Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi all! We have been experiencing an issue on site where threads have been missing the latest postings. The platform host Vanilla are working on this issue. A workaround that has been used by some is to navigate back from 1 to 10+ pages to re-sync the thread and this will then show the latest posts. Thanks, Mike.
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest
Ryans Lies to Rural Ireland
-
18-10-2007 10:47amHot on the heels of Ryans diversion of BB money to the great Wood Pellet Scam Ryan has also changed the ballpark on the National Broadband scheme
In september Ryan announcedDublin, 2 September, 2007
Eamon Ryan T.D., Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, today welcomed the selection of four candidates to enter the next phase of the procurement process for the National Broadband Scheme.
The four Candidates, in alphabetical order, are- BT Communications Ireland Ltd Consortium
- Eircom Ltd
- Hutchinson 3G Ireland Ltd and
- IFA/Motorola Consortium.
The pre-qualified candidates will be invited to present their proposed solutions to meet the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources requirements for the delivery of broadband to the unserved areas of the country. It is anticipated that a preferred provider will be selected early in 2008.
6 weeks later Ryan announced
http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/1017/broadband.htmlHe said negotiations on the National Broadband Scheme were ongoing with four short listed companies and a final decision is expected by the middle of next year.
so he moved it back 3 months in 6 weeks. Why am I not surprised.
The original map has also been revised . When the NBS was announced in the spring the map was thus .
The new map ( highres and 7Mb) , while somewhat improved in Donegal and elsewhere, has not improved matters at all. There is no way that 10% of the Irish population lives in the proposed service area ...such as Killarney National Park and the Reeks .
One can only observe that many rural people are deliberately being excluded from this scheme by Ryan and the Greens.
It includes the vapourificatious 330 eircom exchanges anticipated by 2012 for example but fragments the proposed service areas very badly into speckles hither and thither.
From all this I can state with accuracy that
Minister Ryan has DELIBERATELY pushed back the awarding of the contract by at least 3 months to ensure that he does not spend any money in FY 2008. He knows he has no funds for the NBS before 2009 .
Minister Ryan will only ultimately cover at most 2% of the population , or 80,000 people with this scheme and certain elements of it will go live in 2009 .
I can further state, based on my personal analysis of the situation , that
On the first of January 2010 at least 5% of the Irish population will not have access in their homes to a reasonably priced low latency broadband product and that we MUST ALL thank the incompetent and uncaring Minister Ryan for that .
0
Comments
-
Regular readers in here know that the standard OECD Measure of BB Penetration does not include 3g Services .
http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=DAL20071011.XML&Node=H6-5#H6-5
The Lie is in Bold.Telecommunications Services.5. Deputy Simon Coveney asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the strategy he supports for an efficient and speedy roll out of broadband to all parts of the country; the timeframe that this can be achieved in; the way the Government will support the process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23171/07]
Deputy Eamon Ryan:
The provision of telecommunications services, including broadband, is a matter for the private sector. Broadband service providers operate in a fully liberalised market regulated, where appropriate, by the independent Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg.
Nevertheless, the widespread provision of broadband services is a major priority for the Government. In this context, the primary role of the Government is to formulate regulatory and infrastructure policies to facilitate the provision of high quality telecommunications services, by competing private sector service providers.
Broadband penetration has increased significantly in recent years. Penetration levels have increased to 698,000 subscribers which, by OECD measures, is the equivalent of 16.48% of the population. This compares to less than 1% in 2002.
As a result, Ireland has improved its position internationally and Government action through provision of an optimal regulatory regime and targeted infrastructural investment will continue to support this performance. In the latter context, the State has undertaken initiatives to address the gaps in broadband coverage. These include providing grant aid under the recently concluded group broadband scheme and investment in metropolitan area networks, known as MANs.
There are still some parts of the country where the private sector will be unable to justify the commercial provision of broadband services. Accordingly, the procurement process for a national broadband scheme is under way. The national broadband scheme will provide broadband services to areas that are currently unserved and will ensure that all reasonable requests for broadband in unserved areas are met.
My Department is anticipating that the national broadband strategy contract will be awarded in the second quarter of 2008, with roll out of the services due to begin as soon as possible thereafter. This timeline is subject to negotiations with candidates during the competitive dialogue phase of the procurement process.
The broadband product to be provided under the national broadband scheme will be broadly equivalent to the tariffs and products typically available on the Irish market. The most appropriate mechanism to achieve this aim will be decided during the competitive dialogue process.Deputy Simon Coveney: I thank the Minister for his reply. It is helpful to know which groups are in the running for the national broadband scheme. I wish to make a reality check for anyone listening to this debate. Ireland is still a long way behind all its direct competitors and many of its European neighbours in terms of broadband connectivity.
A total of 7.8% of the population of County Leitrim have broadband and the total in County Cavan is 9.1%. I contest the Minister’s figures of 16% which he outlined. Independent estimates would put the figure closer to 12% or 13%.
With regard to the Supplementary Estimate of €16.2 million which was mentioned earlier and which we will debate next week, a total of €10 million of that sum has been diverted from information and communications technology programmes.
What is losing out? Will it be broadband roll-out or group broadband schemes?
If so, is the Minister transferring money from IT development and broadband roll-out to the greener homes scheme?Deputy Eamon Ryan: The figures are OECD figures, which are used most commonly, although many people would criticise them as not providing an accurate picture. However, there are various distortions with whatever statistics one uses. In general, we must aim to be at the top of the international league, regardless of the measures, and we should not concentrate only on narrow percentages. We should aim to have as widespread availability as possible.
The group broadband schemes, numbering approximately 120, were set up to provide local community-based services, often through small local providers. The thinking in the Department was that this did not provide a proper, comprehensive or efficient response to the problem of connectivity in rural isolated areas. That is the reason for the advancement towards a new scheme, the national broadband scheme. It is far more comprehensive and covers all the areas that would not otherwise have coverage. It is a more effective and innovative scheme which I believe will be successful. It involves a competitive bidding process which, hopefully, as we go through that process will allow us to raise the level of service in terms of the speed of broadband and technical capabilities, while reducing the costs.
<snip>
The figure of 698,000 is taken from the Comreg quarterly figures released last month.
It is explicitly stated by Comreg that 45,000 of the 698,000 are 3g customers and even Comreg would not try to put that one past the OECD .
The OECD standard measure is therefore 653,000 at best.
Ryan LIED to the Dáil last week when he stated that we had 698k BB users by the OECD definition .
Ryan LIED again when he reaffirmed that the figure was correct and was an OECD definition .
and then he lied again when he said that he would cover all areas without broadband with his national scheme .
But what else can you expect from Ryan .0 -
Well, we should get in contact with the opposition should we not?
Or do they read boards? They should read boards. Lord knows they have enough spare time to read boards.0 -
Muppet!
There is nearly sufficient Broadband / access to high speed internet services at present.
More is being rolled out, wirelessly (irish BB, mobile, digiweb etc) and wired (eircom, magnet etc).
Why do people not recognise that a lot has been done and continues to be done where it make commercial sense?
In those areas with BB - why do people not avail of it?
Don't say because of price!
Don't say because computers are too expensive!
Reason - they just don't want it. If more wanted to avail of it our BB figures would be a hell of a lot higher.
If you live in rural areas - there are positives (fresh air!) and negatives (distance from shops/hospitals and a far lesser point poor BB coverage). That's life!0 -
Muppet!
There is nearly sufficient Broadband / access to high speed internet services at present.
No there is not. If there were then we would not have taken up 3G in desperation ....it being cheaper than sat. We have greater 3g hsdpa pseudo BB takeup than any other developed country on a per capita basis .
Consider that an index of desperation . A Sign of failure , again .
Here is the ADSL coverage map in Ireland in 2006. Not much has changed bar a small increase in range and a few more exchanges.
Here we were in 2005
Not much has changed really , not for the vastly better .More is being rolled out, wirelessly (irish BB, mobile, digiweb etc) and wired (eircom, magnet etc).
Yadda yadda , Magnet stopped rolling out long ago. eircom promises to roll out to create FUD in the wireless space which sector stops rolling out.
Yet of the 440 exchanges promised in two tranches in teh past year I know of ONE thats live today .In those areas with BB - why do people not avail of it?
Yes they do. When that 2006 MAP was published, around the time of the census, some 35% of households ALREADY had BB ....where it was available from a number of platforms that is. This was in urban areas.
35% of Households overall is hardly a major demand problem is it ??? Over 50% of those with a PC is hardly a major demand problem ????Don't say because of price!
Really??? The highest penetration was where wireless and cable alternatives to the highest line rental in the world presented themselves.If more wanted to avail of it our BB figures would be a hell of a lot higher.
Its still primarily a supply problem beyond the major cities and towns. Only 60% of the population live in those locations and the highest penetration was where cable and dsl and wireless were all to be found not in towns with no wireless or cable and only dslIf you live in rural areas - there are positives (fresh air!) and negatives (distance from shops/hospitals and a far lesser point poor BB coverage). That's life!
Thats life yes. It still does not excuse the ongoing refusal of the government to create a framework for the Universal provision of essential services of which Broadband is now one.
Nor does it excuse governments that lie and obfuscate and hide behind
agencies of their very own creation .
And all of this is NO excuse for ANYONE to come on here again and again apologising for the myriad players in our Failure Industry . Muppets the lot of them
I told YOU rmc , last year , what the census would tell us
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=51196461#post51196461
I was right . Here is the data that I predicted would be collected in the census
http://beyond2020.cso.ie/Census/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=7295
I will go further in saying now that the highest level of PC penetration closely maps that of Broadband choice. Chickens start in eggs you know.0 -
Actually I did predict what the census would show up in more detail
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=51196948&postcount=8I am betting all my many holes on this next bit showing loud and clear in the census
Galway and Dublin ......will show a higher BB penetration than the other cities and thats because price and demand are inextricably linked and those cities have the best gamut of choice and price.
I am also betting each way on the following showing in the census
Galway and Dublin will show a higher household PC penetration than Cork and Limerick because of BB availability ....ie something to do with the PC once you have it .
I am additionally putting cash straight on the nose for this.
Galway and Dublin will show a greater relative growth in the period 2002 (last census page 86 of 126) to 2006 (this census) in Household PC penetration than Cork and Limerick and thats also because of BB availability .
I am so satisfied that the data will bear me out that I am calling this 3 part prediction matrix "The Law of The Sponge" . The predictions will require the averaging of the Dublin and Galway figures and the averaging of the Cork and Limerick figures across both censii in question .
I also said .PC Penetration and BB availability are inextricably intertwined. Because the rollout of BB was noticeable in the period from 2004 onwards people started to buy computers on a very large scale.
What comes first though , the computer or the Broadband ?????? Why! Its the Broadband Stoopid !!!`0 -
Advertisement
-
Sponge Bob wrote: »Thats life yes. It still does not excuse the ongoing refusal of the government to create a framework for the Universal provision of essential services of which Broadband is now one.
There's an argument for universal provision of essential services for people who have to live in the country like farmers but that argument isn't so strong for city workers who decide to live in the country because it's a nicer lifestyle and they get to save thousands on their house prices.0 -
There's an argument for universal provision of essential services for people who have to live in the country like farmers but that argument isn't so strong for city workers who decide to live in the country because it's a nicer lifestyle and they get to save thousands on their house prices.
There is indeed a distinction OTK, you are correct. Cost to the exchequer incurred becuase of deliberate de-urbanisation by members of the public .
However unlike say the local authority having to rebuild or widen a road simply because a farmer sold off sites on that road in the middle of nowhere the provision of decent broadband would incur most of its cost stack were there 1 farm house in a valley or 10 houses including 3 holiday homes.
In that example the marginal extra cost for the other 9 is small in the overall context and the holiday homes should feck off0 -
Sponge Bob wrote: »However unlike say the local authority having to rebuild or widen a road simply because a farmer sold off sites on that road in the middle of nowhere the provision of decent broadband would incur most of its cost stack were there 1 farm house in a valley or 10 houses including 3 holiday homes.
In that example the marginal extra cost for the other 9 is small in the overall context and the holiday homes should feck off0 -
If you choose to live in the countryside then the provision of nearly all services is more expensive than if you live in a village or a town. Compared to the rest of Europe, we have a liberal planning regime in Ireland that allows people to build houses on low cost land miles from anywhere. That's a great freedon but it's not so cool when those same people then seek to obtain their services at the same price as urban dwellers. Somebody has to pay for school buses, rural broadband and rural postal deliveries and that's the guy who chose to live near a school, a telephone exchange or a post office.
There's an argument for universal provision of essential services for people who have to live in the country like farmers but that argument isn't so strong for city workers who decide to live in the country because it's a nicer lifestyle and they get to save thousands on their house prices.
Cost may be higher in rural areas for services but for BB its not that the costs are higher, its that it isn't possible to get it in the first place that is causing the problem.
I don't know one person that lives in a rural area and complains about the high cost of services compared to towns and I was born and raised in a rural area and now live in a town so I'd have no problem stating if I did.
I should also say that there are plenty of people in our capital city and other big towns that can't avail of any proper broadband service because of the current infrastructure that is falling apart.0 -
Do you mean that the marginal cost of broadband provision, for example by FWA, is low compared to other services, once the initial costs of wiring an access point in every inhabited valley in the country is met?
Correct . The bulk of the cost would be getting into a small area . This would be incurred even were ribbonisation not present there...eg for one legacy household.
The marginal extra cost of dealing with extra houses would be low compared to the big truckroll over the mountain .
We both assume , correctly , that FWA will be used. Fibre and Copper would cost too much.0 -
Advertisement
-
If you live in rural areas - there are positives (fresh air!) and negatives (distance from shops/hospitals and a far lesser point poor BB coverage). That's life!
No offence but that is one of the most stupid posts i have read...by your assumptions because there is no fresh water supply in dublin they shouldnt get one??
the problem people have is that promises by government have been broken in relation to BB.0 -
the problem people have is that promises by government have been broken in relation to BB.
Well lets look at the PD manifesto, the PD manifesto 2002 to be precise when they were already in government and were returned to government to execute their manifesto.BROADBAND
Modern communications technology has a huge role to play in regional and rural development.
We will ensure that every community in Ireland has broadband connection.
This will create a level playing field and give every location in Ireland the chance to compete for investment projects in the informationbased
industries.
It will also open up new opportunities for the electronic delivery of services to rural communities - in education, in medicine, in banking and in a wide range of other areas.
Information technology has the potential to enhance significantly the quality of life for rural communities: that potential must be fully exploited.
Of course we know the PDs lied to a far greater extent than has Ryan to date. But the PDs are not supposed to be different like the Greens set themselves out to be . I expected this mendacity of the PDs .
Nevertheless the PD lie actually sounds better than the Green reality does0 -
Cost may be higher in rural areas for services but for BB its not that the costs are higher, its that it isn't possible to get it in the first place that is causing the problem.Sponge Bob wrote: »We both assume , correctly , that FWA will be used. Fibre and Copper would cost too much.
It's much the same situation as with all rural services. They cost more to provide and the quality is low even where they do exist. If the providers are forced into universal provision then the overall service level will be dragged down in urban areas. If telcos are forced into a low ROI then why even invest in Ireland?0 -
Is FWA even a medium term solution? Access will always be contended on wireless and the reliability low. The definition of broadband shifts with the available urban speeds. in a few years, 2 meg will be narrowband.It's much the same situation as with all rural services. They cost more to provide and the quality is low even where they do exist. If the providers are forced into universal provision then the overall service level will be dragged down in urban areas. If telcos are forced into a low ROI then why even invest in Ireland?
There is more than enough enough money for decent universal provision but sadly that money is all used to pay eircoms €4bn debt servicing.
Rural areas will never get fast copper services beyond adsl2 in time . Nor will they get fibre.
Large urban areas will get fibre in time and certainlly VDSL2 in the next 2 years . That gap will continue to grow.
All the countryside expects is 1mbit now and 2mbits in a few years with maybe 5mbits for the lucky ones in time. Spectrum is finite compared to short copper runs or fibre.0 -
-
So the growth in 3G for Fixed access and all other Wireless service growth when a new mast is added is imagination?0
-
Every time he opens his gob it gets pushed back more.
His position late last year is here
http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=DAL20071113.XML&Dail=30&Ex=All&Page=48The next phase of the procurement process involves inviting candidates to participate in a competitive dialogue process. My Department is anticipating that the award of the NBS contract will be Quarter 2 of 2008, with roll-out of the services due to begin as soon as possible thereafter. This timeline is subject to negotiations with candidates during the competitive dialogue phase of the procurement process.
1. ISPs must declare their final coverage BEFORE the scheme proceeds
2. Closing date for the final coverage declaration is the last day of Q2 2008, the 30th of June
This is all explained in the link here including an outrageous claim that rollout has already started since January 2008 to 'green areas 'on the included map
http://www.dcmnr.gov.ie/NR/rdonlyres/9A422C4E-C998-4278-AF7A-B2A364078D10/0/NBSCoverageApproachv2.doc
Then a tender will be issued for consultants to CHECK the coverage , that will be in about September.
Then the consultants will report in about January 2009 and more negotiations will occur.
None of it mappets, Ryan has already blown the cash on Pellets and only needs the BB scheme so he can rob its budget again
From Weds 12 March in The Dáil, the latest waffle.Questions Telecommunications Services.There are still parts of the country where the private sector will be unable to justify the commercial provision of broadband services. Accordingly, the procurement process for a national broadband scheme is under way. The scheme will provide broadband services for areas currently unserved and ensure all reasonable requests for broadband are met. The first phase of the procurement process - pre-qualification questionnaire - is complete and four candidates pre-qualified to enter the next phase of the process. As my Department indicated on 2 September 2007, the four candidates were, in alphabetical order, BT Communications Ireland Limited consortium, Eircom Limited, Hutchinson 3G Ireland Limited and IFA-Motorola consortium. Following the withdrawal of the IFA-Motorola consortium as a candidate, the remaining three candidates commenced competitive dialogue with my Department and are developing their proposed solutions to meet my Department’s requirements for the delivery of broadband to the unserved areas of the country. It is anticipated that a preferred bidder will be selected and appointed in June 2008, with roll-out to commence as soon as possible thereafter, subject to agreement with the chosen candidate.
Deputy Simon Coveney asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will confirm that, as he stated in a speech to Dáil Éireann on 26 February 2008, all areas that do not have broadband by 1 July 2008 will get broadband under the national broadband scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (Deputy Eamon Ryan):
The role of the Government is to formulate regulatory and infrastructure policies to facilitate the provision of high quality telecommunications services by competing private sector service providers. The widespread provision of broadband services continues to be a priority for the Government. In that regard, my Department has undertaken initiatives to address the gaps in broadband coverage. These include providing grant aid under the recently concluded group broadband scheme and investment in metropolitan area networks, MANs.
Deputy Simon Coveney:
I note we are discussing the issue of broadband again. We will continue to return to it until the Opposition is satisfied the Government is taking it seriously. Is it the case that the map I am holding which I downloaded from the Department’s website represents the Minister’s view on areas covered by broadband? Do the areas shaded in blue represent areas for which a proposal in respect of coverage has been made? Is it, therefore, the case that the national broadband scheme will not apply to any of the areas shaded in red? I understand the Department has indicated to the European Commission that areas shaded in red are off limits to the scheme because they offer a market for broadband. Is that the case?
The Minister repeated a statement he made a few weeks ago that all areas which do not have broadband services by 1 July will have broadband delivered through the national broadband scheme. Are areas shaded in red on the Department’s map off-limits for the national broadband scheme?
Deputy Eamon Ryan:
The intent of the national broadband scheme is clear, namely, to ensure broadband services will be available throughout the country. As this is a changing area, it is difficult to state at a given time what precisely are the services being provided. The Department asked the industry to outline in detail which areas would be served. If areas are not served by 1 July, the date at which we intend to commence delivering the national broadband scheme, they will be included in the scheme. While the map will change before the commencement date of 1 July, this date is the test that will determine whether an area will be included in the national broadband scheme. It is sensible and rational to take into account ongoing, changing investment by companies and ensure we target investment available under the support scheme at the areas we want to work best, namely, those for which there is currently not a commercial case for investment.
Deputy Simon Coveney:
How does the Minister square his view with the statement by the Commission for Communications Regulation at a recent meeting of the Joint Committee on Economic Regulatory Affairs that the national broadband scheme would not provide 100% coverage. Mr. Alex Chisholm from ComReg indicated that while the scheme would increase coverage from approximately 85% to approximately 95% of the population, 5% of the population would continue to be excluded from broadband services.
Did the Department not inform the European Commission that the national broadband scheme would apply to areas of its map of broadband coverage shaded in green or blue, that is, areas where there is market failure or potential market failure, respectively, and that it considered areas marked in red to have broadband coverage?Deputy Eamon Ryan:
My Department has prepared a draft policy paper on next generation broadband. The paper reviews current communications infrastructure policy and analyses policy options in the light of industry developments regarding the optimum role for the Government in the planning and roll-out of next generation broadband. Two weeks ago I convened a meeting of the expert International Advisory Forum to examine the paper. The forum critiqued draft options and recommendations on how to meet the challenges that lay ahead. The key challenge is getting higher speed broadband at lower cost to more subscribers. The forum members have provided valuable feedback. They supported the broad trust of the document. They also offered some additional recommendations and advice on the future trends of the telecommunications and ICT industries and proposed that certain suggestions be explored further. The draft paper is being updated to reflect the forum’s contribution. It will then be published for public consultation.
Deputy Simon Coveney:
We are back to the issue of broadband again. Why did the Minister believe it was appropriate to appoint an independent advisory forum to advise him on his own policy paper when we could have debated it here in the House? The Opposition tabled a motion on broadband for that very purpose. The Minister said at the time that he supported a serious non-party political debate on the issue. That very week he gave his policy paper to an independent forum he had set up, yet he did not consider it sufficiently important to allow the House to debate the issue. Why did he make that decision?
Because he is an arrogant c..... cyclist thats why !
Simon Coveneys performance is improving , not that it matters when he is in opposition all the time .0 -
Sponge Bob wrote: »Then a tender will be issued for consultants to CHECK the coverage , that will be in about September.
My highly paid consultants will be making sure of these outrageous coverage claims...
OK guys that are in this forum lets go and check these outrageous claims
especially in the areas where the NBS is "already rolled out".
Any takers?0 -
Sponge Bob wrote: »Hot on the heels of Ryans diversion of BB money to the great Wood Pellet Scam Ryan has also changed the ballpark on the National Broadband scheme
How do you know Ryan is lyan?
He opens his mouth, boom boom!0 -
My highly paid consultants will be making sure of these outrageous coverage claims...
Best get a TD to ask WHERE the rollout has ALREADY started since January according to the Department and check that , it would be a small...nay a trivial task
Then there is the 'red covered' Leitrim which has very good coverage according to Ryan ...and hardly at all according to Simon Coveney
0 -
Advertisement
-
Sponge Bob wrote: »Best get a TD to ask WHERE the rollout has ALREADY started since January according to the Department and check that , it would be a small...nay a trivial task
Then there is the 'red covered' Leitrim which has very good coverage according to Ryan ...and hardly at all according to Simon Coveney
Latest CSO data on ICT/Internet etc for 2007 -
http://www.cso.ie/releasespublications/documents/industry/2007/ictireland2007.pdf
....on page 42 -
In 2007, almost 50% of households with an internet connection that did not have a broadband connection indicated they did not have a broadband connection because it was not available in their area. On a regional level, over 67% of these internet connected, but not broadband connected, households in the BMW region indicated that broadband was not available in their area, compared to 40% in the SE region.
Now, thats more like the truth, is it not???0 -
Sorry to go OT, but could somebpdy link me to an article and/or thread relating to ryans woodpellet "scam" as mentioned by the OP0
-
Not an April fool. He really did spend Comms budget on Wood Pellet Stoves.
http://www.ebb-eu.org/legis/IRELAND_3rd%20report%20Dir2003_30_report_EN.pdf
In Budget 2006, in order to complement the introduction of the biofuels excise ... applications were received, 34% of which relate to wood pellet stoves and ...0 -
Not an April fool. He really did spend Comms budget on Wood Pellet Stoves.
http://www.ebb-eu.org/legis/IRELAND_3rd%20report%20Dir2003_30_report_EN.pdf
In Budget 2006, in order to complement the introduction of the biofuels excise ... applications were received, 34% of which relate to wood pellet stoves and ...
While I wouldn't disagree that the budget for bb was emaciated this doc is only part proof. The problem is that we have never been able to get a comprehensive overview of the data network support budget. If you try you get bogged down in money for MANs, Rural BB (withdrawn), etc., etc., without ever getting any number for allocated spend on support for network upgrading - presumably because, since eircon is private, they cannot be seen to spend any money on upgrading their network, only providing money to other parties to spend with eircon, such as MANs.
A recent call for tenders for a review of the bb for schools project has an interesting evaluation of the 'progress' in this area, almost half the installations scheduled for DSL in rural areas had to be replaced by satellite links because of 'unsatisfactory' infrastructure. This would indicate that even the govt schemes to subsidise upgrades have failed. Of course the bb for schools is probably not actually counted in this as it is a 'private' network for schools use. When I asked Dempsey, when he was min of comm, if this was true he said he had no idea......!!!! he'd look into it and get back to me....
As for the MANs it is widely reported that a number of them are un(der)used because there is no money available for the backhaul to the internet.
Bye, Barry0
Advertisement