EsatBt and ComReg

MadsL

I called Esat the other day to check if Beggars Bush Exchange(Dublin) had been enabled for Residential DSL. I was told that it wasn't and that furthermore there were no plans to do so. Although I could get Business DSL if I wanted it.

Given that Esat have already enabled this exchange with a 512k DSLAM for their Business DSL Product, my questions then to ComReg were:

Q Isn't this anti-competitive? Do I have a case for a complaint?
A: No, Esat do not have enough market share for us to regulate them.

Q So they can cherry pick like this?
A Yes

I may be niave but would expect ComReg to actually regulate ALL Telcos.

MadsL

raindog

They will only regulate those whom they consider SMP (Significant Market Player or somesuch) ... of course they don't make it easier for Insignificant market players either ....

MadsL

So who are the 'significant' providers in Ireland apart from Eircom? Vodafone, O2 and Meteor do not compete on fixed line data traffic with Eircom, so who else is there?

ComReg told me that they talk to EsatBT 'regularly'...what's the point if they fall outside the regulatory legislation/guidelines.



MadsL

crazyasafox

When I rang esat to inquire if my exchange was upgraded they told me no and when I inquired if they had a list/time frame of future exchanges to be upgraded they told me they get their list from com-reg which they had not yet got......
On another note Madsl what is the difference in price for esats residental and buisness

SkepticOne

Neither Esat nor Eircom nor any other company have any regulatory obligation to provide DSL of any sort (business or residential) to anyone anywhere.

MadsL, do you perhaps mean discriminatory rather than anti-competitive?

One thing I would be interested in is whether this residential DSL is available anywhere. I'm off the Terenure exchange which is upgraded for business but not for residential too. When I phoned, they said that they had no plans for the immediate future.

spongebob

Here is the problem.

1. ESAT took a wedge of cash off the government to roll out Broadband to a select few exchanges. There are 40 in total.

2. ESAT then announced a residential product in October 2002 to come out before Christmas. The impression was that this would be launched in all 40 where they were installing Broadband.

3. ESAT NEVER said that the residential 256k product would only be available in a select few exchanges which apparently is the case.

4. That means that they are probably in breach of ASAI regulations on truthful advertising.

I wonder if they are in breach of the conditions under which they took Millions (was it €12m, I can't remember?) off the government for their 40 exchange program.?

It is not a Comreg problem but may well be a Comptroller and Auditor General problem instead.

M

MadsL

Thanks for the clarity Muck...that's helpful. I do mean anti-competitive though. Here's my thinking...and there are a lot of assumptions I'm making that I'm sure will be challenged (or blown away in a hail of napalm )

In Dublin where Eircom DSL is widely available, EsatBT decide NOT to offer the Residential product as they are already cheaper than Eircom on the 512 Business DSL offering.

In the rest of the country where Eircom DSL is not as widely available, EsatBT offer a cheaper product to try and stimulate areas where there is (perhaps) less demand (??) awareness (??) and price is more critical (??)

The net effect (forgive the pun) is to carve up the territory for DSL provision between Eircom & Esat. I wonder if this is an 'accidental' division of territory - or collusion between these 2 telcos on a win-win basis. Hence I ask if this is 'anti-competitive'.
Hard to prove - but

IS anyone..ahem.. anyone, as SkepticOne asks, using EsatBT Residential DSL? Or is it the classic bait and switch routine.


Muck...

1. ESAT took a wedge of cash off the government to roll out Broadband to a select few exchanges. There are 40 in total.

Any specs..For Business or Residential??..did Bertie tell them exactly what to do with the cash or was it 'err..go do dat Broadband yoke..'

. ESAT then announced a residential product in October 2002 to come out before Christmas. The impression was that this would be launched in all 40 where they were installing Broadband.

Yep, that's what they told me..but I 've never seen it in writing..

3. ESAT NEVER said that the residential 256k product would only be available in a select few exchanges which apparently is the case.

As far as I can work out..they only said.."Esat BT to launch €49.50 a month DSL service to domestic consumers before Christmas. Esat BT is to launch a new DSL service aimed at consumers before Christmas, the company's chief executive officer, Bill Murphy, announced today (24 October 2002). The new service will cost €49.50 plus VAT (€59.90 incl. VAT)."

Not where, or how many 'exchanges'.

4. That means that they are probably in breach of ASAI regulations on truthful advertising.

Nah..Esat are way too clever (have good legal) to fall into that one. Any evidence of this?

I wonder if they are in breach of the conditions under which they took Millions (was it €12m, I can't remember?) off the government for their 40 exchange program.? It is not a Comreg problem but may well be a Comptroller and Auditor General problem instead.

Now were are talking...anyone have more details on the T&C under which they were given the brown envel..., I mean 'development grant'.



BTW More blather from EsatBT
[URL=http://]http://interactive.iol.ie/marketing/EsatBT_news/broadbandgatherspace.html[/URL]

"Broadband gathers pace..." ROTFLOL ..Like it could rollout any slower...



"Esat BT is aggressively addressing the technical and regulatory issues that are delaying the proliferation of its ADSL service to 1.5 million phone lines in the Republic of Ireland"

Oh yeah..Can anyone tell me exactly what technical and regulatory issues stop you putting one lousy Residential port in a major exchange in Dublin (beggers bush) that already has a 512k servive enabled...beggars belief more like....

regulatory issues ?? They aren't regulated according to ComReg??
technical issues ?? Like what..we don't know how??

""In keeping with the Esat BT tradition of experimenting on themselves first, Esat BT uses wireless technology within their own network.." Mmm...I have some WMD I need testing, wanna help Esat??...<evil laugh..........>


MadsL

SkepticOne

Originally posted by MadsL
The net effect (forgive the pun) is to carve up the territory for DSL provision between Eircom & Esat. I wonder if this is an 'accidental' division of territory - or collusion between these 2 telcos on a win-win basis. Hence I ask if this is 'anti-competitive'.
Hard to prove - but

Competition Authority is the place to go for this kind of thing. They have an agreement with ComReg to exchange information. Also check with DCMNR to see if they gave any assurance that they would be supplying the residential market.