Spreading the word about the survey!

I've just posted this in F1Racing.net's forum in the hope that some of the Irish regulars in there will fill out the survey. I also plan to post it on some other forums in order to try and spread the word about the IOFFL survey and Ireland Offline as a whole. Feel free to copy this yourselves and edit it if necessary and post it on any other forums you think might get some people to follow the link and complete the survey. It might be an idea to send it to friends, family or even your local TD's if you think it might help.

Anyway, here's what I posted on F1Racing.net:

As you will know, we in Ireland are currently in a dire situation when it comes to internet access compared to most other countries. While other countries enjoy the benefits of 24/7 flat-rate internet access and relatively cheap broadband access, in Ireland we are still in the dark ages when it comes to these things. We do not have flat-rate and have to pay per-minute and the new broadband offerings which Eircom are trying to sell are ridiculously over-priced and limited to certain areas. This all leads to several things:

1: Huge phone bills for users.

2: People cannot use the internet as much and, as a result, cannot take full advantage of what is becoming a very important communications, educational and information tool.

3: New people who would like get online and use the internet for the first time are put off when they hear the horror stories about huge phone bills that accessing the internet incurs here in Ireland.

4: The internet is an important business tool and the lack of flat-rate and broadband access means companies cannot compete competitively in the global market. They are at a distinct disadvantage compared to their rivals in other countries and, as it stands, Ireland is rapidly falling behind other countries in the international IT services sector. Very soon we will be so far behind that we will never be able to recover and Ireland's economy will suffer greatly.

These are just some of the problems caused by the lack of flat-rate and broadband internet access. There are many more and the situation will continue to get worse and worse unless something is done about it and done about it soon!

In May 2001 an internet pressure group called Ireland Offline was formed and in the 12 months since has been working tirelessly to address these problems and put pressure on the government, politicians, business and especially the telecoms companies to try and sort out this whole mess. Lobbying of politicians took place during the recent General Election campaign to highlight these problems to politicians and the political parties. Last November, Ireland Offline and it's members and supporters held an "Internet Blackout" day where they refrained from using the internet for a day. This got extensive coverage in the press and on TV and radio. Members of the Ireland Offline committee lobbied politicians before the new Communications Bill went before the Dail back in April in order to get an amendment added which would force Eircom to offer a flat-rate package and they were actually there in the Dail the day the Bill was passed. However, the Minister for Public Enterprise at the time, Mary O' Rourke, opposed the introduction of the flat-rate amendment to the Bill and claimed that new EU legislation would cover this. As a result, Ireland Offline are now taking their case to Europe and are planning to go there soon to meet with the relevant parties and tell them about the dire situation we are in with regards to internet access and how Eircom, the incumbant telecoms operator, have continued to monopolise the Irish telecoms industry and stifle any competition in this area.

As you can see, Ireland Offline has become the voice of the internet user in Ireland. The group has worked hard and will continue to work hard until it's goals of affordable flat-rate dial-up and broadband internet access is achieved.

In order to help them in their cause, they are carrying out a survey of current and potential internet users in Ireland. Ireland Offline wants to know how you access the internet, if you're happy with your service and what other kinds of services you would like and how much you think you should be paying for internet access. You can fill out the survey by clicking here

http://www.irelandoffline.org/survey

and it would be appreciated if you could tell friends, family, work colleagues, etc. about the survey and point them to the link. It only takes a couple of minutes and all the responses will be collected and analysed so the Ireland Offline committee can go to the relevant parties and say, "Look, this is what the average internet user wants. Provide them with it NOW!"

Together we can all make a difference and help get flat-rate and broadband internet access in Ireland and maintain Ireland's current reputation as a technically strong country.

Thanks for your time and don't forget to go and fill out the survey!

Turbowomble: supporter of Ireland Offline