In the news this morning EsatBT dsl rollout

Wook

Regions make ready for broadband


The reality is that four years after the telecoms market was deregulated, one incumbent telecoms player still rules the roost and much future progress depends on how much leeway that telecommunications company (telco) is going to give others in freeing up the local loops and last miles that will see the Government’s dream of 5Mbps to every home and business by 2005 realised.

This 5Mbps by 2005 vision was not the misbegotten musing of a government civil servant, but is an actual directive from the European Commission as part of its e-Europe plans.

In meeting such ambitious directives — well in this country’s case at present and certainly ambitious — the Government earlier this year allocated €200m to a National Broadband Strategy under the auspices of the National Development plan that would see high speed metropolitan area networks (MANs), or fibre rings, built around some 67 towns, creating a network of some 56,000 fibre kilometres.

Recent cutbacks by Finance Minister, Charlie McCreevy TD, have put this €200m vision in jeopardy as the Government performs a balancing act between over-generous spending during the past five years and the need for moderation in a world blighted by recession.

In the most recent Book of Estimates, the government department responsible for broadband rollout, the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, saw its annual estimate for 2003 cut by 9pc to €484.4m, some €46.2m less than expected. For 2003, a department spokesman told Digital Ireland that these cuts would have no impact on the first phase of the project involving 19 principal towns and an investment of some €44m. “We are able to draw down the money required for this phase in the coming year,” he said.

In terms of the remaining 48 towns earmarked, the spokesman claimed that the overall strategy is still in place and that the remaining towns are not an objective until a further two years. “We are still committed to bringing broadband to the regions,” he said. Cynics would suggest that as with most such projects, 19 towns will get the broadband and be trumpeted in the same way as the Ennis Information Age town was, while competing projects will gather dust and be forgotten.

Optimists, however, would suggest that with the telecoms equipment market in the state that it is in, it is a favourable time for the Government to acquire the materials and equipment it needs at knock-down prices. So far, some €10m has been spent by a central procurement body at the Department of Communications on material ranging from fibre and ducting to manholes. “It’s a good time to be installing these networks as the equipment needed has rarely been cheaper,” a spokesman recently commented. A decision is looming on the appointment of a managed services entity (MSE) that will administer the 19-town project.

Despite the apparent willingness to press on, the reality is that digital subscriber line rollout in Ireland has come very late and is occurring at a perilously slow rate. Eircom, the incumbent, began by focusing on Dublin but now delivers its service to Cork, Limerick, Kerry and areas of Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Westmeath. Esat BT is also taking on the regions, while at the same time relying on Eircom to surrender space at local exchanges. One-time consumer broadband champion, NTL, has decided to quit the residential telecoms market. A recent report of the National Competitiveness Council, placed Ireland 15th out of 16 countries in terms of expensive broadband infrastructure.

This situation contrasts harshly with that of South Korea, a country that, like Ireland, prides itself on its prowess at technology and has had to survive alongside the economic sore that was the Japanese economy over the past decade.

In 1999, Public Enterprise Minister, Mary O’Rourke, expounded plans about how Ireland was going to be the e-hub of Europe, a broadband powerhouse that US firms could base themselves in to serve the European market. At the same time, Korea responded to similar aims with a National Information Communication Plan called ‘Cyber Korea 21’ involving stringent efforts and heavy investment.

Today, the entire nation is crisscrossed with a fibre optics network, and over half of its population, some 25 million people, use the internet. An average penetration rate of broadband internet speed of over 1Mbps is reported to be the highest in the world, according to the OECD. The same OECD report placed Ireland 27th in the world. South Korea was also the first country in the world to commercialise 3G services and today some 28 million people access 3G over code division multiple access technology.

Compared with our policy of 19 MANs around Ireland, while so much unused fibre lies dormant along railway lines and looks likely to be left unused, the Korean government established a five-year plan to develop a countrywide high-speed fibre optic network and then continuously amplify it (from several tens of gigabits to several tens of terabit by 2005). This makes our present plans of 5Mbps to every home and business by 2005 seem miniscule, while even today some homes in South Korea currently enjoy broadband speeds of 13Mbps.

The recent fifth annual report from the National Competitiveness Council warned that infrastructural deficits such as telecoms and electricity as well as rising wage costs and escalating prices could fatally affect Ireland’s competitiveness. To counter this disappointing cycle, the council recommended that the Government press on with its 19-town rollout but, in light of the tighter fiscal situation, the development of a single public private partnership should be accelerated to leverage the maximum private sector finance and participation. It also recommended the creation of a specialist broadband planning office to co-ordinate and manage public and private bodies involved in the Regional Broadband Investment Initiative.

The council also called for the transposition into domestic law of the EU framework for telecoms to be accelerated, focusing particularly on the insufficiency of fines for errant telecoms firms, put in place an appeals mechanism and maintain a regulatory oversight of market areas where competition is yet to develop. It also recommended that the Government come up with ways of stimulating the take-up of broadband services at a faster rate than competing countries.


Personal Note: Gosh, what went wrong ?
Does none of those politicians use Internet ?
Bunch of old farts completly out of touch with the current E-world ?

MDR

what publication was that in?

Wook

Irish independent (included is 'digital Ireland) with a link to www.siliconrepublic.com

MDR

gonna make contact with the author 'John Kennedy'

VeeEmmy

Cheaper DSL before Christmas
(http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?uid=vme&sid=6JGdrVVh&storyid=single554 -- you have to register to access)

Esat BT has launched a budget digital subscriber line (DSL) service in the Irish market.

The service, which was flagged some weeks ago by Esat BT CEO, Bill Murphy, will cost €49.95 per month plus a one-off connection charge of €125.

The service will be available on a phased basis, beginning with the regions of Cork, Tipperary, Wexford and Wicklow. By the end of January, Esat BT plans to offer the service from all its DSL-enabled exchanges. The service will offer internet connection at data speeds of 128 kilobits per second (Kbps) upload and 256Kbps download.

Speaking to siliconrepublic.com, Deirdre Donegan (pictured), DSL product manager for Esat BT, said the company’s DSL rollout was on schedule. “We’ll be at 34 exchanges at the end of the week and the majority of the rollout plan is complete,” she said, adding that the number of subscribers had reached the 500 mark.

Esat BT plans to put DSL equipment into a total of 40 exchanges throughout the country, 10 inside the Greater Dublin area and 30 outside.

Furthermore, it is creating a new section on its corporate website that will allow users outside of these exchange areas to log their interest in receiving the service. If enough users apply from a specific area, Esat BT will extend the service to that location. The model has been successfully introduced by BT in Cornwall in the UK.

Meanwhile, new figures from the DSL Forum reveal the number of global digital subscriber line customers grew strongly in the third quarter of 2002.

More than five million people worldwide signed up for the service between 1 July and 30 September, a 20pc rise on the previous quarter and the biggest percentage increase in user numbers yet recorded by the Forum.

The industry group has forecast a total of 36 million DSL customers around the world by the end of the year and 200 million by 2005.

South Korea has the highest number of DSL connections as a percentage of all internet connections — 27pc.

After Asia-Pacific, Europe has the highest level of DSL penetration in the world, helped by strong demand in Germany, Norway and Croatia. North America lies in third place.

By Brian Skelly

MDR

Esat BT has launched a budget digital subscriber line (DSL) service in the Irish market.

no evidence of it on their website ... still expensive vapourware in my book.

Richard Barry

Originally posted by Banished-She
Cheaper DSL before Christmas
(http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?uid=vme&sid=6JGdrVVh&storyid=single554 -- you have to register to access)


The service, which was flagged some weeks ago by Esat BT CEO, Bill Murphy, will cost €49.95 per month plus a one-off connection charge of €125.

Italy's Tiscali offer this ultra-slow basket case DSL service in France for EUR 15,95 a month. Advertised on TV every night around the 20h00 news.

How come BT can get away with charging EUR 49,95 for a similar service in Ireland? Tiscali offer free connection and a free DSL modem too.

R.

damnyanks

Has the €50 product been confirmed ?

seamus

Originally posted by damnyanks
Has the €50 product been confirmed ?

Yep. Should be a few exchanges by COB on friday, with the rest in the new year. That way they still get away with the 'before christmas' tag. :rolleyes:

dahamsta

Furthermore, it is creating a new section on its corporate website that will allow users outside of these exchange areas to log their interest in receiving the service. If enough users apply from a specific area, Esat BT will extend the service to that location. The model has been successfully introduced by BT in Cornwall in the UK.

They're taking too long to do this. I'd write this myself in a few days if I had access to the data they have (number to exchange mappings, etc), and I know at least one person in Esat - albeit in another division - that could too.

Esat, I'll write it if you want, for free, but in the meantime: Hettyfield. Please.

adam

sceptre

Originally posted by dahamsta
Esat, I'll write it if you want, for free, but in the meantime: Hettyfield. Please.

I'm with Adam. Roches Street in Limerick please!

Oh yeah, it's already been done. First exchange done too as I recall.

Drop the price, then we'll talk.

MDR

Dear Mr Murphy,

Have hou noticed a large urban area between your office, home and the airport ... this is called Dublin and about a quater of the population live here, it may have/seems to have escaped your notice.

If you DSL enable some of Dublins large exchanges on the Northside, not only will you recieve my eternal graditude, but you will also be giving youself access to about half a million customers.

Your Sincerely

Ray Kinsella

p.s. can I add a shameless grovel to end of this mail ... please, please, please, please, please, ah go on you will ....

ednwireland

guys stop getting excited check this thread

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=74431

4gb cap nice to see deregulation working - the duopoly strike again reducing service to the lowest level
thanks esat waste of space as with everything else insurance etc bt have obviously decided ireland is a cash cow which they can milk for profit.
b******ds
not that i'll ever get broadband in the northwest must look into satellite again.

MDR

i mean for F*CK sake ESAT are you our friends or not :mad:
i want MY €9 million back please ...

LoBo

hey look, the irish consumer getting shafted again!

:rolleyes:

Richard Barry, is that Tiscali €16 pm service capped?

So shocking that we are offered service at 4 times the price and with serious limitations...

One good thing is that it does make Eircoms 3GB cap even more ludicrous.

Come on wireless broadband... IBB & leap: break into the residential market

damnyanks

If they are installing to most of the exchanges and no one takes the product they will have to fix the package to entice more people into it

zynaps

How many people do you think will even stop to think about the cap, and not just assume DSL is broadband and worth getting?

It's an alternative to being charged through the nose for dialup, and as we all know too well, the irish people have a tendency to just accept what's put in front of them.

IMO this is a step up, just a bit of a kick in the nads as well to those of us who want to enjoy the benefits that broadband supposedly offers us (faster, better quality interactive media yada yada on websites, for those that do nothing but surf websites).

I won't be getting it, but I do appreciate that it's effectively friaco at the 5 times the speed of yer ordinary dialup, albeit with download limits (which are wishy washy... maybe neither esat or eircom will enforce them).
And ~60 euros a month for 5* dialup always on is instantly better than 3 euros an HOUR going to eircom (even taking the cap into account).

It is better than nothing, it's just not a lot better than nothing.

Let's hope the situation continues to develop

zynaps

JohnK

Originally posted by LoBo
hey look, the irish consumer getting shafted again!

:rolleyes:

Well, Surprise Surprise. Who could have possibly guessed we would get screwed again? I think I now know what it feels like to be a hooker :mad:

PiE

Originally posted by damnyanks
If they are installing to most of the exchanges and no one takes the product they will have to fix the package to entice more people into it

Nah, sure the governments 9million probably paid for it all... how many exchanges upgraded? 13 or something? 25million mein arsche.

They're free to let it the equipment rot away all they want.

MarVeL

Originally posted by JohnK
I think I now know what it feels like to be a hooker :mad:

You're getting paid for browsing!?! Damn I missed another meeting!:)

Richard Barry

Originally posted by LoBo
hey look, the irish consumer getting shafted again!

:rolleyes:

Richard Barry, is that Tiscali €16 pm service capped?

Capped? The word doesn't exist in French DSL lingo.

Every DSL service provider operates on a forfait illimité basis.

R.