NBP: National Broadband Plan Announced

Alter-Ego · 01-08-2018 10:15AM

Interesting thread on the minister and his involvement with ENET: https://twitter.com/gavinsblog/status/1024320964027449345

Hitman3000 · 01-08-2018 10:23AM

Anyone know where Naughten is? He's very quiet.

Marlow · 01-08-2018 10:25AM

Hitman3000 wrote: »

Anyone know where Naughten is? He's very quiet.

He probably got visited by a hitman.

/M

Hitman3000 · 01-08-2018 10:28AM

Marlow wrote:

He probably got visited by a hitman.

Good one. Although hiding seems to be a trait in the present government when things go t*ts up.

Gooser14 · 01-08-2018 10:30AM

Hitman3000 wrote:

Anyone know where Naughten is? He's very quiet.

He was interviewed live on the RTE Drivetime radio show yesterday afternoon. Usual waffle.

Ardent · 01-08-2018 10:50AM

Alter-Ego wrote: »

Interesting thread on the minister and his involvement with ENET: https://twitter.com/gavinsblog/status/1024320964027449345

My blood is boiling after reading all that! Buying assets we already owned....EU and Irish tax payer money heading abroad to US investors... appealing High Court support for FOI requests....arbitrarily extending contract expiry dates. The whole thing is rotten to the core.

Ardent · 01-08-2018 10:56AM

No wonder Enet are not pulling out of the NBP, despite their consortium falling apart. They have a nice cosy and long-standing relationship with the Department.

KOR101 · 01-08-2018 10:59AM

Alter-Ego wrote: »

Interesting thread on the minister and his involvement with ENET: https://twitter.com/gavinsblog/status/1024320964027449345

Yes, engrossing.

Gadgetman496 · 01-08-2018 11:26AM

He was on Galway Bay FM this morning and according to himself everything is fine and on track, no problem...

Johnboy1951 · 01-08-2018 11:31AM

Alter-Ego wrote: »

Interesting thread on the minister and his involvement with ENET: https://twitter.com/gavinsblog/status/1024320964027449345

A bit more than 'interesting' methinks ....

That 78% stake could well scupper the EU support of the NBP with Enet the only remaining bidder.

westyIrl · 01-08-2018 11:48AM

Alter-Ego wrote: »

Interesting thread on the minister and his involvement with ENET: https://twitter.com/gavinsblog/status/1024320964027449345

Everyone should take a bit of time to read this. Absolutely ridiculously baffling stuff.

Arbitrary 10 year contract extensions without going to tender and using "providing market stability" as the reason just completely takes the biscuit.

Doesn't give much hope for any of us thinking that much information will come about after the tender process is complete. Hopefully the higher level of focus on the NBP will create a gentle flood on the FOI requests front.

Jim

ED E · 01-08-2018 11:57AM

The ministers are just signatures here.

I want to know how many of the DECNR staff currently in place were there back in 2006 are still there today (job for life remember!) then decentralize the lot of them to the department of ass scratching in Ballyshannon or somewhere equally remote.

turbbo · 01-08-2018 12:03PM

ED E wrote: »

The ministers are just signatures here.

I want to know how many of the DECNR staff currently in place were there back in 2006 are still there today (job for life remember!) then decentralize the lot of them to the department of ass scratching in Ballyshannon or somewhere equally remote.

Moving them to Ballyshannon doesn't get rid of them or the cost of paying them.
Although maybe the broadband wouldn't be as good there - not that those lads seem to give a $hite.

ED E · 01-08-2018 12:17PM

We can't ever fire anyone who works directly or even indirectly for the state but thats a thread for another day. We can run damage control though. The economic benefits fixing statewide telecoms outways a few salaries by a long shot.

The high horse brigade · 01-08-2018 12:22PM

Rotten to the core

turbbo · 01-08-2018 01:05PM

ED E wrote: »

We can't ever fire anyone who works directly or even indirectly for the state but thats a thread for another day. We can run damage control though. The economic benefits fixing statewide telecoms outways a few salaries by a long shot.

Your're the one suggesting decentralisation will work :rolleyes:
However I agree with your point that the economic benefits outweigh the money that has been wasted and will continue to be wasted for the foreseeable future.
Just seems like a lot of common sense has been avoided by the dept. over the last number of years, and that makes people upset that would like to see progress. So I guess blaming Naughten for all of the problems is too much but it will happen when we can't just fire the under performing dept people.

Ardent · 01-08-2018 01:34PM

Who is Gavin referring to here I wonder?

So what now? Who will fill SSEs boots in the consortium? What players in the Irish market have the capacity to build the ducts and cabling required for the broadband plan? I can think of a few. *cough*.

9726_9726 · 01-08-2018 01:40PM

Ardent wrote: »

Who is Gavin referring to here I wonder?

Looks like the manhole lids will be en Español and made in Cuba!

9726_9726 · 01-08-2018 01:47PM

So Enet's last accounts show

- 44 employees in operations
- 12 in sales & marketing
- 8 in billing

Your local branch of Penny's would be more staffed.

By contrast, Eir have around 3,500 employees.

Suitable to build the world's first large scale universal open access residential fibre network?

They split off an other company in 2014 from Enasc Eireann, Teo. (which holds the coveted MANs concession).

The newco is Enet Telecommunications Networks Ltd, with no employees and the stated purpose of holding non-MAN business.

Both are part of a group structure under Granahan McCourt and are therefore "related entities".

These docs date from before the IIF purchase, though.

9726_9726 · 01-08-2018 02:11PM

Reading that Twitter thread...

So the Minister extends both concession contracts *during a Parliamentary Question* with no tender, and then soon after, the company sells itself to the state-owned IIF?

You couldn't make this up.

9726_9726 · 01-08-2018 02:17PM

Enet paid the following amounts for the concession fee for use of the €200M taxpayer-funded network:

2015 - €662K
2016 - €1M

For a €200M network! Source: CRO accounts, image attached.

Gavin Sheridan mentions a single customer contract, Vodafone, worth €1.13M per annum.

This makes ESAT and Dinny look like the fairy godmother.

westyIrl · 01-08-2018 02:18PM

9726_9726 wrote: »

So Enet's last accounts show

- 44 employees in operations
- 12 in sales & marketing
- 8 in billing

Your local branch of Penny's would be more staffed.

By contrast, Eir have around 3,500 employees.

Suitable to build the world's first large scale universal open access residential fibre network?

They split off an other company in 2014 from Enasc Eireann, Teo. (which holds the coveted MANs concession).

The newco is Enet Telecommunications Networks Ltd, with no employees and the stated purpose of holding non-MAN business.

Both are part of a group structure under Granahan McCourt and are therefore "related entities".

These docs date from before the IIF purchase, though.

A convoluted company for a convoluted tender process. 44 in operations and not 1 field tech in sight I'd imagine. What manpower would GMC Sierra have on the telecoms side?

Jim

9726_9726 · 01-08-2018 02:26PM

westyIrl wrote: »

A convoluted company for a convoluted tender process. 44 in operations and not 1 field tech in sight I'd imagine. What manpower would GMC Sierra have on the telecoms side?

Jim

Actavo = 5,000 worldwide. Not sure about Ireland.

westyIrl · 01-08-2018 02:30PM

9726_9726 wrote: »

Enet paid the following amounts for the concession fee for use of the €200M taxpayer-funded network:

2015 - €662K
2016 - €1M

Mates rates? Scandalous on the face of it

9726_9726 · 01-08-2018 02:43PM

Anyone good at charicatures? Naughten and McCourt in bed would be a good one....

westyIrl · 01-08-2018 02:50PM

Not difficult to understand SIRO and OE withdrawing facing down the barrel of such nonsense. How in the world this flies with any EU oversight baffles me.

Jim

9726_9726 · 01-08-2018 03:06PM

westyIrl wrote: »

Not difficult to understand SIRO and OE withdrawing facing down the barrel of such nonsense. How in the world this flies with any EU oversight baffles me.

Jim

Absolutely. I think it's just too stinky for serious involvement. Desperation is creeping in, politically, which leads to mistakes.

Grab All Association · 01-08-2018 07:46PM

ED E wrote: »

The ministers are just signatures here.

I want to know how many of the DECNR staff currently in place were there back in 2006 are still there today (job for life remember!) then decentralize the lot of them to the department of ass scratching in Ballyshannon or somewhere equally remote.

All the same people pretty much.

redfacedbear · 01-08-2018 09:30PM

Ardent wrote: »

Who is Gavin referring to here I wonder?

fritzelly · 01-08-2018 10:04PM

That twitter link makes me confused
Let me see if I've got this right...
State gives tender to tiny company
Tiny company sells itself to a US company (hmm down the rabbit hole)
Somebody wants to know the details of the tender
State fights tooth and nail against it
State finds its a losing battle
Naughten suddenly without any kind of tendering (is that not illegal for state contracts) extends their contracts bumping enets value considerably
State now buys (majority of) company managing state assets at a probably inflated price
FOI dead in the water (edit actually why does that negate the original FOI request?)

And after all that not a single high speed broadband connection

Who was getting these brown envelopes I would like to know.

NBP: National Broadband Plan Announced

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