-page broadsheet ads on internet access and there's sure to be some spillover from BT's eyecatching TV campaigns. I think there's reason for optimism here.

LFCFan

Originally posted by jd
tut tut..
I don't work in a call centre, but I hate this attitude towards people who do..
if they don't know what is going on, I blame the b'commed management (I could be ignorant, and say a qualification rather than an education... )

Listen, I'd say 80% of the calls I've ever had to make to Esat, €ircon or NTL have ended up in me wanting to beat the living ****e out of whoever is on the other end. Not just because they haven't got a clue what they're on about but because they are usually rude, uncaring and couldn't give a toss about the customer. Seeing as it is usually Customer Care you'd be talking to it, it really stinks!

spongebob

Dustaz correctly raised concern about the

I really am surprised at the lack of concern about this lowerering of the bar of access speeds.

The real concern IMO is to get a clean local loop with no linesharing with others off that shower in €ircon, many people have no idea how shoddy €ircons wiring is. In the LLU document they were forced to concede that they would clean up lines WHERE A REQUEST CAME IN FROM ANOTHER CARRIER.

It is indeed ironic that a customer of €ircon has no right to the euqal line quality they pay dearly for but when another carrier request unbundling then €ircon have to fix the line properly. Even if you are happy with 56k you should still apply to ESAT for DSL if you think your line is in any way iffy.

Once the line can handle 256 the port can easily be widened to 512 and higher if the line quality/distance considerations allow.

Once you have clean local loops then the dslams can be configured to offer a mixed bad of DSL flavours also known as xDSL. BT have said they will offer us SDSL soon, VDSL RADSL and IDSL are hopefully on the horizon as the only extra requirement for BT is to software upgrade the DSLAM units they use to offer ADSL at present.

Remember that many Irish lines are wheezing along at 25k and that customers are paying full whack per minute rates for this crud with no discounts any more ....€ircon having comprehensively removed Internet access from all of their discount schemes for domestic and business users.

ESAT are making all the right noises now. Given a choice between giving my money to BT or giving it to New York vulture capitalists I come down for BT any time. At least BT cares slightly.

The great news is that ESAT are singing tunefully off the IoffL hymnsheet. Credit where credit is due.....the IoffL committee and their associates.

M

koneko

I have to admit EsatBT are pretty useless though. I asked someone from Esat when they will be launching Broadband in Dublin. She didn't know, and asked someone else. She then told me "I'm sorry, we don't do broadband, we only do DSL"


LFCFan, I get your point, but calm down...?! You can't expect them to have the most technically competent people on the customer service lines, what with the high turnover on support lines.

LFCFan

Originally posted by koneko
LFCFan, I get your point, but calm down...?! You can't expect them to have the most technically competent people on the customer service lines, what with the high turnover on support lines.

Sorry, I had just gotten off a call with €ircon about my latest bill(as they had screwed up yet again) and yer one on the other end made my blood boil. You know, the usual,

Me: But you've made a mistake on my bill
€ircon: What do you mean, I'VE made a mistake. I didn't send you the bill.
Me: You know what I mean. You're supposed to be Customer Care. You don't sound very caring. What's your name?
€ircon: Beeeeeeeeeeeeep......................

It's calls like that, that give these people a bad name.

Serbian

I see Dustaz's point about the lowering of the standard access speed, and it is a valid point. We should be concerned, but we can't be expected to sit here and not sign up for a product that really isn't all that bad. It has taken us long enough to get any product that's flatrate / faster than a 56k modem, and also somewhat affordable. If no-one signed up on the grounds that the connection simple isn't fast enough for them, its more likely to damage the situation as some companies might interpret that as lack of interest in broadband as a whole if an affordable bb product is greeted by a tumbleweed.

I say welcome the ESAT product, sign up for it if you can, but make sure you register your interest in a 512k bit line while doing so.

Slutmonkey57b

You've got to love unionisation all right.

spongebob

It does not come with a 1 year lock in like that crap €ircon product.

€ircon not only peddle an inferior product.....for which there is very little demand......they also make you sign a 1 year contract.

ESAT don't. With the current state of the market and with ongoing improvements to the product offerings all the time it means that getting locked in for a year could rightly screw you.

M

LFCFan

now that's what I wanted to hear. There is no way I would commit to a year long contract when other products could come available, like Irish Braodband who tell me they are hoping to have a Mast for the Dublin 15 area in the new year. I'll believe it when I see it though.