UTV Launch Flat-Rate Internet Package

Aggie · 05-09-2002 1:09pm

MESSAGE FOR UTV.....

Much and all as we welcome your product, it is false advertising to call this FRIACO. It is an internet bundle and nothing more. FRIACO is 24 x 7 x 365. Suggest you change your advertising, or you'll get slammed by the advertising standards here. Eircom got hit over iSTREAM, and I for you do think that your site is mis-leading. Also, can you put up your call rates as it's difficult to work out how good the telephony package is based on the three rates you quote.

Regarding the Internet bundle, what happens if you stray into peak time - what charges then ?

LoBo · 05-09-2002 1:13pm

Perhaps the best name for this kind of offering is "PrePaid Internet Minutes" ?

mofu · 05-09-2002 1:13pm

Thanks exellent, I am definitly going to sign up, although there will probably be better products coming out soon.

fabien · 05-09-2002 1:15pm

Martin,

It's great to see a good product and a company that listens to customers, Utv AND us will benefit in the long run...
Speaking of long run, do you have to subscribe to Internet and CPS for a set period, or is it a monthly contract that can be ended at the end of any month?

Also, you mention a cost saving of 25% on Eircom, but can you tell us EXACTLY how much it would cost per minute to use the internet during peak time with UTV, and how much extra per minute for 128 ISDN..(peak and off-peak)

Thanks in advance
Fabien

zenith · 05-09-2002 1:17pm

Aggie, you are _so_ a troll.
Don't happen to work for Eircom, do ya?

[edit: just checked, and based on your OTHER post, I'd say you work for Esat

]

Martin-UTVi · 05-09-2002 1:24pm

i have gone to there site and click on Republic of Ireland.

The link posted in this thread is for NI - try http://www.utvip.com

Speaking of long run, do you have to subscribe to Internet and CPS for a set period, or is it a monthly contract that can be ended at the end of any month?

Its a 3 month contract with 1 month notice period.

Also, you mention a cost saving of 25% on Eircom, but can you tell us EXACTLY how much it would cost per minute to use the internet during peak time with UTV, and how much extra per minute for 128 ISDN..(peak and off-peak)

Rather than list prices here, there is a tariff listing you can download at http://www.utvip.com - go to the signup section and then click on the link for tariff pricing.

Tippex · 05-09-2002 1:27pm

Aggie,

I havent seen it being advertised as Friaco can you enlighten us as to where you seen it?

Tip

Martin-UTVi · 05-09-2002 1:27pm

Would it be possible for me to take advantage of your excellent offer with a Chorus (wireless local loop) 'phone service?

Not at present

Neil_Sedaka · 05-09-2002 1:28pm

Just printed the direct debit form, signed it and stuck it in the mail.

Thanks Esat, if you haven't already posted the form I asked for yesterday then don't bother, SNL left me a bit bitter and disloyal.

And a special thanks to Errorcom for the years of rogering, I'll miss ya!

spongebob · 05-09-2002 1:31pm

1. I would say that it is a flat rate Restricted Usage product.

Stating baldly that it is a simple flat rate product is steering a bit close to ASAI territory, can you talk to the marketing fluff Martin?

Might I point out that Eircom i-Stream enhanced (Dublin) and Chorus Powernet Wireless (Limerick) together with ESAT DSL (Limerick) are the only flat rate products available in Ireland, you will incur no further charges based on volumes of data or on usage time.

I don't believe that the odd bump off is inconsistent with flat rate, it stops dogging by very heavy users which affects everybody in the contention space.

2. I noted that the Telephony CPS information on the UTVIP website seems to make claims for cheap LOCAL NATIONAL and INTERNATIONAL calls. No claims were made for MOBILE.

If UTV is not cheaper than Eircom for these, do I take it that Mobile calls are not cheaper than Eircoms rate and that I may therefore exclude these from my CPS mandate to UTV. Mobile calls account for far more of my bill than Local International and National calls put together.

M

De Rebel · 05-09-2002 1:32pm

great product Martin babes

but a bit confused on the ould sums -"UTVip will support usage of up to 150 hours off-peak use monthly. That’s around 5 hours per day, 5 days per week"

5 hours per day 5 days a week = 25 hours per week and with 4.25 weeks in a month thats 106.25 hours per month; whats that about 150 ?

anyway its great to see ya putting the squeeze on the EirCrap thickos

roll on real broadband

in the meantime this is the one for me - sign up is on the way

Martin-UTVi · 05-09-2002 1:34pm

Regarding the Internet bundle, what happens if you stray into peak time - what charges then ?

Just to reiterate, this is all available at http://www.utvip.com

The peak time charges are Eircom minus 25% (3.8c I think)

Martin-UTVi · 05-09-2002 1:39pm

2. I noted that the Telephony CPS information on the UTVIP website seems to make claims for cheap LOCAL NATIONAL and INTERNATIONAL calls. No claims were made for MOBILE.

Mobile calls billed at same rate as Eircom.

ozpass · 05-09-2002 1:47pm

I'm actually getting better customer service from UTV (with whom I have no affiliation whatsoever) than other companies I throw money at each month.

Bravo Martin-UTVi !!!!!!!

andreio · 05-09-2002 1:50pm

is it possible to put a list of all your international call charges on the site? Or, can we assume that ALL international calls will be charged 25% less than Eircom????

VeeEmmy · 05-09-2002 1:50pm

Originally posted by daveg
(...snipped...)

Also 3 month min contract and then 1 month termination notice.

It's a bit more than that, apparently. Reading the Terms of Service... AFTER the initial 3 months' service .... well, you figure it out. Quoting from the Terms of Service:

"After your initial 3 month contract period, simply give us 1 months notice in writing, for the attention of the "Accounts Department". Termination of the service will only become effective on the last day of the third month following receipt of this notice. "

???

Say i start September 16, decide to stop. So in November I send the letter. They receive 16 November. Sounds like the last day of the 3rd month following receipt would be 28th of Feb???

I'm confused.

No matter, I doubt I'll be needing to leave them soon. This will suit me fine. And it works with ISDN. Sort of win-win, best scenario (available so far anyway).

- I get decent enough speed for my needs
- I pay 29.99 for internet
- €ircon only get the line rental money from me.
- Esat were mean when they banished me, and they won't get anything at all from me now. I called to withdraw request for forms for "NetSmart."

ozpass · 05-09-2002 1:51pm

I'm actually getting better customer service from UTV (a company with whom I have no affiliation) than other companies I throw money at each month!

Bravo Martin-UTVi !!!!!!!

spongebob · 05-09-2002 1:58pm

Martin

80% of my bill is to mobiles

80% of this (about 2 thirds of my calls bill) is to 2 numbers in particular for which I get a 10% discount called circle of friends.

Does UTVIP have a 'Family and Friends' discount for 5 or 10 stated numbers called 'circle of friends' in Eircom speak.

If so

a) What is this scheme called
b) Does your web interface allow subscribers to manage this list

The Discount on calls to the 2 mobile numbers I mentioned reduces my OVERALL calls bill by 6% and calls to mobiles alone by 8% or so.

M

Fmcgrath · 05-09-2002 2:03pm

Yahoo..Yahoo..wheeeww

Just signed up online. This is fantastic. I feel I really have to give credit where credit is due. UTVinternet seems to be the online ISP in Ireland that has acted fairly and not incurred any bitterness in the Flat rate Internet fiasco.
Fair juice for firing ahead and being " Inovative" (In an Irish sense).
I galls me to this day that I still have to give Eircon there Line rental fee..I dont care if by the next millenia they have some cheaper rates I will NEVER have anything to do with Eircon again as sson as I can decide for myself. They have just screwed too many people for TOO long. Deep breath and finish.

With my limited Internet savvee I have been pondering this issue. I am with NTL at the moment as have Free Internet access on the weekend, I will have to switch my call service to UTV to avail of this new service....Anyother NTL subscribers out there have any thoughts on this??? I would be glad of your opinions.

I have signed up anyway and should be connected in 10 days (probaly have to send a form authorising call swith) 150hrs off peak....excellent. I can just imagine Eircon strategists now....

" I told ya Eammon theyd do it weve truly killed the golden goose now" UTV are the only inovative ISP and I can only see therir offering getting better and less restrictive..and who knows ..Broadband and 24 by 7 true flat rate in a few months.
I reckon demand for this will be massive..oder??

cheers

pencil · 05-09-2002 2:11pm

Martin,

Q: After signing up now long do you supect it will take till the service is active?

A guestimate will do!

Cheers & good stuff for taking the time to answer our questions.

fabien · 05-09-2002 2:13pm

Martin,

From an FAQ on UTV Website:

"Our ordinary ‘pay as you go’ service will support dual-channel ISDN connections, up to 128k. Check to ensure your modem or ISDN router works with our `pay as you go` service first."

Does this mean the flat-rate product doesn't support it at all, or can you connect at 128 and pay the extra cost? If so, what will be the extra cost off peak (local call cost?)

Thanks
Fabien

_Kaiser_ · 05-09-2002 2:14pm

Hi Martin,

Just a quick note to express (as many have done) my thanks for you participation here today - I've been following this thread all day and am very impressed to see the responsiveness of UTVip to (customer) feedback (eg: the clarification regarding "off-peak" and now a direct link to the full call charges).

I'll be reading all this tonight but I think you've just won yourself another customer!

Thanks again to yourself and all concerned.

Martin-UTVi · 05-09-2002 2:25pm

Does UTVIP have a 'Family and Friends' discount for 5 or 10 stated numbers called 'circle of friends' in Eircom speak.

No.

Q: After signing up now long do you supect it will take till the service is active?

In all honesty, Eircom are quoting us 5 working days.....but we're quoting 10 to be on the safe side.

Does this mean the flat-rate product doesn't support it at all, or can you connect at 128 and pay the extra cost? If so, what will be the extra cost off peak (local call cost?)

Dual ISDN isn't possible as standard on the service. We could enable it, but it would be the equivalent of taking out 2 subscriptions.....not merely a "surcharge".

Thanks again to yourself and all concerned.

As I'm sure you're all aware there's a lot more people have/are working on this product and launch, and they appreciate (and read) the comments made in this forum. Some of them will even be allowed home this evening;)

sceptre · 05-09-2002 2:33pm

5 (count them - 5!) threads merged. Keeping mods on our toes I see:)

No time to comment properly or ask questions at the moment (paying Esat by the minute) - just a quick "whooopee"

As we've Martin from UTV answering questions here, it might be a good idea for anyone who knows someone with an interest in flatrate offerings to forward them here (this is likely to be the most viewed thread boards.ie has ever had).

crawler · 05-09-2002 2:34pm

Hmmm...

To take the UTVi service you MUST take their CPS service and I could not find a set of their full rates anywhere....Martin , I think it's a bit unfair to ask people to sign up by only showing 3 destinations? I fully understand to make this product available you need to make margin somewhere but people have to be informed.

Another one for Martin - I ran the advertising past a few people - you are very close to the bone with regards ASAI - please be careful - FRIACO and all that...it's just a play on words but....

Muck - ntl also offer a true flatrate Cable Modem in a tiny corner of Dublin 24 , this is also true Flat Rate - no limits etc etc.

This has been an interesting day.........a good , interesting day.

spongebob · 05-09-2002 2:34pm

Final question Martin.

CPS categories are

Local
International
Mobile
National

new category

Internet 1892

Can one category, Mobile , be excluded from the Telephony CPS setup? UTV get all the rest.

M

ando · 05-09-2002 2:38pm

Q: Can I use UTVip with ISDN?

A: Yes. The service will allow a single connection per line, so if you have ISDN, set the connection so that one channel (64k) is made

oh baby yessssssss

I'll sign up tommorow.. I'm in work at the mo, dont have much of a chance to look/study terms.. do that tonight

fabien · 05-09-2002 2:39pm

Martin,

You said:

"Dual ISDN isn't possible as standard on the service. We could enable it, but it would be the equivalent of taking out 2 subscriptions.....not merely a "surcharge"."

Does that mean right now, if I subscribe and request it, for 60 Euro a month I will get 150 hours at 128 kbps ISDN?

Also, is there a "set-up fee" for ISDN calls during the day the same as analog calls?

Thanks again
Fabien

LoBo · 05-09-2002 2:39pm

Originally posted by sceptre
(this is likely to be the most viewed thread boards.ie has ever had).

1200+ views in 150 mins since first post. 8 views / minute so far for this thread alone

It has noticably made the serving of boards.ie to me MUCH slower .. hehe.. talk about interest in the service

Martin-UTVi · 05-09-2002 2:41pm

To take the UTVi service you MUST take their CPS service and I could not find a set of their full rates anywhere....Martin , I think it's a bit unfair to ask people to sign up by only showing 3 destinations? I fully understand to make this product available you need to make margin somewhere but people have to be informed.

Tariff is (and has been...) available online http://www.utvip.com/ietariff.asp

Can one category, Mobile , be excluded from the Telephony CPS setup? UTV get all the rest.

No

new category - 1892

Non geographical numbers are not included or eligible for the 25% discount because of the way these calls are routed.

UTV Launch Flat-Rate Internet Package

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