Smart employee happy to answer questions on bb rollout

GarfieldConnoll · 2005-02-09 11:15:43

Hi, My name is Garfield Connolly and I work for Smart Telecom. I am the Programme Manager for Smart’s DSL rollout. I’m starting this thread to address any queries this board may have about Smart’s DSL service/ rollout. I’ll answer any queries that I can. If I don’t respond straightaway, it’s because I’m busy, not avoiding…

#252 12-02-2005 1:41pm

dub45

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Ro-76 wrote:

Hi,

I'm with UTV and will be out of contract soon, but my exchange will not be smart enabled until august.

If I sign up now, will I be billed by smart from now, or from August?

Since It's actually a physical changeover of the line in the exchange independent of Eircom, can I just let my UTV sub run until the day that smart actually set up my line, and then cancel the UTV contract, obviously paying a further month's fee? This would eliminate downtime.

Ro

Ro until Smart can prove me wrong I will maintain yet again that they have givine absolutely no thought (at least until the problem was raised here of the huge issues generated by how people will switch over)

It has been a major problem in most cases before when people switched between isps. There has even been the odd horror story of lines failing the test after a person has had broadband. There have been stories of people without bb for up to four weeks after a change (They are all on here somewhere)

In most cases as far as I can see SMART when ready (or in anticipation of being ready) will have to say to their potential customer 'we can connect you on....' customer then has to give 30 days notice to his isp to disconnect (if hes in the middle of a contract thats a differnet story) ISP releases customer after 30 days - customer then has to inform smart I am now free please connect me. The other isps are not going to make it easy for smooth handovers so expect lots of problems.

Seems to me that Smart anticipated lots of new customers rather than switchers whereas I will be amazed if a huge proportion of their new customers are not switchers.

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#253 12-02-2005 1:44pm

dub45

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GarfieldConnoll wrote:

Ro,

This has been a topic of conversation for quite a few posters. It will depend on the contract you have with UTV. From a technical perspective (as opposed to a retail contract one), that would make sense.

Garfield.

I hate to be hard on you G but this is another meaningless reply from you on the question of Switching.

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#254 12-02-2005 1:49pm

dub45

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Ro-76 wrote:

Since It's actually a physical changeover of the line in the exchange independent of Eircom, can I just let my UTV sub run until the day that smart actually set up my line, and then cancel the UTV contract, obviously paying a further month's fee? This would eliminate downtime.

Ro

Firstly I am a non teccie so open to correction on this but here goes:

Eircom own the line at this stage even if you have your internet or calls from someone else so its not independent of Eircom.

Smart are most unlikely to be allowed set up a line while it is under the control of UTV Esat or someone else. And UTV have control of that line while you are paying subs to them. So unless Smart reach an agreement with UTV iol and so on they are most unlikely to be able to go near your line until you formally cancel your contract and get release.

Now if Smart dont realise this...........

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#255 12-02-2005 1:56pm

GarfieldConnoll

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dub45 wrote:

I hate to be hard on you G but this is another meaningless reply from you on the question of Switching.

Dub45,

I hate it too. It's not a meaningless reply. I've committed to answering the question. But I'm not doing it today. Smooth handovers require three seperate relationships to be managed:

1. The consumer's retail relationship with their ISP.
2. The ISP's wholesale bitstream relationship with eircom.
3. Smart's wholesale LLU relationship with eircom.

The above is a simplification. There are lots of permutations within these three.

Have we thought out every permutation? Doubt it. Have we given significant amounts of time to lots of the permutations? Yes.

If anyone out there wants to provide guidance around the best way(s) to manage changeovers, I am more than happy to listen.

We've already kicked off conversations internally based on feedback from boards.ie (I'm sure you can guess what conversations).

All help appreciated.

Garfield.

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#256 12-02-2005 2:34pm

corepl

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Garfield,

First let me say it is great to have you here. Not many companies would regognize web forum as good place for exchanging ideas with customers.
Keep it that way!

I got few Q:

You have reffered to the technology Smart uses as "ADSL2+". Does that mean I wont be able to use my current broadband modem? Is it compatible with plain old ADSL (stadards ITU-T G.992.1 (G.dmt) or G.992.2 (G.lite)) ?

Can you disclose which IP transit providers you use or plan to use (GBLX, Level 3, Tiscali, CW...) and links speed ?

Will it possible to use PPPoA on your network to avoid MTU problem PPPoE introduce ?

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#257 12-02-2005 2:38pm

dub45

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GarfieldConnoll wrote:

Dub45,

I hate it too. It's not a meaningless reply. I've committed to answering the question. But I'm not doing it today. Smooth handovers require three seperate relationships to be managed:

1. The consumer's retail relationship with their ISP.
2. The ISP's wholesale bitstream relationship with eircom.
3. Smart's wholesale LLU relationship with eircom.

The above is a simplification. There are lots of permutations within these three.

Have we thought out every permutation? Doubt it. Have we given significant amounts of time to lots of the permutations? Yes.

If anyone out there wants to provide guidance around the best way(s) to manage changeovers, I am more than happy to listen.

We've already kicked off conversations internally based on feedback from boards.ie (I'm sure you can guess what conversations).

All help appreciated.

Garfield.

You left out a very important fourth : Smart's communication/co-ordination with their new customer as presumably the whole switchover process will have to be initiated by that customer who will have to know when to do it.

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#258 12-02-2005 2:41pm

GarfieldConnoll

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corepl wrote:

Garfield,

I got two Q:

You have reffered to the technology Smart uses as "ADSL2+". Does that mean I wont be able to use my current broadband modem? Is it compatible with plain old ADSL (stadards ITU-T G.992.1 (G.dmt) or G.992.2 (G.lite)) ?

Can you disclose which IP transit providers you use or plan to use (GBLX, Level 3, Tiscali, CW...) and links speed ?

Will it possible to use PPPoA on your network to avoid MTU problem PPPoE introduce ?

Corepl,

That's three questions.
1. Is it ADSL compatible?
The DSLAM port will 'train' back to ADSL. Though at that point you won't be benefitting from the ADSL2+ we're providing. We're providing an ADSL2+ four port router as standard, so hopefully you'll be happy to use that.
2. Upstream providers?
I don't know (if I can disclose that). I'll find out and come back to you either way.
3. PPPoA?
I don't know the answer to that. I'll ask.
Just to reiterate, I'm the Programme Manager for the DSL network rollout. By no stretch of the imagination am I the tech guy. Or the ops guy for that matter. Add sales guy to that list too.

Garfield.

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#259 12-02-2005 2:52pm

corepl

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sure you're not. i wasnt expecting you will know that out of the hat

cheers

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#260 12-02-2005 4:30pm

colin300

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I know you have said that you will only go to exchanges permitting that you can get direct access with your fibre lines to give complete control or a MAN.

I know you might not have a straight answer as of yet to it but could u enlighten me do you's even have a plan for further expanding or will it solely be decided on the success and smooth upgrading of exchanges and the uptake from customers?

I hope this is not the case because this is exactly what has happened with NTL although they have no reason to not spread apart from laziness and maybe money.

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#261 12-02-2005 5:15pm

GarfieldConnoll

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colin300 wrote:

I know you have said that you will only go to exchanges permitting that you can get direct access with your fibre lines to give complete control or a MAN.

I know you might not have a straight answer as of yet to it but could u enlighten me do you's even have a plan for further expanding or will it solely be decided on the success and smooth upgrading of exchanges and the uptake from customers?

I hope this is not the case because this is exactly what has happened with NTL although they have no reason to not spread apart from laziness and maybe money.

There are 19 MANs almost complete. We have control of the Broadband Communications network in Dublin. There are another 88-89 MANs in planning/ started. If a MAN addresses an exchange and the MAN has national backhaul (ESB typically), then we'll be there at some point. There's also other infrastructure out there and we'll look at that.

Success is important. We won't just extend the network just for the sake of it. Sorry if that's blunt, but there has to be a commercial return for us. I can promise that laziness won't be an issue.

Garfield.

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#262 12-02-2005 5:22pm

Sponge Bob

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Garfield.

Can your kit support Bonded Pair ADSL2+ Variants ?

Ta

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#263 12-02-2005 5:22pm

WizZard

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Garfield, if I sign up now and get a new line in the meantime (ie. a new number) can I switch the contract to that new number, as long as it's at the same address?

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#264 12-02-2005 10:12pm

elmer

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GarfieldConnoll wrote:

2. Free trials? Not a chance. This is 2MB broadband for €35 less €24 line rental. €11 for 2MB. What's not to like? If we can't deliver the service, you can invalidate the contract.

Garfield.

forgive me if i'm wrong but isn't the ulmp charge more like €15 now or am i misunderstanding and your comparing line rental to what eircom charges the customer

still a great deal

Nige

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#265 12-02-2005 10:36pm

GarfieldConnoll

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elmer wrote:

forgive me if i'm wrong but isn't the ulmp charge more like €15 now or am i misunderstanding and your comparing line rental to what eircom charges the customer

still a great deal

Nige

The description is that of the end user retail experience. You're right. ULMP monthly line rental is €14.65.

Garfield.

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#266 12-02-2005 10:40pm

GarfieldConnoll

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WizZard wrote:

Garfield, if I sign up now and get a new line in the meantime (ie. a new number) can I switch the contract to that new number, as long as it's at the same address?

WizZard,

Not sure, can't see why not though. Don't understand how it might occur.

Garfield.

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#267 13-02-2005 1:43am

WizZard

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The current line is my landlords. In case he may not be entirely happy switching to smart i would get a new line. That's how it would happen!

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#268 13-02-2005 2:51am

popinfresh

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Jesus GarfieldConnoll, u need a break. Have a kit-kat

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#269 13-02-2005 2:57am

dub45

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popinfresh wrote:

Jesus GarfieldConnoll, u need a break. Have a kit-kat

You think hes busy now? Wait until the real problems start: bad pings; slow speeds, not getting connected, modems not delivered, Eircom and other isps not releasing people and thats only the first day of service!

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#270 13-02-2005 11:49am

Slutmonkey57b

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Ok - I second the questions about why Bray has no BB given the number of industries etc, however a lot of posters have missed out on another resource Bray has: Scumbags that chop people up with samurai swords. They don't use broadband, but they are for hire. My question is, how many CEO's would we have to kidnap to get SOMEONE to roll out BB to this godforsaken hellhole?*

*What I mean is godammit why am I reading another thread about a service i'll never be able to get. But thanks for the feedback Garfield - nice to see a company learning from UTV's rollout strategy a couple of years back.

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#271 13-02-2005 2:54pm

OFDM

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GarfieldConnoll wrote:

We don't have it (Balbriggan exchange) on the build programme. The idea of having complete control of the fibre (not buying capacity from eircom/ EsatBT/ etc) is that we have complete control of the product. It also allows for easier network management.

Looks like I'm unfortunately stuck with utv for the foreseeable future...

Will the free line rental forever continue if someone moves house after signing up?

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#272 13-02-2005 3:14pm

JohnK

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center15 wrote:

Hi Garfield,
Any date for the DOUGLAS (DGSA) exchange in Cork? It is a fairly big exchange I'm suprised there's no date yet.
Good to see you on boards
center15

I too would be interested in finding out if there are any plans for Douglas...

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#273 13-02-2005 3:42pm

dub45

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OFDM wrote:

Looks like I'm unfortunately stuck with utv for the foreseeable future...

Will the free line rental forever continue if someone moves house after signing up?

Answered here.

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#274 13-02-2005 3:49pm

dahamsta

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Welcome to Boards Garfield, great to see an "operator" - it's like a dirty word these days, I feel the need to do air quotes whenever I say it - taking the time, and having the guts, to come here and take the bad with the good. I hope you'll stay for the duration and not wuss out like some of your predecessors! I also hope my comments and questions below are taken constructively; some of them may seem a little aggressive, but I'm just looking for answers, not a fight.

I'm hanging on the coattails of others in this thread, so I'll use quotes from posts where possible. However at the most basic level, I'm having difficulty understanding the economics of this. Obviously you can't go into detail on the financials, but hopefully you'll be able to give us some idea of how you expect to turn a profit on this. You certainly won't turn a profit with me when you merge in the line rental and try to offset it with my calls, since I barely use the phone.

So I'm a loss leader, how do you compensate for me? Consumer bulk perhaps, but if UTV can only pull in 20,000 customers, is that really viable for Smart? I hate to reopen an old wound here, but this smacks of Genesis Europe to me -- people with the best of intentions, but serious implementation difficulties that led to shuttering. (Careful in your response, I drink regularly with ex-GE guys.

)

GarfieldConnoll wrote:

It’s a full service offering. If you take broadband from us, we’ll also provide you with your voice service.

Easy one to get started: Last I heard, Esat were only unbundling the data portion of the line, if you wanted voice off them on that line it was an Eircom resell. Are Smart going with full unbundling?

GarfieldConnoll wrote:

(In answer to PIE) It's hardly 'so low'. It's the standard at present.

I'm surprised at your suggestion that 16:1 is the standard; in fact I'd be surprised if even 8:1 was the norm (which would be 256 upstream on your 2MB product). Most of the products I've seen have been 4:1, which I've been given to understand are that way to be inline with usage (in that people tend to upload about a quarter of what they download). On a pure usability front, personally I'd find 128 to be extremely frustrating to work with, and although I'm admittedly a SOHO user, I would be part of the one-size-fits-all setup you're suggesting. I'm afraid your one-size wouldn't fit this fella.

GarfieldConnoll wrote:

(In answer to EircomTribunal) For Smart to perform the line test itself, we would have to unbundle the copper pair first, not knowing that we could definitely offer the service. That's an expensive route that we would rather avoid. We'll see how we get on in practice. [...] (Don't have an answer for that. If ComReg say so, I'm sure it is.)

"If ComReg say so" is probably not a good choice of answer around here. ComReg say a lot of things "in general", but if their Quarterly Reports are anything to go by, most of those things are complete bullsh*t. Unencumbering of prospective lines is an important issue that affects yourselves as much as it does us, can you find out the /official/ answer please, one that we can hold both yourselves and ComReg to?

wideband wrote:

Quote: "There is no limits on the amount of data that can be downloaded or uploaded however users whose usage is deemed excessive on a regular basis will be contacted and restrictions will be used if the activity persists."

Moriarty calls this a rant and he has a point, but so does wideband. "No limits" is another phrase that is /seriously/ not welcome around here -- if it wasn't for Esat's explicit use of the phrase, IrelandOffline probably wouldn't exist and it's quite possible this forum wouldn't either. "No limits" on hosting and broadband products is snakeoil, you know it and we know it. So please, define "excessive". We're not looking for caps or explicit limits, but I certainly feel that a reasonable estimate of where Smart is going to draw the line is not too much to ask.

Thaed wrote:

So you want people to give you thier bank account details with permission to remove money before you will even bother to see if you can provide them with a service ?

This is a tricky one. One would assume that Smart is requiring the DD as a form of contract to tie you down to, but it seems like a pretty cheap and nasty way of handling it -- a contract's a contract, if Smart designed their own and got people to sign it, you'd think it would have the same force in law. However it should be added (for Thaed's benefit) that if they did start charging you for a service they didn't supply, well, that would be fraud and you'd have a slam-dunk case against them. I still think requiring a DD is a very odd idea though, I'd be interested in a proper explanation.

pwd wrote:

What happnens if you mofve during the contract?

This is a very important issue that has affected me personally and many other people here. With the bitstream product, because of the way Eircom charge for it, subscribers are effectively faced with having to buy out the remaining time on their contract if they have to move part way through. Some providers will work with you on it, but it's still a worry for people because there's no defined policy. So first of all, are the circumstances facing Smart the same as they are for bitstream providers? And if that's the case, how will Smart deal with the issue?

GarfieldConnoll wrote:

On the subject of static IP addresses, what has people's experience been of dynamic DNS as a substitute? I used it all the time for connecting back to my home computer when I was on eircom's dynamic IP service.

Dynamic DNS adds an extra two points of failure to the process - the dynamic dns service itself and the daemon on the user's computer - and as such injects a risk that will be unpalatable to many. I certainly wouldn't be willing to take that risk, as being able to access my machine remotely in emergencies isn't just desirable, it's mandatory. There's absolutely no reason you can't supply static IP addresses as an optional extra, so please do so. Just don't go wild on charges or we'll be having words in RIPE's ear.

One more thing, a personal request if you will: Please don't use the "it's €35 but it's really €11 cos of the line rental" thing in the mainstream. It's true to a degree and your marketers will cream themselves at the very idea, but to clued-in first-movers it's a marketing hack, and it's clued-in first-movers that a very large number (imho) of norms will go to for advice on technical products like this. They can be your best friends or your worst enemies. Make them your friends, eh?

Thanks,
adam

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#275 13-02-2005 6:18pm

Sponge Bob

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dahamsta wrote:

One more thing, a personal request if you will: Please don't use the "it's €35 but it's really €11 cos of the line rental" thing in the mainstream.

Which line rental figure applies to subscribers after the first 100,000 , it may be that they will have to pay the full Eircom Rate (incl VAT) and not the Full LLU rate + VAT

Therefore

First 100,000 rate = €35 (incl Vat)

Subsequently either of

35 + (14.65 +VAT) = €52.73

or

35 + 24.20 (standard (Eircom) line rental) = €59.20

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#276 13-02-2005 6:28pm

cmdrpaddy

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http://www.smarttelecom.ie/products/broadband/index.htm

specifically : "That’s 4 times faster and free line rental all for just €35.00 per month (incl. VAT). "

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#277 14-02-2005 12:08am

Lawdie

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GarfieldConnoll wrote:

1. You hope it really means it? I'm the Programme Manager for this service. James, how ever much you hope, I hope it more. At present we're on schedule, most recent updates as of this afternoon, confirm that.

2. Free trials? Not a chance. This is 2MB broadband for €35 less €24 line rental. €11 for 2MB. What's not to like? If we can't deliver the service, you can invalidate the contract.

Garfield.

Garfield, this has been asked in a number of posts and not yet answered in the required detail. If your the programme manager you know what exchanges are done and whats next (with an estimated date).
So, can you post the list in any fashion (i.e. excel, word) for the rest of the members, and before you state that the list is subject to change and based on interest (logged local inquiries) I already understand that, but you still have a role out exchange plan that we would like to see.
The earlier mail around phase 1,2,3...etc is too high level.
Cheers

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#278 14-02-2005 2:01am

popinfresh

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Wouldn't it be funny if the people in Smart were just making an elaborate hoax which would be unveiled to us all on April 1st next

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#279 14-02-2005 9:25am

SachaJ

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Quite a few people on this thread seem to agree that static IP addresses and an upload speed of at least 256kb are quite important. Personally I'm in this boat.

Garfield, do you not feel that in relation to these points, it might be a good idea for SMART to offer both static IP's and >256kb upload speeds, in order to get taken a bit more seriously?

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#280 14-02-2005 11:27am

GarfieldConnoll

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SachaJ wrote:

Quite a few people on this thread seem to agree that static IP addresses and an upload speed of at least 256kb are quite important. Personally I'm in this boat.

Garfield, do you not feel that in relation to these points, it might be a good idea for SMART to offer both static IP's and >256kb upload speeds, in order to get taken a bit more seriously?

SachaJ,

Static IP addresses and faster upload speeds are entirely valid requests. I didn't suggest otherwise.

We've launched a 2MB/ 128K dynamic IP address product. Will we launch other products? Of course we will. Do I have a timeline for these products? Not yet.

If we launched an 8MB/ 512K static IP address product for €XX a month, there would still be people that had legitimate requests for other 'flavoured' products.

The upload speed and static IP addresses are legitimate requests that are being reviewed internally.

Garfield.

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#281 14-02-2005 11:28am

GarfieldConnoll

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Lawdie wrote:

Garfield, this has been asked in a number of posts and not yet answered in the required detail. If your the programme manager you know what exchanges are done and whats next (with an estimated date).
So, can you post the list in any fashion (i.e. excel, word) for the rest of the members, and before you state that the list is subject to change and based on interest (logged local inquiries) I already understand that, but you still have a role out exchange plan that we would like to see.
The earlier mail around phase 1,2,3...etc is too high level.
Cheers

Detailed list will be on this board by close of business day.

Garfield.

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#282 14-02-2005 11:48am

Sponge Bob

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GarfieldConnoll wrote:

Detailed list will be on this board by close of business day.

Garfield.

Garfield.

Soem other outstanding questions for ya too.

1. Reach Extended packages , yes or no.
2. Bonded pair packages , yes or no
3. What level of Line Rental will apply post first 100,000

either

a) Full ULMP+ Vat = €17.73

or

b) The Full Eircom Rate = €24.20

Ta

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#283 14-02-2005 11:55am

Splendid

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Hi Garfield,

Haven't seen an answer to it, probably missed it somewhere.

I have an Eircom line coming into the house, not in use, don't have an Eircom account. Can i get you to activate it, or do i have to get an Eircom account first? (this is what i was told when i rang last week).

Thanks

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#284 14-02-2005 11:56am

GarfieldConnoll

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Sponge Bob wrote:

Garfield.

Soem other outstanding questions for ya too.

1. Reach Extended packages , yes or no.
2. Bonded pair packages , yes or no
3. What level of Line Rental will apply post first 100,000
either
a) Full ULMP+ Vat = €17.73
or
b) The Full Eircom Rate = €24.20
Ta

1. Yes, probably.
2. No, probably.
3. Full eircom retail, probably.

These are all qualified answers. Lots of good questions. Don't have the answer to everything.

Garfield.

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#285 14-02-2005 12:02pm

Rew

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Splendid wrote:

Hi Garfield,

Haven't seen an answer to it, probably missed it somewhere.

I have an Eircom line coming into the house, not in use, don't have an Eircom account. Can i get you to activate it, or do i have to get an Eircom account first? (this is what i was told when i rang last week).

Thanks

He did answer that Q but good luck trawling back through 15 pages looking for it

. They can get it activated for you, to use his words "You have to have an Eicom line for them to unbundle it" so either you can ring eircom and get it conected or they can get Eircom to do it on yor behalf.

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#286 14-02-2005 12:05pm

Splendid

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Actually, That sounds familiar.
Damn my hangover.

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#287 14-02-2005 12:13pm

loup

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Garfield..my brother is in Dundrum and was told (by Eircom) there are problems with his line and he may NEVER get broadband. However checking the number on your site, he gets

CONGRATULATIONS available in July/August.

Is this correct? Does the availability depend on certain lines being checked first? I know his local exchange in Dundrum is broadband enabled but doesn't seem to make a difference as his line cannot be enabled (according to Eircom)..don't know why. His phone line was installed in the seventies (i think).

Could you shed any light as to if this does mean he will be enabled??

Many Thanks

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#288 14-02-2005 12:15pm

Sponge Bob

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Thanks Garfield thats my lot

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#289 14-02-2005 1:03pm

Adey2002

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Posts: 350

Quote:
Originally Posted by Splendid
Hi Garfield,

Haven't seen an answer to it, probably missed it somewhere.

I have an Eircom line coming into the house, not in use, don't have an Eircom account. Can i get you to activate it, or do i have to get an Eircom account first? (this is what i was told when i rang last week).

Thanks

Rew wrote:

He did answer that Q but good luck trawling back through 15 pages looking for it . They can get it activated for you, to use his words "You have to have an Eicom line for them to unbundle it" so either you can ring eircom and get it conected or they can get Eircom to do it on yor behalf.

Garfield did say that smart could do it on your behalf, but the smart telecom registration process requires a phone number. How can the service be ordered if there is no phone number to enter into the order form? Is it possible to use the eircom number which is no longer in use? and what happens if this eircom number is not known to the current residents? How can it be ordered then?

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#290 14-02-2005 1:05pm

GarfieldConnoll

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Posts: 309

loup wrote:

Garfield..my brother is in Dundrum and was told (by Eircom) there are problems with his line and he may NEVER get broadband. However checking the number on your site, he gets

CONGRATULATIONS available in July/August.

Is this correct? Does the availability depend on certain lines being checked first? I know his local exchange in Dundrum is broadband enabled but doesn't seem to make a difference as his line cannot be enabled (according to Eircom)..don't know why. His phone line was installed in the seventies (i think).

Could you shed any light as to if this does mean he will be enabled??

Many Thanks

Loup,

The website simply checks that you are connected to an exchange on our rollout plan. You'll need a further engineering test to confirm the line.

There are lots of reasons why lines fail and it can be very frustrating as it seems like a black art at times. We're rolling out ADSL2+, which is greater capacity over greater distance. There is a better chance that ADSL2+ will work. But only a better chance.

Garfield.

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#291 14-02-2005 1:17pm

loup

Registered Users Posts: 423 ✭✭

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Posts: 332

Thanks Garfield..don't think the problem is distance as they are only about half a mile from the exchange. I know he is really frustrated becuase as a musician, he has to try and send songs (5-10mb in size) over a dialup line to the UK and it frustrates the hell out of him!!
What else could the prob be? Could the line need updating and Eircom don't want to do it?? Thanks in advance..

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#292 14-02-2005 1:36pm

Ruhan

Registered Users Posts: 84 ✭✭

Join Date: January 2005

Posts: 83

Garfield, my experience with Smart Telecom so far:

I registered my interest on the smart telecoms website, even though I don't have a phoneline yet. I requested someone call me back which they did. I think his name was Kevin (probably in the sales area). Anyway, I told him my story, how I'm waiting for eircom to hook up my line, and then when I can I'll get it signed over to smart telecoms. His basic speal was 'call this number (1850 945 000) and register for the first 100000 people' thingo. I said that I don't have a phone line yet, or an eircom account. He said that that was no worry, it is the person who needs to be registered, not the number. He also mentioned that all of the 01 area code will be hooked up for your service by March/April this year.
I thought great, fantastic! So I rang the number and tried to register myself as part of the 100k club, but was told, no, it is infact a phone number (account?) which needs to be registered, not the person. And also, that even though I'll be on the 01 area code (in Ratoath, Co. Meath), I won't be hooked up until August/September.

My concern is that one department in Smart Telecom isn't talking with the other (left hand not knowing what the right is doing). Could you please clarify this for me:
1. Will all of the 01 area code be enabled by March/April or not.
2. Can I register myself for the 100k club if I don't have a phone line yet?

Cheers,

R.

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#293 14-02-2005 1:39pm

Clanc

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Posts: 90

Hi Garfield, could you please let me know if / when Navan is on your list to get connected?

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#294 14-02-2005 2:08pm

GarfieldConnoll

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Posts: 309

loup wrote:

Thanks Garfield..don't think the problem is distance as they are only about half a mile from the exchange. I know he is really frustrated becuase as a musician, he has to try and send songs (5-10mb in size) over a dialup line to the UK and it frustrates the hell out of him!!
What else could the prob be? Could the line need updating and Eircom don't want to do it?? Thanks in advance..

Don't know. Sorry I can't be more help.

Garfield.

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#295 14-02-2005 2:11pm

lomb

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Posts: 5872

just got a phone from smart and she offered me the broadband package. she said it will be enabled in july yet the online checker says it isnt yet! looks like one hand doesnt know what the other is doing.
you guys should concentrate on the exchanges that have been enabled.
ps im on the newlands x exchange.

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#296 14-02-2005 2:16pm

Sponge Bob

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Posts: 24047

A few Q's on the POTS Telephony Product you intend to offer over the unbundled lines .

1. Call waiting, Will it be an option
2. Call Forwarding
3. Call Answering (Voicemail)
4. Conferencing .
5. SMS over POTS (what protocol ? , will it be a txt to speech integrated with VM)
6. ETSI Caller ID support?
7. Full Unlisted Number support and per call CLIR with 142 if requested .

8 . Which of 1 - 7 will be offered as standard and which will be chargeable and at what rate .

Thanks.

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#297 14-02-2005 2:21pm

lomb

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Posts: 5872

dahamsta wrote:

Welcome to Boards Garfield, great to see an "operator" - it's like a dirty word these days, I feel the need to do air quotes whenever I say it - taking the time, and having the guts, to come here and take the bad with the good. I hope you'll stay for the duration and not wuss out like some of your predecessors! I also hope my comments and questions below are taken constructively; some of them may seem a little aggressive, but I'm just looking for answers, not a fight.

I'm hanging on the coattails of others in this thread, so I'll use quotes from posts where possible. However at the most basic level, I'm having difficulty understanding the economics of this. Obviously you can't go into detail on the financials, but hopefully you'll be able to give us some idea of how you expect to turn a profit on this. You certainly won't turn a profit with me when you merge in the line rental and try to offset it with my calls, since I barely use the phone.

So I'm a loss leader, how do you compensate for me? Consumer bulk perhaps, but if UTV can only pull in 20,000 customers, is that really viable for Smart? I hate to reopen an old wound here, but this smacks of Genesis Europe to me -- people with the best of intentions, but serious implementation difficulties that led to shuttering. (Careful in your response, I drink regularly with ex-GE guys. )

Easy one to get started: Last I heard, Esat were only unbundling the data portion of the line, if you wanted voice off them on that line it was an Eircom resell. Are Smart going with full unbundling?

I'm surprised at your suggestion that 16:1 is the standard; in fact I'd be surprised if even 8:1 was the norm (which would be 256 upstream on your 2MB product). Most of the products I've seen have been 4:1, which I've been given to understand are that way to be inline with usage (in that people tend to upload about a quarter of what they download). On a pure usability front, personally I'd find 128 to be extremely frustrating to work with, and although I'm admittedly a SOHO user, I would be part of the one-size-fits-all setup you're suggesting. I'm afraid your one-size wouldn't fit this fella.

"If ComReg say so" is probably not a good choice of answer around here. ComReg say a lot of things "in general", but if their Quarterly Reports are anything to go by, most of those things are complete bullsh*t. Unencumbering of prospective lines is an important issue that affects yourselves as much as it does us, can you find out the /official/ answer please, one that we can hold both yourselves and ComReg to?

Moriarty calls this a rant and he has a point, but so does wideband. "No limits" is another phrase that is /seriously/ not welcome around here -- if it wasn't for Esat's explicit use of the phrase, IrelandOffline probably wouldn't exist and it's quite possible this forum wouldn't either. "No limits" on hosting and broadband products is snakeoil, you know it and we know it. So please, define "excessive". We're not looking for caps or explicit limits, but I certainly feel that a reasonable estimate of where Smart is going to draw the line is not too much to ask.

This is a tricky one. One would assume that Smart is requiring the DD as a form of contract to tie you down to, but it seems like a pretty cheap and nasty way of handling it -- a contract's a contract, if Smart designed their own and got people to sign it, you'd think it would have the same force in law. However it should be added (for Thaed's benefit) that if they did start charging you for a service they didn't supply, well, that would be fraud and you'd have a slam-dunk case against them. I still think requiring a DD is a very odd idea though, I'd be interested in a proper explanation.

This is a very important issue that has affected me personally and many other people here. With the bitstream product, because of the way Eircom charge for it, subscribers are effectively faced with having to buy out the remaining time on their contract if they have to move part way through. Some providers will work with you on it, but it's still a worry for people because there's no defined policy. So first of all, are the circumstances facing Smart the same as they are for bitstream providers? And if that's the case, how will Smart deal with the issue?

Dynamic DNS adds an extra two points of failure to the process - the dynamic dns service itself and the daemon on the user's computer - and as such injects a risk that will be unpalatable to many. I certainly wouldn't be willing to take that risk, as being able to access my machine remotely in emergencies isn't just desirable, it's mandatory. There's absolutely no reason you can't supply static IP addresses as an optional extra, so please do so. Just don't go wild on charges or we'll be having words in RIPE's ear.

One more thing, a personal request if you will: Please don't use the "it's €35 but it's really €11 cos of the line rental" thing in the mainstream. It's true to a degree and your marketers will cream themselves at the very idea, but to clued-in first-movers it's a marketing hack, and it's clued-in first-movers that a very large number (imho) of norms will go to for advice on technical products like this. They can be your best friends or your worst enemies. Make them your friends, eh?

Thanks,
adam

i believe data rates in the usa onto the internet are 5cent per gig up or down. with the 'average user' using 6 or 7 gig max up and down, this leads us to the consclusion that data transfer is very very cheap. the cost is in the infrastructure to get the consumer hooked into the pipeline.

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#298 14-02-2005 2:23pm

GarfieldConnoll

Closed Accounts Posts: 326 ✭✭

Join Date: February 2005

Posts: 309

Ruhan wrote:

My concern is that one department in Smart Telecom isn't talking with the other (left hand not knowing what the right is doing). Could you please clarify this for me:
1. Will all of the 01 area code be enabled by March/April or not.
2. Can I register myself for the 100k club if I don't have a phone line yet?

Cheers,

R.

Ruhan,

Sorry for the mix up.
1. The entire 01 area will NOT be enabled by March/ April. Do do this we would have to colocated equipment in every eircom exchange in Dublin (and beyond). We'd also have to link all these exchanges onto our fibre network.

That's simple not going to happen. Certainly not by March/ April. And in some cases we won't be able to reach the exchange at all. I've committed to providing a list of exchanges to this board today.
2. Register for the 100K without a phone number?
No. At present, no. I appreciate that there are people out there that don't have phone lines, but would get one if they could get the service from ourselves. Our reticence is that we would have contracts with people even if their local exchange wasn't on our build programme.

Garfield.

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#299 14-02-2005 2:51pm

jesus_thats_gre

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Posts: 17051

Garfield

There is no doubting that what Smart is attempting to do here is a massive step forward for Ireland.. However, I really hope that Smart listen to some of suggestions made in this thread and learn from the mistakes made by their competitors over the past 2 years..

Broadband is as much about what you receive as it is about what you send.. VoIP, Video conferencing (chatting over a webcam or whatever) and online gaming are all heavily dependent on access to low latency upload bandwidth. These applications are all seen as extremely important drivers for broadband take up yet every service launched in this country seem to severely limit upload rates and offer few commitments regarding latency..

128kbps is half what is offered as standard for a 512kbps service in most EU countries, never mind a 2048kbps service.. I know you have said that this will not be the only product you launch but this is a major falling point for me and many others..

As fair as I am aware, no residential services offers commitments regarding latency.. This is not particularly important to the average Joe but this thread was not created for the average Joe. Do Smart have any upper limits that they consider to be unacceptably high for their service? I wouldn't expect such a commitment from the likes of IOL, Netsource or UTV as they are only resellers of Eircom's product and do not have complete access and control over all of the network elements involved in their service offering.. Unlike Smart...

If Smart have any intentions of introducing a Cap in the future, you should make that intention known now.. Netsource are the perfect example of how it should not be handled.

Having worked in the mobile industry for over 4 years now, the fixed line telecoms companies in this country could learn alot from them on how to communicate with their customers. In my experience, I tend to come away alot happier from Meteor, O2 and Vodafone's customer care departments than I do from Eircom, Netsource or EsatBT.. Mind you, the time you are taking here is a major coup for Smart. A pro-active approach is far more effective....

If some of the suggestions were addressed or commitments made, I would have no problem recommending your service to everyone I know..

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#300 14-02-2005 4:36pm

GarfieldConnoll

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Posts: 309

Hi,

I've listed below the exchanges on the build programme as promised.

The further out the dates, the less sure they are. That's not a fudge, that's just project management.

Phase 1

Beggars Bush March / April
Belcamp March / April
Clondalkin March / April
Coolock March / April
Crown Alley March / April*
Crumlin March / April
Custom House Dock March / April*
Dolphins Barn March / April
North Main March / April
Phibsboro March / April
Santry March / April
Ship Street March / April
Summerhill March / April
Tallaght March / April
Walkinstown March / April
Whitehall March / April

*Civils issues still be resolved.

Phase 2

Castletroy May / June
Churchfield May / June
Clontarf May / June
Cork Central May / June
Dennehy's Cross May / June
Dooradoyle May / June
Dundalk May / June
Galway HPO May / June
Letterkenny May / June
Mervue May / June
Quaker Road May / June
Rathedmund (Sligo) May / June
Roches Street May / June
Shantalla Galway May / June
Tyrrelstown May / June
Waterford May / June
Waterford Tycor May / June
Wellington Road May / June

Phase 3

Rathmines July / August
Lucan Ballydowd July / August
Wexford - Anne Street July / August
Tullamore July / August
Tralee July / August
Thurles July / August
Shannon Airport July / August
Shannon Town July / August
Athlone - Roslevin July / August
Portlaoise July / August
Naas July / August
Mullingar July / August
Mallow (SHB) July / August
Kilkenny July / August
Ennis July / August
Dundrum July / August
Carrick-on-Shannon July / August
Carlow July / August
Ballincollig July / August
Ballina July / August
Arklow July / August
Dun Laoghaire July / August
Oranmore July / August

Phase 4.

To be confirmed.

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#301 14-02-2005 4:40pm

lomb

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Posts: 5872

GarfieldConnoll wrote:

Hi,

I've listed below the exchanges on the build programme as promised.

The further out the dates, the less sure they are. That's not a fudge, that's just project management.

Phase 1

Beggars Bush March / April
Belcamp March / April
Clondalkin March / April
Coolock March / April
Crown Alley March / April*
Crumlin March / April
Custom House Dock March / April*
Dolphins Barn March / April
North Main March / April
Phibsboro March / April
Santry March / April
Ship Street March / April
Summerhill March / April
Tallaght March / April
Walkinstown March / April
Whitehall March / April

*Civils issues still be resolved.

Phase 2

Castletroy May / June
Churchfield May / June
Clontarf May / June
Cork Central May / June
Dennehy's Cross May / June
Dooradoyle May / June
Dundalk May / June
Galway HPO May / June
Letterkenny May / June
Mervue May / June
Quaker Road May / June
Rathedmund (Sligo) May / June
Roches Street May / June
Shantalla Galway May / June
Tyrrelstown May / June
Waterford May / June
Waterford Tycor May / June
Wellington Road May / June

Phase 3

Rathmines July / August
Lucan Ballydowd July / August
Wexford - Anne Street July / August
Tullamore July / August
Tralee July / August
Thurles July / August
Shannon Airport July / August
Shannon Town July / August
Athlone - Roslevin July / August
Portlaoise July / August
Naas July / August
Mullingar July / August
Mallow (SHB) July / August
Kilkenny July / August
Ennis July / August
Dundrum July / August
Carrick-on-Shannon July / August
Carlow July / August
Ballincollig July / August
Ballina July / August
Arklow July / August
Dun Laoghaire July / August
Oranmore July / August

Phase 4.

To be confirmed.

where does the newlands cross exchange fit into the scheme of things? its newlands cross in clondalkin but i think there is another exchange in clondalkin- the clondalkin exchange that u are referring to above?
and if the clondalkin/newlands x exchange is being enabled in phase 1 why is my line failing ur online check?

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