Eir rural FTTH thread

Gonzo · 25-02-2017 12:23AM

Allison Puny Appetite wrote: »

I'd expect Openeir would have no intention of upgrading their GPON infrastructure within the next 15 years. This is a long term investment for them.

I reckon Eir will definitely upgrade before then since the fibre is already laid, the investment won't be as big as the current one which is life changing, 15 years ago most were still on 512k-2 megs and those lines felt fast for back then, who knows what sorts of speeds will be required by 2032, as crazy as it sounds 1gb internet won't be very fast by then. Virgin Media will probably have speeds well beyond 1gb in about 5 years time.

chris_ie · 25-02-2017 12:42PM

On the blue lines here and the village we would be connecting into isn't down for going live till Autumn next year. We had a square painted in yellow on the road in front of the house with 'Box' written in it. No idea what it's for but came home one evening and there was a cone over it and looks like they installed a cover.

Then this morning an open eir van drove past it, reversed and stopped, and the guy started looking through papers before driving on slowly.

So not sure if it's in preparation for the roll out. We have poles around here so didn't think there was any ducting. May have been coincidence he stopped there!

Dr. Nick · 25-02-2017 10:26PM

What I can't understand is why Eir aren't promoting this, especially directly to the 'blue line people'

I happen to be in sales and if I had a product like this I'd be getting my sales team to be all over this!

I had an Eir rep who just happened to be in the area three weeks ago and he had no clue, useless. I knew more than him. WTF is wrong with them? Why are we guessing/looking at out-dated maps/looking out for vans/asking KN lads on the road??

FFS Eir wake up, and SELL the magnificent product you have....

Johnboy1951 · 25-02-2017 10:55PM

Dr. Nick wrote: »

What I can't understand is why Eir aren't promoting this, especially directly to the 'blue line people'

I happen to be in sales and if I had a product like this I'd be getting my sales team to be all over this!

I had an Eir rep who just happened to be in the area three weeks ago and he had no clue, useless. I knew more than him. WTF is wrong with them? Why are we guessing/looking at out-dated maps/looking out for vans/asking KN lads on the road??

FFS Eir wake up, and SELL the magnificent product you have....

One might well believe that the blue-line roll out is not at all concerned with providing a service to end users, but more to do with influencing, in several ways, the NBP. Eir must of course show that the service is available so some users will get it.

I, for one, am of this view.

Dr. Nick · 25-02-2017 11:13PM

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

One might well believe that the blue-line roll out is not at all concerned with providing a service to end users, but more to do with influencing, in several ways, the NBP. Eir must of course show that the service is available so some users will get it.

I, for one, am of this view.

Yes I see what you mean, but it is exasperating for those of us that live on the blue lines and are left in total limbo.

To me it's crazy to have a product like this and not be flogging it to death?

From a sales point of view the whole thing is total madness.

In any other world how can a sales guy sit in my sitting room and try to to sell me an inferior product when I KNOW there's another product on the way by HIS COMPANY and he has no idea about it?

Sorry, can't get my head around this one.

Johnboy1951 · 25-02-2017 11:22PM

Dr. Nick wrote: »

Yes I see what you mean, but it is exasperating for those of us that live on the blue lines and are left in total limbo.

To me it's crazy to have a product like this and not be flogging it to death?

From a sales point of view the whole thing is total madness.

In any other world how can a sales guy sit in my sitting room and try to to sell me an inferior product when I KNOW there's another product on the way by HIS COMPANY and he has no idea about it?

Sorry, can't get my head around this one.

I too am on a blue line so understand the frustration

Think of it this way ........ eir could be doing this roll out, not to provide a service to as many as it can persuade to take the service, but for a different reason altogether.
In that case they have no interest in promoting the service to end users (with the exception to the few it requires for that 'other purpose').
If that is the case then they would not have in place all that would be required to support such a service to many users .... both technically and in personnel. Also there would be no reason to inform present staff about the 'service'.

Gonzo · 26-02-2017 12:05AM

If Eir's marketing for this product was to be analysed like any undergraduate student project they would be pulled to one side by their supervisor and told to pull up their socks or risking failure.

There is no promotion, a year before the rollout their was a small bit of hype on the Open Eir twitter channel but that hasn't seen a tweet in 6 months. Eir's twitter don't even acknowledge the existence of the rural fiber rollout. The drones in the call center's know nothing of the project, there is no advertising.

The staff are not trained, when you mention FTTH they start talking about cabinets and distance problems, then they refer to the outdated map a year out of date.

The rollout Map on Eir's website is outdated by over a year, the Map on Open Eir is updated but has spagetti juntion overloaded usability and often goes outdated by a few weeks, and what is updated has no colour coding to show what routes are being worked on.

All live, in progress and in planning stages routes are the same colour. When you hover over an exchange tab the map starts jumping upwards and you lose control of where you are and have to find it again.

The Eir fibre checker does not inform customers if Fibre is coming soon or if at all, it continues to say not in the area untill it is live.

All Eir fibre packages sell for the fact that they are unlimited and that there is no restrictions when in reality there is a 1tb cap.

The 'my Eir' data usage tracker says unlimited everything and there is no warning that there is a cap and the user is left to download untill they are summoned with a huge bill in excess charges for going over and have to explain the situation to the Eir staff on the Eir forum.

There is no tv advertising regarding the FTTH rollout, where is going live and what is happening.

There is no videos or basic education in layman's terms the power of the FTTH rollout and how it can change the lifes of those on dialup/wirelesss/basic ADSL.

When an area goes live it's hit or miss if an Eir rep calls to your door, if you miss them you could be screwed trying to explain that the fibre is right outside your door and that the line checker isn't working....

This rollout is impressive and costing Eir over 200 million euros, not a cent towards promotion, facepalm.

Have I left anything out?

MBSnr · 26-02-2017 12:26AM

Gonzo wrote: »

Have I left anything out?

Nope not really!

I too am just as amazed about how completely blasé they seem about the whole sales and marketing side. Now I can understand they don't want to say 1GB fibre will be available at a certain date and then have people giving out buckets to the TDs and media that they don't have it and it's 'delayed' again. But, as you say, to have no marketing or any sales pitch that reaches out to those who don't have a techy/geek interest in FTTH (and don't follow this forum), is just plain madness. Most people are just completely unaware of the progress that is happening...

tsue921i8wljb3 · 26-02-2017 12:49AM

Even better they have removed the link to the Tech Bytes page that they used to inform of cabinets or exchanges going live. The page can still be reached by going directly to http://www.openeir.ie/Techbytes/ but there is no longer a link to the page from the menu on openeir.ie

Gonzo · 26-02-2017 01:11AM

perhaps they let some of their marketing staff go. The removal of the techbytes link confirms that all they cared about was marketing the FTTC rollout, and now that its mostly complete, their marketing is complete and the link is no longer relevant.

Eir could make a killing from this rollout, but the majority of people in rural areas don't even know that it's going on and when it's under development the vast majority just think it's road works or telephone line repairs.

ED E · 26-02-2017 01:31AM

Gonzo wrote: »

perhaps they let some of their marketing staff go.

The direct sales guys dont work for eir, all external. Eir will pay them per campaign w/ comission.

I suspect the overheads kill the margin for the that kinda work if you're getting back in the car between each knock, some of the posters in that business might chime in.

What I expect you'll see is telesales campaigns hitting hard once the product is widespread enough to put 100 desks on it selling it.

Johnboy1951 · 26-02-2017 01:41AM

ED E wrote: »

The direct sales guys dont work for eir, all external. Eir will pay them per campaign w/ comission.

I suspect the overheads kill the margin for the that kinda work if you're getting back in the car between each knock, some of the posters in that business might chime in.

What I expect you'll see is telesales campaigns hitting hard once the product is widespread enough to put 100 desks on it selling it.

I had an eir rep call the other day trying to sell me a service.
She was driving a small eir van, so presumably was a direct eir employee.
I forgot to ask

I suspect that eir won't have those 100 desks operating until after they know the result of the tender process, at minimum.

ED E · 26-02-2017 01:46AM

Can be fully livered and still a contractor. Take all the KNN faults vans, KNN on the bonnet and OpenEir on the door.

Cush posted the numbers before but the count with an ODP actually in place is tiny. No volume there yet but as you've witnessed its coming soon.

ctwomey · 26-02-2017 10:50AM

In Ballybrittas they are switching on the FTTH on Wednesday (1st March). A few weeks ago Eir Reps went around from door to door to tell everyone that they could order FTTH on the 20th February. They told us to have our Eircode ready when you ring up.

When everyone rang to order it they were told that it wasn't available. Only after persistence did we discover that it could be pre-ordered for the 1st March.

There is such a disconnect between the great work that Eir are doing on the ground rolling this out and what is happening in the Sales offices. There needs to be a better joined up thinking on this. We all want this to succeed because that means it will get rolled out to more locations. It's a great product.

If I were in Marketing in Eir, I would have a big sign in the centre of the village advertising that this FTTH was available. The success of this will be measured by the numbers that sign up to it.

26-02-2017 11:03AM

ctwomey wrote: »

In Ballybrittas they are switching on the FTTH on Wednesday (1st March). A few weeks ago Eir Reps went around from door to door to tell everyone that they could order FTTH on the 20th February. They told us to have our Eircode ready when you ring up.

When everyone rang to order it they were told that it wasn't available. Only after persistence did we discover that it could be pre-ordered for the 1st March.

There is such a disconnect between the great work that Eir are doing on the ground rolling this out and what is happening in the Sales offices. There needs to be a better joined up thinking on this. We all want this to succeed because that means it will get rolled out to more locations. It's a great product.

If I were in Marketing in Eir, I would have a big sign in the centre of the village advertising that this FTTH was available. The success of this will be measured by the numbers that sign up to it.

Same here in South Roscommon, we were supposed to "go live" on the 22nd, but still are not live and just told to wait a few more days, so maybe this week sometime.....

Gonzo · 26-02-2017 11:50AM

quite possibly some of the areas marked down for March 8th won't make it on the date, similar to the February dates. My area is meant to be going live on Wednesday week, but so far not a sign of an Eir rep anywhere and the fibre checker and extreme checker both say no.

Gonzo · 26-02-2017 12:07PM

getting back to the FTTH rollout and the marketing end of it there are a few things that need to happen, or else Eir are going to be left with far less sales than originally planned.

- a new map is badly needed which focuses on the FTTH rollout, both rural and urban and colour coded.

- a website/web pages dedicated to the rollout, showing the maps as well as a series of videos in layman's terms showing how FTTH can transform the lives of:

- children and their school work
- students and their projects
- family life
- local communities
- entertainment
- gaming
- streaming
- small business
- local enterprises
- farming
- improves the lives of the elderly
- technical info explained
- customer stories

- a twitter and facebook account dedicated to the rollout, be as active as Imagine are about theirs and as proud as B4RN are about theirs.

- support guide/help numbers

aside from the website

- adverts on TV and radio as well as internet and newspapers showing how the FTTH rollout is happening and how it will transform the lifes of their target market. Also advertising on a local level leading up to and after when exchanges go live.

Eir spent millions on the advertising of their new name and logo across all media formats, why can't they not even do a fraction of that to advertise the above. This rollout is far more transforming than a new logo and will effect far more people for the better.

Johnboy1951 · 26-02-2017 12:13PM

Gonzo wrote: »

getting back to the FTTH rollout and the marketing end of it there are a few things that need to happen, or else Eir are going to be left with far less sales than originally planned.

The point I was making is that WE do not know what the eir plan was.
For all we know it is going exactly to their plan ... including low connection numbers and lack of advertising its availability.

- a new map is badly needed which focuses on the FTTH rollout, both rural and urban and colour coded.

- a website/web pages dedicated to the rollout, showing the maps as well as a series of videos in layman's terms showing how FTTH can transform the lives of:

- children and their school work
- students and their projects
- family life
- local communities
- entertainment
- gaming
- streaming
- small business
- local enterprises
- farming
- improves the lives of the elderly
- technical info explained
- customer stories

- a twitter and facebook account dedicated to the rollout, be as active as Imagine are about theirs and as proud as B4RN are about theirs.

- support guide/help numbers

aside from the website

- adverts on TV and radio as well as internet and newspapers showing how the FTTH rollout is happening and how it will transform the lifes of their target market. Also advertising on a local level leading up to and after when exchanges go live.

Eir spent millions on the advertising of their new name and logo across all media formats, why can't they not even do a fraction of that to advertise the above. This rollout is far more transforming than a new logo and will effect far more people for the better.

The only logical answer I can think of is that they do not want to do so at this time.
It is not part of their 'plan'.

Gonzo · 26-02-2017 12:54PM

perhaps they know that the areas where the blue lines are going are so badly in need of decent internet, that the product will just sell anyway as those of us who would like to use the internet properly are desperate for usable internet.

Perhaps a decent advertising and customer campagin will happen but not until more than a 1/3rd of the potential premises are passed. To date there are less than 50,000 premises passed and that figure is not large enough for a large scale campaign.

ctwomey · 26-02-2017 02:01PM

Gonzo wrote: »

perhaps they know that the areas where the blue lines are going are so badly in need of decent internet, that the product will just sell anyway as those of us who would like to use the internet properly are desperate for usable internet.

Perhaps a decent advertising and customer campagin will happen but not until more than a 1/3rd of the potential premises are passed. To date there are less than 50,000 premises passed and that figure is not large enough for a large scale campaign.

But you can do a low cost advertising campaign at local level. Imagine do it for their LTE.

BlinkingLights · 26-02-2017 02:05PM

Have OpenEir sort of stopped updating their websites? It's like the hype around very rapid vectored FTTC rollout has died down and now the slow slog towards FTTH is not going to be anything like as dramatic.

RoYoBo · 26-02-2017 03:09PM

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

The point I was making is that WE do not know what the eir plan was.
For all we know it is going exactly to their plan ... including low connection numbers and lack of advertising its availability.

The only logical answer I can think of is that they do not want to do so at this time.
It is not part of their 'plan'.

This is exactly my belief too. Their 'plan' is about creating the infrastructure that passes a huge number of rural homes and is not about actually connecting most of them (for now anyway). A lucky random few will be successfully installed. The rest of us will simply be 'passed by'.

It seems to me that the expense/resources/staff involved in making individual connections are just not available, making it a game of obfuscation for the NPB. You can't market or sell what you aren't able to provide ...

plodder · 26-02-2017 06:51PM

RoYoBo wrote: »

This is exactly my belief too. Their 'plan' is about creating the infrastructure that passes a huge number of rural homes and is not about actually connecting most of them (for now anyway). A lucky random few will be successfully installed. The rest of us will simply be 'passed by'.

It seems to me that the expense/resources/staff involved in making individual connections are just not available, making it a game of obfuscation for the NPB. You can't market or sell what you aren't able to provide ...

That might be true up to a point, and it makes sense to concentrate resources on the openeir rollout, but it can't stay like that for long surely? What about the other retailers who want to sell the openeir fibre product? Why would they want to sit on their hands in this situation?

Gonzo · 26-02-2017 07:39PM

plodder wrote: »

That might be true up to a point, and it makes sense to concentrate resources on the openeir rollout, but it can't stay like that for long surely? What about the other retailers who want to sell the openeir fibre product? Why would they want to sit on their hands in this situation?

doesn't make sense to spend all this money on a rollout for whatever reason and just leave it sitting there not selling nearly as well as it could. I would've thought that Eir would be doing everything to make sure they get a return on their investment as quickly as possible or is the NBP and the government funding associated with it the ONLY thing they care about?

RoYoBo · 26-02-2017 08:27PM

plodder wrote: »

That might be true up to a point, and it makes sense to concentrate resources on the openeir rollout, but it can't stay like that for long surely? What about the other retailers who want to sell the openeir fibre product? Why would they want to sit on their hands in this situation?

The way I see it (just a layman's opinion) we will all eventually get the product, just nowhere near as soon as it should be available. The heel-dragging is so very evident with the lack of an all-singing, all-dancing marketing campaign that it begs the question. It just doesn't stack up any other way IMO except that it suits their plan and their resources.

As for the other providers, most people have some kind of Internet service, albeit like mine (a miserly 3.5Mb) or worse and I'm still paying almost as much as I would for fibre. They don't really need to be in any great rush to upgrade us for all the difference in return they'll make. Where else are we going to go in the meantime? We're a captive audience still being milked!

rob808 · 26-02-2017 09:14PM

RoYoBo wrote: »

The way I see it (just a layman's opinion) we will all eventually get the product, just nowhere near as soon as it should be available. The heel-dragging is so very evident with the lack of an all-singing, all-dancing marketing campaign that it begs the question. It just doesn't stack up any other way IMO except that it suits their plan and their resources.

As for the other providers, most people have some kind of Internet service, albeit like mine (a miserly 3.5Mb) or worse and I'm still paying almost as much as I would for fibre. They don't really need to be in any great rush to upgrade us for all the difference in return they'll make. Where else are we going to go in the meantime? We're a captive audience still being milked!

It just like imagine milking the rest of rural Ireland with there LTE product classing it as Fibre with there ( bring Fibre to rural Ireland ) which isn't really true.Im hoping the new dates don't slip I'm on Autumn 2017 and it say on the other eir map the second FTTC should be done in 6 months which I think causing the delay out my way.

KOR101 · 26-02-2017 11:35PM

Gonzo wrote: »

doesn't make sense to spend all this money on a rollout for whatever reason and just leave it sitting there not selling nearly as well as it could. I would've thought that Eir would be doing everything to make sure they get a return on their investment as quickly as possible or is the NBP and the government funding associated with it the ONLY thing they care about?

As Johnboy says, the blue lines are all about the NBP. Remember, every actual connection means the potential loss of the NBP subsidy. Just do a few connections for appearances sake, and certainly have the infrastructure so they can react one the winners are announced.

rob808 · 26-02-2017 11:44PM

KOR101 wrote: »

As Johnboy says, the blue lines are all about the NBP. Remember, every actual connection means the potential loss of the NBP subsidy. Just do a few connections for appearances sake, and certainly have the infrastructure so they can react one the winners are announced.

That make sense plus they want to put Eir up for flotation in 2018 so winning part or all NBP make them look more attractive to potential buyers.

long_b · 26-02-2017 11:59PM

But doesn't OpenEir even passing your house exclude you from the NBP by virtue of you being serviced by a commercial ISP who can supply the requisite speed?

9726_9726 · 27-02-2017 12:28AM

long_b wrote: »

But doesn't OpenEir even passing your house exclude you from the NBP by virtue of you being serviced by a commercial ISP who can supply the requisite speed?

Yes, the blue lines will eventually have to be taken out of the NBP intervention area.

Eir rural FTTH thread

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