Maybe the ESB as an ISP

Trebor

Power line broadband

maybe we could bring in another monoply and let the two fight it out

SkepticOne

Originally posted by Trebor
Power line broadband

maybe we could bring in another monoply and let the two fight it out

Of course, they would only have to provide the last-mile connection. Any number of ISPs, currently forced to use Eircom, would then step in.

echomadman

heheh
I could multilink my three phase supply and get triple the bandwidth,

DeVore

wow has it been that long since the last ESB as ISP thread? How time flies

DeV.

zz03

Originally posted by SkepticOne
Of course, they would only have to provide the last-mile connection. Any number of ISPs, currently forced to use Eircom, would then step in.

While one would be quite happy to see the ESB providing a neutral carrier last mile service, given their installed/to be installed DWDM trunk capacity (which is bigger than eircom's on some routes) there is no reason why they couldn't provide a consumer broadband service on your ESB bill. Saving on billing, marketing, bad debts and street dig-up costs.

They are a far more consumer friendly org than BT or eircom and have a customer relationship with every home and business in the country.

What are they waiting for!?

zz..

BLITZ_Molloy

My dad works for ESB. I know ESB. They're useless. Don't expect much.

embraer170

My dad works for ESB. I know ESB. They're useless. Don't expect much.

And I'll second that. Just about as bad as Eircom.

RobertFoster

wouldn't it be swapping one monoploy for another?

zz03

Originally posted by RobertFoster
wouldn't it be swapping one monoploy for another?

If you took eircom's license away and shut down the company, perhaps.

The fact that the ESB has a monopoly in power distribution doesn't give them a monopoly in the telecoms business when they enter. Any more than they have a monopoly in selling washing machines now.

The more participants in the market the merrier for the consumer.

If power line internet technologies work and the ESB have a copper pair into every home and business premises why not make use of it?

On the long haul end of the market, the ESB also have an advantage. Their fiber optic capacity wrapped around high tension electric cables is going to be a lot more reliable than stuff laid under ground by their competitors. No accidents with diggers. Vandals aren't going to mess with fibre that has 110,000 volts of protection.


zz..

NIBBS

I'm sure someone has said it here before, but according to the ESB, they have no intention of supplying a service to the general public, they don't have the capacity to supply such a service (from an ISP set up point of view not from an actual supply capacity) and their intention is to have a service for existing/new ISP's to purchase bandwidth from them........
you would think that they should really have gone the whole hog and set up a new ISP to rival the others, more competition is always good - maybe they have agreements in place not to hurt each others business

O.T.Grouch

The ESB is a power company. Organizations that enter into business outside their core operation usually emerge battered & bruised and millions of yoyos lighter at the end of it.

I think they would be quite right just selling bandwidth in bulk to business that specialise in providing internet services.

It could also mean several ISPs competing over the power lines rather than just ESB vs the big telcos. That's more competition, not less.

RobertFoster

Originally posted by O.T.Grouch
Organizations that enter into business outside their core operation usually emerge battered & bruised and millions of yoyos lighter at the end of it.

Isn't it working out OK for UTV, a TV company?

roneill

Look its very simple, ESB have previously entered the telco arena through Ocean Telecom were they were a major shareholder, ESB's corporate strategy right now is to focus on its core business, and not to enter the gas market which would be an obvious diversification.. They are only interested in leasing dark fibre to other telco's becoming a carriers carrier. BordGais have a similar strategy with Aurora telecom they only wont to lease dark fibre. Although interestingly enough BGE and Telenor were working together originally to establish Aurora as a direct competitor to ESAT. However as Bord Gais is a state owned company established under the 1976 gas act. at the time os was not allowed to engage in any nor core activities, the legislation was amended but the Dept. of Public Enterprise and Dept. of Finance wouldnt sanction state funds to develop this venture. :ninja:

SkepticOne

Originally posted by roneill
Look its very simple, ESB have previously entered the telco arena through Ocean Telecom were they were a major shareholder, ESB's corporate strategy right now is to focus on its core business, and not to enter the gas market which would be an obvious diversification..

I'd love to see them try and get gas down the lecky line. LOL.

MarVeL

Much more fun to see someone try and run electricity down a gas pipe. From a safe distance anyway :-)

zynaps

Originally posted by O.T.Grouch
The ESB is a power company. Organizations that enter into business outside their core operation usually emerge battered & bruised and millions of yoyos lighter at the end of it.

Well they do have a division or own a company (or whatever) called ESB Telecoms.
They seem to have investigated the whole powerline internet thing and discarded it, though it's hard to get much out of them.
I went in there one day and started asking about it, some guy gave me a number for some guy who said he'd email me some stuff and yes he'd answer questions if I had any after that.

Mailed me some blurb about their carriers' carrier operations stuff, with no mention of ideas for supplying internet connectivity to their own residential/etc customers, so I sent a big enough email with my thoughts on it and questions and suggestions and blah.
Never got any response, so... I'm presuming they decided against it ages ago or the guy was just busy or a waster

zynaps

ednwireland

may issue pcpro

power cable trial extended

broadband technology hailed a success

The battle to spread broadband to Areas not covered by ADSL
and cable networks has moved up a gear after a power line
communications (PLC) trial was extended in Scotland and England.

The technology was piloted by Scottish & Southern Energy
(SSE) in September last year and the company is
launching another two marketing pilots to determine pricing and
possible take-up rates.

'We're looking to launch these pilots on a full-scale
commercial basis, with the aim of spearheading the way forward
for a larger deployment if it's successful,' said Keith MacLean,
director of SSE, In places with DSL or cable,
we'll be looking to provide a product offering higher
bandwidth using the symmertrical nature of the service as a
differentiator. PLC is transmitted via a plug-and-play system that allows
users to hook up through an Ethernet or USB connection and a
PLC adapter that will fit into anydomestic three-pin socket.

The technology works by connecting and transmitting
data via existing electrical mains wiring at
symmetrical speeds of 2Mb/sec and beyond. It
then turns the low-voltage level into a local-loop data
transmission infrastructure.

If the marketing pilot is successful, SSE plans
to launch the full service by the end of
the year.
end article

we need some forward thinking like this here if you ask me

Trebor

Originally posted by ednwireland
we need some forward thinking like this here if you ask me [/B]

i think you forget that we live in ireland, we are constantly playing catch up. we neither have the funds nor the incentives to provide forward thinking in this country thats why most graduates go abroad to do research.

DSLinAbsentia

Well said!

Thinking about this, our problems with R&D and monopolies like ESB or Eircon are not the organisations themselves, rather the successive muppets "WE" have voted into office.

Face it, to Harney, DSL is probably just a some city dwellers super-modern knicker elastic. And somehow, methinks, Bertie still has someone to switch on his PC so he can browse dinternet.

DSLinAbsentia

Of course, what I'm saying is that this mess is all of our own doing because we just take it.

I have an acronymn for this - GUBO - Grease Up, Bend Over.

DSLinAbsentia

Couldn't resist - since Berties boys were re-elected, the acronym should be ...


BOHICA - Bend Over, It's Coming Again.

Trebor

the problem is that we do not have any large international irish companies that could help fund research here in the telecoms and/or computer area. most of the companies are american and they do most of their research at home and use us as a stop over to europe, we are two small a market for mass production so we should concentrate on speicalist research and manufacturing that invloves high quality as oppose to cheap mass produced "made in china" type of products

DSLinAbsentia

But in the absence of any large indigenous company, the only recourse we have for funding in d'Government.

Other countries, equally small or smaller, manage to succeed.

The Oirish, as a culture, are used to working for others, not acting as entrenpreneurs and risk takers (excluding money laundering, at which we excel).

Even the likes of Smurfitt have a string of failed ventures. Any time we get good, we sell out. THat's why it's easier to go abroad than stay and suffer the shame.

Trebor

the best thing the governmet could do for the research sector would be to include writing software as an art form like music and then companies could enjoy all of the nice tax brakes that the musicans get and we would then attracted big software companies to do research here which in turn would drive the demand for cheap uncapped broadband

DSLinAbsentia

Oh my God, with funding through the Arts Council and Michael D givin' it loads.

Classic! Might actually work!!!

Trebor

the point was that it would not need funding as the companies would not have to pay as much tax to do their R&D here and we could then get companies dedicated to research which could offer its services cheaper.

The Clown Man

Were there not competition issues stopping ESB from even testing?

Was this not pointed out on this forum before?

As far as I remember there were problems with ESB using its dominant position in the power supply market to negate competition in the telcos market. Or something.

DSLinAbsentia

Gosh, fancy that - monopolistic behaviour, why that's just like.....