UTV and Eircom announce flat rate internet moves (RTE)

matthiku

In Windows, the Inactive Timer is already part of the Dial Up Connection - you just have to configure it correctly (which is dependent on the Windows Version) and ensure, that there is no other program running (like an Instant Messenger) who contacts its Server on the Internet regularily and would therefor "disable" that Timer.

If you have ISDN, you can set the Inactivity Timer very low, because there is nearly no delay when you have to reconnect again.

rymus

like many others that have posted here I am quite disappointed by the 180 hours on offer. Maybe the level of disappointment is only due to the previous mention of 300 hours or a 10 hour a day limit. And yes I do know that if I use the internet that heavily I should be on DSL but I would be if I could be.

Lets just hope that the 180 comes closer to that 300 figure that was floating around in the very near future.

morgana

I, too would have hoped for more hours as previous posters have said. Can we possibly have a third heavy user tier, XXL if you like, with 240 or more hours for around 30/35 Euro ?
Never happy, I know

Raskolnikov

As someone already mentioned I'll still be clock-watching with such a product.

mechanima

PLEASE can those of us, for whom ADSL is not practical or possible have 300-360 hours EVEN if it costs the same as ADSL...

As a gesture to resolve our abysmal record for internet access...

As a loyalty reward to customers...

As a stop gap until ADSL is more widely available...

It MUST be feasible, and as a PR exercise it would be unparalleled.


G

BoneCollector

at the rate i use the internet im concidering the 30hrs option..
so 180 would be quite enought for me if i was to get it..
cuz i dont see myself trying to justify being loged on 24/7.
180 equates to about 6hrs a day and thats only if! you have no life outside of websurfing and downloads.
however if you use it 75% of the time it then equates to around 8 hrs a day..
Hell! i think the average joe is only ever awake 12hrs of the day that leaves 4 hrs for eating drinking some trips to the WC and watching a few vids/dvds and if your working during the day you must have even less time to be on the web.
If your looking for 24/7 always on, this is not! what this product is anyway. its main purpose is to take away the burden of clock watching all day except after 6pm as it was and to increase awareness of the benifits of internet access to give people a sence of what using the internet can be like if you dont have to worry about what time of day you log on and not have to worry if its a more expesive time of the day or not..
You all know BB is the ultimate solution, the fact that it does not exist for everyone does not justify looking for more from 56k dial up, its only a steping stone or a stop gap which has not existed till now.
Lets just recap...
yesterday you would be paying per minute and your avarage bill would be about 150-200+ per bill.. today your bill could come to a grand total of about €70 which is about 35 per month.
its not great! but its most definitly and major improvement for people to gain untheadered internet access.

ednwireland

IS THIS ALL WE GET

after waiting all this time we get shafted again take the choice utv with telephony (nothing against it but i WILL NOT sign up for a carrier preselect system until the company will guarantee my line problems will be managed by that company i have seen too many people suffer because everyone always blames each other when theirs a problem and i can't afford be bothered to go round that loop again maybe this is just a donegal problem but i would like someone to commit to this)

and the call charges these packages will only save me few euros a month on internet access so i am now trying to work out my best option (currently 30 a month roughly with lots of clock watching).

eshatbt what a joke another cutting edge package

HOW COME FREESERVE ANYTIME IS €21 a month for unlimited
is this really all irelandoffline have to show for years of campaigning !!!!!

it makes you want to puke shafted again, Eircon have a lot to answer for the sooner we can introduce real competition into this market the better soory to be so down on this but it is a complete joke although better than nothing it is not a massive leap forward i was expecting

MDR

ednwireland,

Is this venting making you feel any better ? You can stamp your feet and complain loudily all you like but its not going to help.
What was the massive leap forward you where expecting, 180 hrs of internet access over dialup is quite alot, 6hrs a day for €25.

Ok €4 more than Freeserve, and not the same number of hours but coming in spitting distance of it ? And there is nothing to be gained by presuring the FRIACO issue much futher ...

This is what IOFFL has been waiting for, this is what will get the large majority of people online, this is internet for the masses. This may not be what you personally have been waiting for, but this is a huge step forward in selling the internet to the people, especially low volume deals like the €9.99 for 30hrs.

You could always go with the esat deal of €45 for 260 hours

BoneCollector

is this really all irelandoffline have to show for years of campaigning !!!!!

who said the fight was over!?

Round 1 Ireland offline
Ding"

Matfinn

Seriously lads and lasses

If you spend more than 6 hours of your day on the net you need to get out more. That cant be good for anyone spending that amount of time on a computer. If you need always on access or you want to download a load of stuff on an unsupervised computer then get broadband.

Matt

pete

Originally posted by Matfinn
Seriously lads and lasses

If you spend more than 6 hours of your day on the net you need to get out more. That cant be good for anyone spending that amount of time on a computer. If you need always on access or you want to download a load of stuff on an unsupervised computer then get broadband.

Matt

Oh my God!

Wow!

I should get broadband!

Jesus like why didn't I think of that?

Maybe after all four DSL suppliers telling me my line has failed, after NTL not supplying cable access in my area and while I wait for IBB to get the finger out (after they've already told me they don't think i'll be in range) I should just stump up the €1,500 satellite set up charge?

In other news - "People Downloading 100mb+ Service Packs Don't Actually Sit There Watching Their Computer For 6 Hours At A Time" shocker!

Lemming

Kudos to UTVIP for getting this product out the door. It's been a long time coming, and I was personally expecting it to be 5 euro dearer then it is


Now, I'm going to say "this" once more and then give up in despair:

---

Many people are complaining bitterly that they wont be able to use dial-up constantly every day. Dial-up internet is NOT designed for this kind of use, yet I get the impression that many people are saying;

"right. I can't get BB, but I can get dial-up for 24.99 a month, so Im' going to use it like it's BB"

Fine. Go ahead. Just don't surprised when your ISP either starts billing you extra or kicks you off the service.

As has been pointed out by martin-utvi, many of the 24/7 ISPs in the UK are very difficult to get onto because of people using the above attitude.

It boils down to this fundamental point. 24/7 flat-rate dial-up does not equate to 24/7 always-on. It states that you can connect at any time night or day and not fear incurring a per-minute phone bill.

I would also agree with MDR in that there is not much more mileage to be gained from the FRIACO bandwagon. It's a 20th century tool that we should have had long ago.

At least the Irish ISPs are being upfront about usage. Bandwidth starts costing money somewhere, and if even a sizeable number of an ISPs customers started abusing a flat-rate product, the ISP'd be forced to either restrict the service, increase prices, or fold.

YES, it sucks. But that's the deal for the time being until a certain telco pulls the finger out and sorts out their network. Abusing a lesser service is only going to make matters worse beyond the short-term.

Martin-UTVi

Jesus like why didn't I think of that?

I know how frustrating it is not being able to get broadband. But we do have in place mechanisms (albeit at a cost) for users who wish to go over the 180hour limit. And there is always PAYG for long downloads etc.. What I think I am getting at here is that for users who currently cannot get broadband, there are dialup access methods available that will get them online 24 hours a day, 31 days a month.........BUT it will cost you more money! We could certainly sell a product guaranteeing a dedicated dialup port for each user subscribing to the service, but the price would be huge

mechanima

So, ok Martin...

Why can't we pay you a higher flatrate for a relatively few more hours?

A lot of people seem to come in at under 250 hours not 24/7...your records must show this...so why not a third tier to accomodate us? Within a higher limit?

Or, why can't we pay you a little more for a reduced rate over the 180 hours? Like "Peaksaver"?

I know 24/7 is out of the question as dial up, but I think the figures chosen are unrepresentative of the market...

Personally I would have thought something more like:

€10 = 30 hrs
€20 = 100 hrs
€35 = 250 hrs

OR why can't we pay for a block of extra hours IN ADVANCE (because part of the economics of operating flat rate cost effectively rely on advance payment) at a flat rate...

Perhaps €10 for 50 extra hours? Make a lot of people VERY happy.

(Speaking of "Advance Payment" what will be happening to the rebate from people like me who will have ALREADY paid one month's UTVIP and "Peaksaver" in ADVANCE, for July, before migrating?)

As things stand I may be paying you as much or even more than with UTVIP and peaksaver...

I am in a rural area...BB may not happen in my lifetime here..

G

Martin-UTVi

Why can't we pay you a higher flatrate for a relatively few more hours?

Friad I'll have to leave that one - its obviously something we have looked into and something we will continue to keep looking into.

but I think the figures chosen are unrepresentative of the market

We've obviously been working on this product and associated details for some time, and we are confident that at 180 hours we'll be appealing to the majority of the market. In fact average FRIACO use in the UK sits around 34 hours, and less than 1% of UK internet dialup users access the internet for more than 150 hours per month. To be honest, anything above 180 hours is appealing to an extemely small quantity of people. We are doing everything we can within the telecoms framework - any more and the service just isn't commercially viable for us. Please remember that as part of a plc and to ensure continuous service (:) ), we can't be in a position where the service runs at a loss.

mechanima

***
In fact average FRIACO use in the UK sits around 34 hours, and less than 1% of UK internet dialup users access the internet for more than 150 hours per month. To be honest, anything above 180 hours is appealing to an extemely small quantity of people.
***

Martin,

I don't want to seem contentious, but I think you'll find the audit capacity of your billing system will tell you more about IRISH usage patterns, which is all that counts here, and I think the picture is probably very different...perhaps with users clustered around 80-100hrs and again around 200-250hrs.

Not least because the very different demographic profile, particularly in terms of age and availability of public transport (has a marked bearing on chosen leisure activities in certain age-groups who WOULD be relatively high users). A far higher proportion of the population is rural and the workforce is more inclined to international migration (which increases usage in several ways).

(Besides, if only 1% of users are on the net for over 150 hours there wouldn't be a lot of risk of needing any extra dedicated lines to introduce a third chargeband ...)

I also do not understand why "Peaksaver" has to be discontinued, that would make a great deal of difference, and HAS to be cost effective.

What UTV chooses to do NOW will have a serious bearing on the market share they sustain in the future.

Understand, I am not expecting anything for nothing, nor blaming UTV for price, which is fair, as far as it goes, but the selection of charge bands will leave a high proportion of users "between a rock and a hard place".

G

Nyum Nyum

Martin,

What should I do? I use UTVip already (the 150 hours thing) and am waiting to hear back from UTV about Broadband (I got an email last week saying I had passed the first round of tests).

Is it worth me hanging on to UTVip and see if I can get Broadband or do I migrate to UTVxl anyway just in case?

Martin-UTVi

but I think you'll find the audit capacity of your billing system will tell you more about IRISH usage patterns, which is all that counts here, and I think the picture is probably very different...perhaps with users clustered around 80-100hrs and again around 200-250hrs.

No, our ROI UTVip stats match the UK ones par for par. I quoted the UK figures as an indication that dialup internet users who use >150 hours are an extreme minority. Bear in mind most of the boards users will probably not mind being categorised as "hardcore geeks" (I obviously include myself in that description). Obviously the feedback within this forum will be biased towards heavy net usage (like asking who prefers the colour black at a gothic convention). Similarly if I was to stand in Grafton St and ask 100 random people (avoiding the trinity students ) I'm sure we'd get a figure biased towards far lower usage.

Apart from this forum, we are not getting any feedback to suggest that 180 hours is not adequate.

Malcolm

Originally posted by mechanima
(Speaking of "Advance Payment" what will be happening to the rebate from people like me who will have ALREADY paid one month's UTVIP and "Peaksaver" in ADVANCE, for July, before migrating?)G

To clarify - your May bill has the advance payment for June and the call charges for May - we take the money around the 17th of the month. Therefore in theory you do not really pay a month in advance you pay approx 3 weeks in arrears and one week in advance. This is why migrations will occur on the 1st of July so that your June bill will have June call charges and an advance charge for July at the new lower rate.

mechanima

***
Apart from this forum, we are not getting any feedback to suggest that 180 hours is not adequate.
***

Martin,

May I respectfully remind you that this forum is where UTV was launched, and where most UTVIP users originate, if only indirectly?

If the number of people requesting more hours is as negligable as you claim then it would be a ridiculously cheap PR exercise to GIVE us those extra hours...(it might even be cost-free when the redundant hours on 180 hour users are taken into account)...

At a realistic cost to user, of course.

G

DeVore

I'd classify Martin as a hard-core geek ... *sticks out tongue*

Seriously though. Look, FRIACO is a seriously FUKED product.

UTV are doing what they can to patch over the shortcomings (with the dial around thing and the hours-cap to curtail hogs etc).

The genuine truth is, they cant whitewash a crap wholesale product into a decent offering. Nolimits tried that and the lessons were learned.

All the rest is detail guys.... we need to fight on the bigger-picture front.


DeV.

MDR

mechanima

I think in fairness Martina has answered this question to best of his ability ... and no despite what you might believe most of UTVIP customers are generated by TV advertising ....

Martin-UTVi

I think in fairness Martina has

Look.....I'm really sorry about the "hardcore-geek" line.....:)

Ruu_Old

Well done everyone on coming this far things can only get better (as D-Ream) said hehe. Im not a UTV customer but maybe in future. Keep up the good work all, and hopefully this will be a start of some competition in internet access

BoneCollector

Okay. im going to be the bad guy here and say..
anyone that seriously thinks this utiv product is not enoungh given our current climate, is being selfish, short sighted and would be a potential abuser of the service and wants all the cherry cake for themselves regardless of consequences to anyone else. :ninja:

Giblet

I just want to know why cant they offer the 300 hrs deal when others can offer us roughly the same as UTV without us taking up our voice calls with them.
Eg IOL-Anytime, offering 180 hours for 30 euro (or 20 euro per month if you sign up befre the end of july)

And a whole host of other ISP's seem to be offering the same thing.

I just want to know why, after i changed over to UTV for telephony for the fact they provided the 150 hours service, they cant offer something better than the "competition" seems as we still have to take up telephony with them.

Im sure I could get by with 180 hours, but it will be tought considering the amount of work I do from home, and the amount of file uploads I have to do. And no I cannot or will never be able to get DSL.

I wouldn't mind upgrading to say a 35 euro package to get that many hours!

sceptre

Originally posted by Giblet
I just want to know why, after i changed over to UTV for telephony for the fact they provided the 150 hours service, they cant offer something better than the "competition" seems as we still have to take up telephony with them.

I'm not currently a UTV customer but it seems that they're offering two things that Esat (in particular) don't seem to be offering:

1. They're a fiver a month less (the Esat "even cheaper" deal is only for a few months)
2. They don't have a user:modem contention ratio at all - you should never get an engaged tone when you try to dial up. This second one is as a direct consequence of taking up the telephony package and it's something anyone who's experienced regular engaged tones (any NoLimits users reading?) should regard as a great benefit.

flamegrill

I've checked my dial-up records for the last 6 months of UTVip, and the most i've been online was last month which reached around 170 hours, obviously I paid the difference. Thats not a typical month though, the average is around 138 hours accross the 6 months which I'd class as normal-ish use

I work 18 hours a day so I come home from a day job and work at another, the second just happens to be internet based. I don't play games, I don't download at home. 180 hours is in short, excellent.

My 2c,

Paul who is waiting for eircom to "enable" his exchange (again )

(this month I've used 147 hours online so far not including this dialup- session.)

Paddy20

When I try having a look at what Eircoms flat-rate offerings now are. I receive an access FORBIDDEN NOTICE, stating you do not have permission to access this page?..

You would think I do not like them, or their dirty rat.

Am I the only one receiving this message?..

As of this moment I do not have a clue what fixed rate Internet access packages Eircom are offering!.

Paddy20

Ruu_Old

Eircom havent released any details of their flat rate package yet as far as i know....