RADSL , Satellite , Digi-Box Article

LegacyUser · 06-08-2001 5:35pm #1

I got the informative pc magazine today called "Computer Buyer" and here is what is says about
the Watchdog namely OFTEL and how BT's ADSL price was cut.
Here is what it said which includes info on RADSL, Satellite internet other than tiscali and digi box broadband.

OFTEL has forced BT to cut it 's charges due to allow rival broadband companys avail of its exchanges
The move came comes after BT's High prices have been blamed for the slower uptake of its high speed internet service.
"on my irish view 40 quid , unlimited net at that speed , mnnnn yes plz Misses!! "
But competition from companies with new inovations mean broadband's reach is about to widen, and prices drop.
BT , took control of the UK's telecommunication infrastructure when the company whent privitized has faced critisism for operating a near
monopoly. As well as cutting charges , OFTEL also says BT must allow rival companies to install broadband equipment throughout its exchanges. Meanwhile
BT's own ADSL broadband service , Openworld has reported massive losses.
The company has hinted at raising its subscriptons price soon. In an attempt to fill those empty coffers, BT's 'rate adaptive' ADSL service will start in july.

This New service RADSL, will extend broadband to those up to 5.5km from a broadband enabled exchange, as opposed to the current 3.5km.
BT wholesales has also found a way to cut the initial installiation costs as well.
eg. they will release more 'cheap' ADSL modems from december, so users can buy their own and suscribe to a 'wires-only' version of ADSL.

Bypassing the BT bottleneck to bring us fast internet from the skies, two companies Aramiska and Tiscali are proposing Europe-Wide 'two-way' broadband services via satellite from this Autumn.
Both companies are ca*** about prices of their services at the moment. Aramiska says its service will be 'low-cost'
while Tiscali says each country will be priced according to the local 'market dynamics'
"on my irish view on terms of tiscali all i can say is 'uh o'

On the ground broadband connections that use cable modems may not be new but high speed access from the pc via a TV set top box certainly is. NTL will
soon or right now in manchester connect the customers digital cable set-top box
which includes a cable modem to thier pc - even if its in a different room.

They pay 24.99 a month to have this service, BT charge £40. Whats more installation could be as low as £17.50 if u r prepared to have a stab at it!!

ok on my note , all interesting stuff , some of it was already knew but i said id go for writing the article
due to its info on the RADSL , digi box and Satellite net access which is also Aramiska which i didnt know about , any1 else know about them?
i think tiscali we all knew about and the price they will charge is going to be dis-tasteful i can tell already due to eire being
a dump for internet!!

ok my rant is over..

LegacyUser · 06-08-2001 5:48pm

didnt ntl allways provided cable internet through the digibox? i dont know,

just a note, last time i spoke to a guy at ntl he gave me some spin about broadband coming through the digiboxs on the in the areas were they are about to provide digital tv, he didnt make allot of sense,
this is why a study of all irish isp would be handy, id like to know jsut how ntl do provide cable in the upgraded areas,

anywho yea it sounds good, i find it abite odd that bt have been trying to exstend the range of their adsl after doing everything they could to slow down the uptake,
but thats there not here

LegacyUser · 06-08-2001 6:41pm

Originally posted by Gladiator:
d
just a note, last time i spoke to a guy at ntl he gave me some spin about broadband coming through the digiboxs on the in the areas were they are about to provide digital tv,

The cable modem is often built into the Digital STB, since a far bit of circuitry in them is similar, and hence the overall cost is lower.

anywho yea it sounds good, i find it abite odd that bt have been trying to exstend the range of their adsl after doing everything they could to slow down the uptake,
but thats there not here

BT weren't really trying to slow the uptake of ADSL - they just screwed up by underestimating how many people wanted it, and being a little naive about how fiddly a technology DSL is.

[This message has been edited by hudson806 (edited 06-08-2001).]

LegacyUser · 06-08-2001 8:02pm

ok so they can do that, but do they do that,

and hopw correct was he about broadband down ntl new digital tv network

LegacyUser · 06-08-2001 8:27pm

Originally posted by Gladiator:
and hopw correct was he about broadband down ntl new digital tv network

My understanding is that NTLs 'new' digital network doesn't have any IP capability but that it can be bolted on later (when they get some cash together), hence the cable modems they supply won't be useless. Besides, its getting difficult to source STBs these days that don't have cable modems built in..

LegacyUser · 06-08-2001 9:06pm

what do you mean cable modem they supply, all this sounds nothing like what they offer in the uk,

So this digibox they suply with have a cable modem in it by default, and your man wasnt talking crapp when he said they could and would offer cable internet later, hmm i wonder if ill be in one of those high demand areas, now thats something to think about

LegacyUser · 06-08-2001 9:15pm

Originally posted by Gladiator:
So this digibox they suply with have a cable modem in it by default, and your man wasnt talking crapp when he said they could and would offer cable internet later, hmm i wonder if ill be in one of those high demand areas, now thats something to think about

I'd say that they'll roll out cable Internet services throughout their upgraded areas at roughly the same time, so as long as you live in what they call a 'two-way' area you should be able to get the service (whenever they launch it).

LegacyUser · 06-08-2001 9:22pm

sorry for all the questions, but what do you mean by two way,
are you talking about the areas with upgraded cable to digital tv, or are you talking about an area with fully two way.

ill take it your telling thats its the areas they are about to lauch the digital tv in,

so your saying my set top dox will be my cable modem, can i not just by a cable modem, as i wouldnt want to pay the rental on a set top box

LegacyUser · 06-08-2001 10:40pm

Originally posted by Gladiator:

ill take it your telling thats its the areas they are about to lauch the digital tv in,

I guess...

so your saying my set top dox will be my cable modem, can i not just by a cable modem, as i wouldnt want to pay the rental on a set top box

Maybe they'll allow you to buy a cable modem seperately if you don't want the TV service (there's no technical reason why it couldn't be that way), but NTL are in the business of selling people 'Complete Communications Solutions" or whatever, so I guess they'll price everything in such a way that you buy as much crap as they can foist on you...

With the huge cost of upgrading their cable network, the only way the cable companies will ever turn a profit will be by selling consumers everything - TV, Internet, Movies & Telephone. Their pricing scheme will reflect that aim. (eg cable modem rental IEP20/month, but free if you subscribe to Sky Movies or something like that)

[This message has been edited by hudson806 (edited 06-08-2001).]

LegacyUser · 07-08-2001 9:47am

Originally posted by hudson806:
My understanding is that NTLs 'new' digital network doesn't have any IP capability but that it can be bolted on later (when they get some cash together), hence the cable modems they supply won't be useless. Besides, its getting difficult to source STBs these days that don't have cable modems built in..

My understanding is that as NTL are required to supply DIGITAL TV to a certain number of subscribers by a certain date or they will lose their licence. They are under no obligation to supply Internet access.

When NTL took over Cablelink they had all sorts of fancy plans for the future (Interactive TV, always on Internet Access, Fibre Networks, etc) and they then decided that Tallaght was the perfect market for such service and for some strange reason there was not as much interest as they had hoped for (ie. fewer than 100 people expressed an interest in cable modems).

Eventually NTL found that they had not met the requirements of their licence and were in danger of having it revoked so they have decided to concentrate on offering DIGITAL TV channels via the existing co-axial network. Cable TV is supposed to offer higher quality sound and video but all you actually get is more channels offering variations of the same old rubbish ...

It would appear that they will supply set-top units to subscribers and that these units will (by default) contain cable modems which will be effectively redundant.

In other words if you do not live in an area which has already been upgraded you can forget about high speed Internet access via the NTL network. It could be between three and five years before you are upgraded and by then it is more than likely that new technology will be available making the settop units obsolete (to be honest it may never happen in Dublin 1, where I live).

LegacyUser · 07-08-2001 10:06am

actually id imagine centre city dublin would be one on the high demand areas, even the highest demand, they could make a killing, offering broadband to all the small bussuness in the centre city, i dear say if any area would be marked as high demand that would be one, i cants see how they could clam others areas of higher demand,

i mean you got the city west bussiness park dublin 3 centre city, the eastpoint allso, and the new dock lands thing in afew years,
and this digital village in the liberties comeing around, were there will be ggoverment grants for providing cheap broadband

it will be interesting to see if they actually follow through and over cable internet in come areas on lauch date

[This message has been edited by Gladiator (edited 07-08-2001).]

LegacyUser · 07-08-2001 11:07am

Originally posted by infomat:

My understanding is that as NTL are required to supply DIGITAL TV to a certain number of subscribers by a certain date or they will lose their licence. They are under no obligation to supply Internet access.

I understand that NTL are under no obligation to offer cable modem services, just as they are also under no obligation to offer telephone services. The reason they do these extra things is to try to make tonnes of money.

Inevitably, NTL will offer a cable modem service because it makes good sense to:- The infrastructure they are rolling out can have IP services bolted on later; the STBs they are supplying have built-in cable modems.

It could be between three and five years before you are upgraded

I'd say thats a pretty good guesstimate of how long we'll be waiting...

offering broadband to all the small bussuness in the centre city

Cable isn't really the ideal technology for small business Internet use. I'd doubt that NTL will push themselves too hard into that area, especially if there's a DSL alternative.

[This message has been edited by hudson806 (edited 07-08-2001).]

[This message has been edited by hudson806 (edited 07-08-2001).]

LegacyUser · 07-08-2001 11:37am

it will in its **** be 5 years before ntl offer cable, in fact that will do so pretty sharply once whole sale adsl happens in September, unless they plain to offer adsl service, which isn’t out of the question.

Think about it, when ntl digital comes online people will be directly comparing it to sky digital,
Now sky plain to bring out a dual tuner set top box,
So at about £26 basic for two TVs compared to
Ntls about £30 basic for two TVs ntl looses out, (two set top boxes)
And sky will offer more stations on its basic then ntl,

So why would people stick with ntl, it’s not the phones (calls cost 1.5ppm)
It’s the Internet weekend offer the majority of ntl user will stay with,
And as soon as an alternative like adsl kicks in people will leave ntl,
It will save people money to move.

The only way they will survive in this market is by offering an all in one package of broadband, other wise there’s just no reason to use them and they wont be here in 5 years time,

I know I will leave ntl and move back to eircon and get sky digital as soon as im offered adsl by either esat or eircom, it would just be cheaper in the long run.

it would be a huge mistake not to offer broadband in the areas were there’s the highest concentration of NTL cable TVs usage,

LegacyUser · 07-08-2001 11:49am

Originally posted by Gladiator:
it will in its **** be 5 years before ntl offer cable, in fact that will do so pretty sharply once whole sale adsl happens in September, unless they plain to offer adsl service, which isn’t out of the question.

I agree, there are lots of good reasons for NTL to offer broadband, but the reality is that investing in Ireland doesn't figure into their current strategy - keeping their exclusive license by being able to serve 100,000 homes makes good business sense, but they just don't have the cash to roll out broadband (I'm sure they want to)

Now sky plain to bring out a dual tuner set top box

Sky's new box may have a twin tuner, but it doesn't have a twin decoder - you can still only watch one thing at once; the other tuner records the still encrypted signal to the hard-disk. When you're not decoding something else, you can then decode what's on the HDD. So, its still confined to one television.

So why would people stick with ntl, it’s not the phones (calls cost 1.5ppm)
It’s the Internet weekend offer the majority of ntl user will stay with,
And as soon as an alternative like adsl kicks in people will leave ntl,
It will save people money to move.

People stay with NTL because its a hassle to move. With over 200,000 customers, they can afford to lose the few who see a better deal elsewhere. Besides TV is their core service, and as long as they keep their monopoly in Analogue cable, they don't need to care about what a bunch of geeks want out of their digital cable TV service.

I know I will leave ntl and move back to eircon and get sky digital as soon as im offered adsl by either esat or eircom, it would just be cheaper in the long run.

You're in the minority. I'll be sticking with NTL analogue as I have more that one TV, SKY Digital for premium channels on my WS TV, and Eircom or Esat for DSL. Even if NTL offered me cable Internet, I'd still choose DSL.

[This message has been edited by hudson806 (edited 07-08-2001).]

LegacyUser · 07-08-2001 12:12pm

if im not upgraded then i probably wont change, but dont be making comments about picking adsl over cable, eircon adsl counld be ****e, and from what ive heard ntls cable is excellent

RADSL , Satellite , Digi-Box Article

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