Ahern proposes independent co-location facilities near eircom COs

zz03

Ahern moves to speed up broadband access
Tuesday, September 16 12:04:12

(BizWorld)

Communications Minister Dermot Ahern today moved to speed up competition in the delivery of cheaper broadband internet in Ireland.

Ahern told the Global Leaders Forum in Rome that he is to investigate the establishment of new cheaper access points to local telephone exchanges which would end control of phone lines remaining in the hands of one player.

He said that the establishment of what are called independent co-location facilities or Community Broadband Exchanges (CBE) beside existing facilities would play a major role in driving internet competition.


"I am presently considering the establishment of independent co-location facilities separate from the incumbent telephone exchanges throughout Ireland. These would be introduced on a phased basis," he said.

These would offer unrestricted access to the local loop at the price set by the regulator. They would obviate the need for each operator to construct their own centres and would end the need to rent space in the incumbent exchange.

Ahern also said they would drive competition by allowing customers switch between operators in a matter of seconds by changing a customer connection within the facility.

"In a telecoms market without real cross-platform competition and where local loop unbundling has not sufficiently delivered, I am prepared to step in to assist the market," Ahern said.

"The bottom line is this - incumbents focus on shareholders, Governments and Ministers must focus on citizens and the broader economic picture. To that end intervention is justified," he added.

The Minister welcomed recent moves by Eircom and Esat to cut connection fees for DSL Broadband but stressed that monthly DSL broadband fees are still too high.


http://www.businessworld.ie/livenews.htm?a=761463;s=rollingnews.htm

MDR

someone should FYI him about line quality.

Paddy20

Well, looks as though Dermot has finally got the message, and is even prepared to grasp the nettle. Hope Eircom are listening to that very clear decisive statement of reality. At last.

P.

DEmeant0r

oho, finally this country is doing something right, Ireland might get back up there in the cheaper BB country yet.

flamegrill

How many years will it take though? God knows is the answer, positive feedback but unless something is started NOW, it wont make a shagging difference.

Politicians allways play on this sort of thing:
politician "yeah new motorway from dublin to waterford"
guy "when's that starting?"
politician "End of the decade, but vote for me now"

Same shíte will happen with this, I'd love for it to happen, but deep down I know its bullshít.

Fúcking government are wasters.

Paul

seamus

Yay and hmmm.

Fantastic idea, but this is Ireland. As flamegrill says, how long will it take? Dermot has done some good work so far, but after he's 'investigated' the possibility, how long before a consultation paper gets published? Then how long before it's approved by whomever? How long again until rollout begins?

Who's to say that by the time the next election rolls around, the next minister won't just bin the plan, if it hasn't started already?

/me remains sceptical

spongebob

1,100 exchanges in Ireland, €500k a pop for these buildings on average.

€550,000,000 the lot. The fibre rings will swallow up about €100m on phase one alone.

I see tax breaks on these as a good incentive, like the car parks one. For one year only of course, get them built fast .

Moriarty

/me echos what flamegrill and seamus have already said.

If it happens, it'll be a good thing. If it happens and if it doesn't take 15 years to complete.

zz03

Originally posted by Muck
1,100 exchanges in Ireland, €500k a pop for these buildings on average.

€550,000,000 the lot. The fibre rings will swallow up about €100m on phase one alone.
.

Has muck got a new job lately?

They don't need buildings for these co-location units do they?

Start off with a good old street cabinet (like a traffic signal control box) adjacent to the eircom CO. Run a few hundred pairs into it from the MDF. When a subscriber signs up for non-eircom DSL, two pairs are used between the cabinet and the MDF - one leading to the switch side of the MDF and the other leading to the subscriber's side. All it needs is an ESB supply and external meter. When one cabinet is full (of the new super small inexpensive DSLAMS you were talking about recently), a new cabinet is commissioned.

Eircom's install would involve no more than connecting the two copper pairs running into the external cabinet to the appropriate subscriber's termination on the MDF.

Keep it simple!

zz..

bk

Originally posted by Muck
1,100 exchanges in Ireland, €500k a pop for these buildings on average.

€550,000,000 the lot. The fibre rings will swallow up about €100m on phase one alone.

I see tax breaks on these as a good incentive, like the car parks one. For one year only of course, get them built fast .

Muck, might he be just talking about co-locating with the regional ADSL pops (of which they are 11) or perhaps the primary exchange (of which I believe there are 40 odd)?

zz03

Originally posted by bk
Muck, might he be just talking about co-locating with the regional ADSL pops (of which they are 11) or perhaps the primary exchange (of which I believe there are 40 odd)?

Unfortunately the DSLAM and therefore co-location has to be at the RSU or MSU serving the customer in this case.

zz..

dahamsta

One suggestion that was mooted at the LLU Forum was portacabins in the car parks...

adam

spongebob

Originally posted by zz03
Has muck got a new job lately?

They don't need buildings for these co-location units do they?

Start off with a good old street cabinet (like a traffic signal control box) adjacent to the eircom CO. When one cabinet is full (of the new super small inexpensive DSLAMS you were talking about recently), a new cabinet is commissioned.

Keep it simple!

You are quite right ZZ but I have a monetary interest in a weatherproof shed next to an exhange in th'wesht and would like to gouge the revenue at the higher marginal rate for 10 years

Street cabs would not be enough near larger exchanges (about 100 of them) but would suffice for the rest. A tax break from January 2004 could offer a scrappage for pub licences if they convert the premises into a co-lo, hows that for equitable.

A beehive with a battery in it would do some of the tiny ones.

I am more interested in how Dermot comes up with a systemic approach that is applicable nationwide. How about proving you lost money on Eircom shares before you can sign up to this investment scheme ? anyone ?

M

Qadhafi

Plans to speed up broadband unveiled
Ailish O'Hora
The Irish Independent
17-Sep-2003
******************
COMMUNICATIONS Minister Dermot Ahern has announced new proposals designed to speed up the delivery of broadband services through the introduction of direct competition to Eircom's local exchanges, know as the 'local loop'.

Speaking at the Global Leaders Forum in Rome, he said his department is investigating the establishment of new cheaper access points to local telephone exchanges that would, in effect, end control of phone lines remaining in the hands of Eircom.

"In a telecoms market without real cross-platform competition and where local loop unbundling has not sufficiently delivered, I am prepared to step in and assist the market," he said.

"The bottom line is this - incumbents focus on shareholders, governments and ministers must focus on citizens and the broader economic picture. To that end, intervention is justified," he said.

Eircom would not comment on the development that would end the need for competitors like Esat BT or MCI to rent space in the incumbent's exchanges.

The Minister welcomed the recent moves by Eircom and Esat BT to cut connection fees for DSL broadband but stressed that monthly fees are still too high.

While the proposal was welcomed by Eircom competitors and telecoms group ALTO, other commentators questioned the viability of the proposal and the potential cost to the Government.

But they added that the announcement was a signal to Eircom of how committed Mr Ahern is to having effective competition in the broadband market.

Early estimates would suggest that the construction of an exchange would cost about €130,000.

Meanwhile, the Commission for Communications Regulation says it has received 128 applications from 12 applicants for the first round of the new fixed wireless access local area licences at the 3.5 GHz band which allows for the provision of broadband services without using the local loop.

Applicants included companies like Irish Broadband, Chorus Communications and Fulnett.

A second phase of the process will start after the first licences have been awarded.

iwb

This is somewhat perplexing. First of all, how many of these will be built? There are over 1,000 Eircom exchanges.
Next, an OLO will still have to go into the Eircom exchange to do the cross connect so it isn't separating it completely.
And ultimately, there is still the problem of backhaul. Unless there is an alternate source, an OLO will still have to get it from Eircom.
Can anyone explain the logic of this to me?
BTW, I am not trying to knock the idea, just want to understand how it will work in practice.

flamegrill

This was posted about yesterday, it will happen somewhere between now and the end of the NEXT decade. Although as i already said I'd welcome it sooner with open arms

Paul

mike65

Frankly I'm amazed and sceptical. Firstly the government privatises the incumbant and then sits on its arse as said
company does its level best to stymie the competition and now they (the government) says enough is enough we'll build an alternative infrastructure. This is madness, all they need to do surely is frame the laws under which eircom opperate to allow unimpeeded competition. Not spend tax-payers money fixing regulatory failures....

Mike.

Moriarty

Threads merged.

flamegrill

Damn you and your merging

MDR

Move this thread to 'Market Policy Issues' please.

Dangger

There is a write up on this issue in today's Irish Times, by JAmie Smyth. There is little detail however on the plan which is described as allowing complete bypassing ofEircom's network which I cannot understand. Surely they need access to unbundled loops.

IOFFL are hoping to arrange a meeting witht eh relevant division within the DCMNR in October to investigate the plans further.

Urban Weigl

I was very skeptical at first (I still am actually), but in the absence of a strong regulator this may be the best possible solution.

Remember these "exchanges" probably will not be buildings, but rather outdoor cabinets or something similar to that.

Eurorunner

There is a write up on this issue in today's Irish Times, by JAmie Smyth.

Would be grateful if someone can post this?

iwb

Irish Times Friday, 19/09/03

Ambitions to be tech hub look silly in light of survey findings



The Republic is ranked 51st in terms of broadband penetration which is hardly likely to impress inward investors, writes Jamie Smyth,Technology Reporter

The Republic's ambitions to become a major technology hub looked somewhat foolish yesterday with the publication of an influential survey showing that the uptake of broadband is painfully slow.

Considerably less than one out of every 100 Irish citizens has currently subscribed to a broadband (high-speed internet) service, which is capable of transforming how people use their computers and technology.

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) ranks Ireland 51st in terms of broadband penetration behind developing nations such as Peru and Croatia, hardly the kind of record that will impress inward investors.

The figures detailed in the Birth of Broadband report may be based on 2002 statistics but with the estimated take-up of broadband currently standing at just above 10,000 users, many analysts are concerned that the Republic may miss the next wave of the technology revolution.

"It [the ranking] is a pretty damning indictment and flies in the face of the IDA's message that Ireland is a technology centre with dynamic and skilled technology workers," says Mr Enda Hardiman, founder of the Irish telecoms consultancy Hardiman Telecommunications.

"Broadband is very important for firms that are considering investing in a country because they need high bandwidth for their communications systems... it will be difficult to sustain the IDA's message without it."

Over the past two years IDA Ireland has consistently lobbied both the Government and the main telecoms firms to roll out broadband at low cost.

It has also admitted that the lack of broadband infrastructure in the regions is a factor preventing it from persuading firms to locate outside Dublin. Just this week internet firm eBay admitted infrastructure was one of the reasons it chose to locate in Dublin rather than accept a better grant package in Athlone.

Even though broadband is now available to 55 per cent of the population, the Government believes now that uptake is being hindered by high prices set in the Republic at about €50 per month.

The Minister for Communications, Mr Ahern, says people will subscribe to broadband when prices come down.

He blames the poor results from the ITU survey on the historical position in the Republic, which had a lot to do with the sale of Eircom, the former State-owned Telecom Éireann. Eircom has only recently started to roll out its broadband programme, says Mr Ahern, who is currently considering more Government intervention to boost availability of broadband and reduce prices.

"I will bring forward a package of measures designed to promote the uptake of broadband shortly and one of the elements will include proposals to build new facilities," he says.

The Government is already spending €60 million in 2003 and 2004 to build fibre rings around 19 key development towns in the regions, which will be made available to carriers, including Eircom, on an equal basis.

The new facilities now being considered by Mr Ahern would probably only benefit Eircom's competitors and enable them to bypass the Eircom telephone exchanges that are required to provide broadband.

The reluctance of incumbents such as Eircom to allow access to these exchanges - and associated lines to offer broadband services - is a major factor in stifling growth of broadband in Ireland and across Europe generally, according to the ITU.

Instead of opening up their infrastructure to competitors the former state monopolies, such as British Telecom and Eircom, have sought instead to make rivals buy their broadband products wholesale. The issue is a constant source of friction between Eircom, on one hand, and its rivals together with the telecoms regulator, Comreg, on the other.

Eircom's main competitor in the Republic, Esat BT, says that Eircom has frustrated its attempts to set up its own viable broadband service. "I'd like to invest more in Ireland but we need the certainty of regulation to justify these investments," Esat BT chief executive Mr Bill Murphy says.

Some observers believe regulatory failure is behind the Government's new activism in the telecoms arena. Not surprisingly, Esat BT supports the Government's proposal to invest in new facilities. It believes the new telecoms assets would enable it to provide broadband at cheaper prices to consumers.

But the Minister has provided few details of the new broadband plan ahead of a Cabinet meeting to discuss the issue.

His Department estimates that it would cost €130,000 to build a single co-location facility, and with more than 200 main Eircom exchanges the final bill may reach up to €30 million.

There is also an extremely sensitive political question over the viability of building an alternative telecoms infrastructure to Eircom's existing exchanges just a few years after the State sold the company in a public flotation.

But in a speech in Rome this week Mr Ahern set forth a strong ideological belief that governments should intervene in markets where "conditions of market failure or of sluggish market responsiveness" exist.

The clear implication of the Government's policy is that Eircom is frustrating the process of liberalisation. Key industry sources suggest the current legal battle between Eircom and the regulator over the cost of accessing its lines and a two year delay in launching broadband because of other regulatory disputes has forced the Government's hand.

Mr David McRedmond, Eircom's director of strategy, would not comment directly on the Government's proposed strategy yesterday, but defends Eircom's role in promoting internet and broadband in the Republic.

He blames the slow pace of Eircom's broadband rollout on the telecoms regulator who would not provide the firm with a broadcast licence in 2000, when it first sought to launch broadband. He also stresses the positive role Eircom is playing with the roll- out of broadband.

This week Eircom cut the price of its wholesale broadband product for competitors to spur demand. And despite competitors' complaints that they now face a "price squeeze" from Eircom's retail arm, the removal of €200 set-up charges should make the service more attractive.

But as the ITU survey results demonstrate, the situation is now critical with the Government facing embarrassment over its claim to be a European e-hub. Eircom's belated move to cut the cost of its wholesale prices could be a case of too little too late, to prevent the spectre of Government intervention in the market.

dahamsta

Over the past two years IDA Ireland has consistently lobbied both the Government and the main telecoms firms to roll out broadband at low cost.

Pity they kept so quiet about it. The IDA obviously doesn't believe in teamwork.

adam

Paddy20

Quote:- Irish Times Friday 19th September 2003,

"The new facilities now being considered by Mr Ahern would probably only benefit Eircoms competitors and enable them to bypass Eircom telephone exchanges " .

Oh, sweet Lord, sweet justice, Paddy gets on his knees and prays!.

Can it be true ?...

P.

Xian

I'll be in an interview with David Murphy of Newstalk 106 tomorrow at 1.30pm on this topic.

Eircom, Esat BT and Alto have declined (to date) an invitation to join.

Paddy20

How do I get to listen to Newstalk 106 tomorrow at 1.30pm, either online or by radio. As I live in Donegal I think I have too listen to this online ?..

Xian,

If Eircom, Esat BT and Alto have declined!, all the more time for you. Good luck.

P.

dahamsta

Paddy20: http://62.25.96.7/newstalk

EsatBT are all over the shop at the moment. I wonder what companies ALTO is made up of exactly?

So many questions. It's difficult to lay them out line by line, so please bear with me...

- It seems a given that these facilities will be interconnected with Eircom exchanges, but it's critical that OLO's be allowed unhindered access to local loops, and Eircom isn't going to like that one bit. How is the Department going to go about this? The amount of drawn-out High Court cases and severely compromised "deals" currently in effect have proven to us that regulation simply isn't working at this level, so is the Department going to draft legislation to force this upon the incumbent?

- By the Department's own reckoning this is going to cost a pretty penny. Has the Department of Finance agreed to set aside the required funds? Also, many of the rollouts in the first phase of the fibre rings project are moving ahead at an impressive pace, however information on the commencement of the second phase is next to nonexistant. If the Department is having difficulty budgeting for the fibre rings, how is it able to budget for this project?

- Where will these facilities be located, on a national level? Will they be installed near to the fibre rings, to enhance the last-mile delivery of this project? If so, isn't there a risk that this will enhance the digital divide still further? If not, how does the Department intend to solve the last-mile issue that will still exist after the fibre rings are completed? Again we come back to the loops, again we need answer as to how this situation is going to be improved.

I'm sure I have another question, I just can't think of it right now. Hopefully the Minister or a representative of the Department will turn up tomorrow, so I hope you'll be able to put some of these question to them Xian. If not, I hope you'll do the same if you make a submission to the Department on this subject.

adam

Paddy20

dahamsta,

Many thanks, just clicked on that link. Straight in to the studio live via my Windows Media Player. Very handy.

P.;)

Eurorunner

Thanks for posting the article iwb.

Over the past two years IDA Ireland has consistently lobbied both the Government and the main telecoms firms to roll out broadband at low cost.

We can only take their word for it - unless someone here can confirm this?

Even though broadband is now available to 55 per cent of the population...

...55%..whose figure is this exactly?


Look forward to listening to the interview xian, good luck:)