Cable Infrastructure

timod

Some interesting stories in the latest mail from http://www.siliconrepublic.com

Cable comes a cropper

Two days ago I watched Liverpool beat Manchester United on my
widescreen TV with the same nagging feeling I've often had since
I invested in the set. No, it's nothing to do with the wisdom or
otherwise of Gerard Houllier's tedious tactics. It's to do with
the quality of my TV service.

Is it worth investing in a state-of-the-art television when the
cable company providing the pictures, in my case Chorus, is
using archaic technology? I suffer from a piped service of
one-way cable that looks as if it was around when George Best
was still playing.

Picture quality ranges from ghostly to ghastly. Never does it
deliver the pin-sharp excellence one has every right to expect
from an off-air broadcast in 2003. The arrival of digital
satellite offers an increasingly attractive alternative, not
least because Chorus keeps reminding me of it. It's not unusual,
mid-programme, to see the Sky menu appear mysteriously on my
screen for no apparent reason.

Cable is shaping up to be the great lost hope of Irish
infrastructure. Despite the fact that Ireland has more of the
stuff than almost any country in Europe, its contribution to the
business community and broader infrastructure offerings is
almost zilch (Riding the cable card downturn - see below).

In the UK cable operators have been instrumental in driving
broadband into the home and the two market leaders boast more
ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) connections than BT.
They have also helped create real competition, driving down the
price until it was an affordable mass-market offering.

Neither Chorus nor NTL has got close to competing in Ireland's
broadband future, nor do they look likely to in the future. To
be fair, it hasn't always been their fault. As the Government
has struggled to cope with deregulated telcos and telephone
wire, it has barely given cable a second thought.

Ireland went from leader to laggard in the cable market and the
prospects for its revival look extremely bleak.

Ian Campbell
Editor
siliconrepublic.com

timod

Riding the cable card downturn

04.03.2003 - The 6th of May, 1999 was a red-letter day for Irish
telecommunications. Anglo-American telecommunications giant NTL bought
Cablelink for €680m, which at the time was jointly owned by RTÉ and
Eircom, and promised to invest another €350m to upgrade the network and
give its customers digital TV and high-speed internet access. Meanwhile,
Princes Holdings, partly owned by Independent News and Media, was
quietly and without any fuss consolidating its position in the Irish
cable TV market, acquiring networks throughout the country.

The promise was clear. The cable companies NTL and Chorus, as Princes
Holdings was to brand its operation, would have their own local loops
and would provide a viable alternative to the incumbent Eircom. Then it
all went pear shaped. The bottom fell out of the worldwide
telecommunications market. Credit dried up. Stock values fell and
suddenly there was no money available to finance the necessary network
upgrades. NTL even went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from which
it only recently emerged.

So are the cable companies still relevant in the modern business
communications market?

“They are potentially rather than actually,” says Willie Fagan, managing
director of Chorus. “The real difficulty to becoming a player involves
upgrading cable from one-way coaxial to two-way. Ireland is one of the
most cabled companies in Europe but the cable is ancient. There is
upgraded cable in Dublin south west, Kilkenny, Clonmel, Thurles and
about a quarter of Cork. Those areas can provide high-speed internet
access and telephone.”

According to Fagan the real killer will be the triple play of
television, internet and telephony. The problem, he says, is and will
remain the cost of upgrading the cable.

“This is not such a problem in the UK where cable was installed more
recently. According to our engineers the cabling you would need would by
550MHz and upwards. We have some 750MHz cable in our areas but the
industry has reached an impasse that until companies can afford to start
investing again it’s not going to happen. There are a lot of factors,
mainly international ones relating to funding but there are others. We
would have to be earning a better revenue stream, regulation would have
to be a lot lighter particularly on the pricing front and of course
there is competition from satellite,” Fagan says.

Fagan believes that cable companies like his own and NTL could play a
part in connecting end users to the fibre backbones, which are currently
being rolled out. However, he points out that there has to be a solid
business rationale behind any such move.

Business products of NTL and Chorus

Chorus offers a variety of products in its areas. Powernet, for
instance, is a high-speed internet connection that leverages the
company’s wireless investment in the Limerick region. Starting at €101
per month plus €317 installation, customers can have a 256Kbps (kilobits
per second) upstream and 1Mbps (megabits per second) upstream link.

Businesses in Thurles, Clonmel and Kilkenny can avail of Chorus’s
Cablenet Broadband service. This costs €75 per month and gives download
speeds of 512Kbps and upload speeds of 128Kbps.

NTL offers its business customers a number of different options. In the
voice arena it offers a CPS (carrier pre-select) service as well as
primary rate ISDN. For data traffic, it offers Dedicated Internet Access
(DIA), Fibrelink and IP (internet protocol) Net and Frame relay
products.

DIA involves an access circuit ranging from 64Kbps to 34Mbps from the
customer to NTL’s point of presence, managed end-to-end connectivity,
domain name registration, IP addressing and more. There are three
flavours to the service. DIA Plus offers a single dedicated 24-hour
connection. FlexiDIA offers greater flexibility.

Connection circuit speeds start at 8Mbps and it is possible to increase
bandwidth without installing additional hardware. The Premium DIA
package provides a second dedicated circuit to a different NTL point of
presence for additional security.

Companies needing high-speed communications between two or more
locations are pointed towards NTL’s FibreLink and FibreLink
International products. These are fixed-dedicated circuits ranging from
64Kbps to 155Mbps, suitable for voice, data and video using the
company’s own SDH (synchronous digital hierarchy) network covering
Dublin, Belfast and major UK cities and, in the case of FibreLink
International, selected countries up to 2048Mbps.

NTL’s IP Net products are aimed at companies with multiple locations
needing private networking. Dedicated circuits ranging from 64Kbps to
155Mbps connect each customer site to an NTL point of presence. NTL’s
Frame Relay product is similar but is more suitable for handling
frequent bursts of data generated by multiple LANs (local area networks)
communicating with one another.

By David Stewart

dahamsta

In the UK cable operators have been instrumental in driving broadband into the home and the two market leaders boast more ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) connections than BT.

Gah! So near and yet so far.

adam

PiE

Friend of mine who lives in Rathcoole and has NTL cable has recently been offered an upgrade on his 512k service (to 600k, for free) has told me he's seen NTL workers digging up roads on the other side of the village. Only his side has had cable so far. Could this mean... well, anything?

Probably not. Ah well.

MDR

fairly directionless article,
starts off talking about consumer issues,
and ends up advertising NTL/Chorus's business products,
I understand that it is trying to talk about the cable market in ireland as a whole, but its too short to acomplish the task and just ends up being dis-jointed.

He seems almost sympathetic to NTL/Chorus's plight and forgets the endless vapourware press releases we have suffered from both parties.

De Rebel

NTL bought Cablelink for €680m

The fundamental problem is that that €680m should have been reinvested - the Government should have put it into a bond to be returned to the companies on a matching funds basis. That would have guaranteed the investment. That €680m was simply capital that should have been spent previously but wasn't because neither of the owners wanted a modern cable infrastructure.

Instead the Gov. took the short term view and grabbed the profit. Like so much of that dreadful woman O'Rourke's legacy, we will live with the cost of that stupid decision for many years to come.

Cable as anything other than a niche option is dead in this country. Even if someone found a pot of gold with the €2 or €3 billion necessary to replace/extend the network, there is no chance that the necessary road digging would be allowed. And as for Chorus getting away with a repeat of Cork Multichannel's scummy cabling work, forget it.

Cable is dead, long live Wireless.

Oh and long live Caseys of Dungarvan as well.

bk

We would have to be earning a better revenue stream, regulation would have
to be a lot lighter particularly on the pricing front and of course there is competition from satellite,” Fagan says.

This is the thing I don't get, it is obvious to everyone that the cable companies are losing customers to Sky Digital in vast numbers, just look around at all the dishes up. This is because of the far better quality of the service and the range of channels.

If the cable companies are going to stem the flood and remain in business, they will have to greatly improve the quality of their service and offer alternative services like telephone and broadband. Bundled services are generally very popular with people, people like getting just one bill, I'm sure if it was done correctly the cable companies could greatly reduce the threat of Sky Dig and grow their profit margins.

The cable companies seem to have realised this in the UK, but of course as always here in Ireland we are years behind.

The funny thing is, it is the same story for Eircom. Eircom are in great danger of becoming completely redundant. With the ever increasing cost of line rental, many people are using their mobiles instead, in time we might even see people not bother with a landline. I did this for 6 months last year and it was fine, the only reason I have a land line now is for the Net. Eircom should be doing everything in their power to roll out and promote DSL, it is the one thing that will keep people using Eircom.

I believe that by this time next year, wireless bb will be widely available in Dublin and will be a real threat to Eircoms monopoly. Eircom need to get a large DSL user base installed right now, wait until next year and it will already be too late.

Fergus

but the industry has reached an impasse that until companies can afford to start investing again it’s not going to happen.

Originally posted by bk
If the cable companies are going to stem the flood and remain in business, they will have to greatly improve the quality of their service

It strikes me that this investment the cable companies can't raise is a drop in the ocean compared to what Murdock has been sinking into Sky since the 1980s to make satellite a contender. And especially when you realise all the natural disadvantages satellite has (dishes, lag, interference) you really have to conclude the Irish cable co's are just second rate whingers.

Originally posted by bk
many people are using their mobiles instead, in time we might even see people not bother with a landline.

Funny you should mention that.. there's a TV ad running here in the US from one of the mobile operators. It's a take-off of the 'Antiques Roadshow'. The 'expert' is sitting at the table with the artifact.. "This is what we used to refer to as a telephone. People would keep one of these in their home and it would be tethered to the wall by the cord we see here.." (Audience exchanged glances in amused disbelief, etc..)

crawler

Very strange post.......

NTL offer 600Kbps as standard in the UK and all 512k users are being upgraded to 600K here too.

When Chorus and NTL delivery or begin a roll out of 2 way again then I'll believe things until then....

SkepticOne

Originally posted by crawler
When Chorus and NTL delivery or begin a roll out of 2 way again then I'll believe things until then....

Possible reasons for them to get a move on:

1. Digital terrestrial may get funding from the government. Funding was all that was holding back a company in Ireland from providing a package comparable to NTL including all the UK terestrials.

2. Sky adding the remaining UK terrestrials to their channel line up.

3. Eircom ressurrect their TV over DSL plans. NTL objected to this when they had an exclusive franchise but this is gone now.

Admittedly these are remote possibilities, but then so is NTL and Chorus upgrading to two way systems.

bk

Originally posted by SkepticOne
Possible reasons for them to get a move on:

1. Digital terrestrial may get funding from the government. Funding was all that was holding back a company in Ireland from providing a package comparable to NTL including all the UK terestrials.

Very unlikely, it has been canned for the most part, plus I don't think it was going to offer the UK channels.

2. Sky adding the remaining UK terrestrials to their channel line up.

I believe UTV is the only UK terrestial chanel not available, and rumour has it that it will be added soon.

BBC 1, 2 CH4 and E4 are already there, along with RTE1, Net 2, TV3 and TG4, this is a big part of the reason why so many people are taking it up.

3. Eircom ressurrect their TV over DSL plans. NTL objected to this when they had an exclusive franchise but this is gone now.

Very unlikely, the only reason why they where looking at this was because of the threat of NTL entering the phone and BB market, this threat is now gone, so they scraped all that DSL gear and are now using cheaper gear.

I do believe NTL and Chorus are now under great pressure from Sky and if they don't do something about it soon they will be in real trouble.

Listening to Etain (spit) on the radio just now, she seems to think that there might still be a possibility for cable net access, I tend to agree, NTL and Chorus will have to move or die.

Boco

Friend of mine who lives in Rathcoole and has NTL cable has recently been offered an upgrade on his 512k service (to 600k, for free)

Its not exactly an offer (or free). NTL are upgrading to the same speed as the uk, so if you are on 512K now, you will be on 600k in April for an extra €5 a month.

jmm

NTL's 512 service has infact been 600 for the last year and half. Anyone who has checked the config setup of their modem, will have spotted the download rate cap has been set for 600.

NTL are merely attempting to squeeze even more money, by attempting to say you now get the jazzed up 600 service, when it's the same speed as you've always had.

Yes I'm sure someone will point out, well then weren't you always getting 600 when you had paid for 512.

BTW if anyone has any names of people upon high within NTL customer service / cable modem section, I'd appreciate a PM, as I'm at my wit's end attempting to get a line noise issue resolved, which has been ongoing for months.

jmm

not everyone rents their modem from NTL.

So no it's not free for everyone.

Eitherway your being made to believe you are getting a 600 service when infact you already have a 600 service.

MagicBusDriver

That is correct. It has always being 600K. It is a price increase to the minority who bought their cable modem. Its still an excellent service for €40 per month. NTL should consider 1Mb and 2Mb service as their network can hardly be under much strain with ~130 customers.

DC

Ok, I may not fully understand cable technology, but I do know they offer telephone over cable.

Now the cable might be crap, but when I had a Chorus phone for about a year, the quality of the line was very good and internet connections were always 52K over 56K modem. Very good connection quality.

Now, they were so incompetent that they were charging for 1891 dialup at local call rates. Led to huge bills and a lot of arguments about the correct amount owing to them.

Now, if they handle the telephone switching (i.e. avoiding eircom between your phone and Chorus), what is stopping them switching dialup connections to their own network backbone and serving out FRIACO before it even goes near eircom's network?

Makes sense to me if its technically feasible. Is it happening anywhere else in the world? Obviously elsewhere in the world they only offer broadband, but who knows.

DC

Actually on second thoughts its a pretty dumb idea.

tribble

Eircom ressurrect their TV over DSL plans. NTL objected to this when they had an exclusive franchise but this is gone now

An aside but i actually saw this working in 1999 in crown alley exchange... Little 5 inch LCD displays everywhere.

pity


tribble

carrotcake

Originally posted by DC
Ok, I may not fully understand cable technology, but I do know they offer telephone over cable.

Now the cable might be crap, but when I had a Chorus phone for about a year, the quality of the line was very good and internet connections were always 52K over 56K modem. Very good connection quality.

Now, they were so incompetent that they were charging for 1891 dialup at local call rates. Led to huge bills and a lot of arguments about the correct amount owing to them.

Now, if they handle the telephone switching (i.e. avoiding eircom between your phone and Chorus), what is stopping them switching dialup connections to their own network backbone and serving out FRIACO before it even goes near eircom's network?

Makes sense to me if its technically feasible. Is it happening anywhere else in the world? Obviously elsewhere in the world they only offer broadband, but who knows.

ntl launched a product including analogue tv, 2 telephone lines (routed over the cable network, so no paying rental to eircom like cps) and friaco in the two-way areas around september 2000 soon after they started laying down the new cable. it cost €25.37 per month when launched, and having just checked the last bill, i see it's now €29.45.

anyway, getting back to the point, they stopped taking new subscriptions because too many people were leaving their computers connected all day (despite the 2-hour cut-off)

i know u just dismissed the idea, put thought you might find this of interest anyway

Mossy Monk

Originally posted by bk
I believe UTV is the only UK terrestial chanel not available

Channel 4 and five are also not available so they have some catching up. five isn't available on Chorus or NTL either