Flat-Rate by the back door

XDA

Sounds to me like EsatBTs announcement of €25.00 per month flat-rate for all calls within Ireland enables true flat-rate internet access by default at the same rate ??

Or am I missing something here ??

XDA

seamus

The only thing is:

for up to an hour each call

So, I'm probably thinking that you don't get cut off after an hour, instead you get charged at normal rates once the call goes over an hour (interestingly, I couldn't find anything in the T&C's about it). So unless you want to find some program that cuts you off every 59 minutes and reconnects you, you're better off with one of the internet flat rate packages.

You'll probably also find that 1892 numbers aren't included in the flat rate, and since most ISPs have removed their walled gardens and are almost fully migrated to 1892, you'd be lucky.

Standard internet flat rate is less hassle it would seem

dieselfreak

Eircom and Esat were on Newstalk106 @8:45am today.. this new package came up in the discussion... It doesn't include Internet calls.

Its been five years since the Telco industry went private in Ireland, hence this interview.

Esat acused Eircom of strangling competition by keeping broadband wholsale prices high.... Eircom say they need to make money somewhere.

Quite a bit of other stuff covered.

Esat came over well.

raster

Originally posted by XDA
Sounds to me like EsatBTs announcement of €25.00 per month flat-rate for all calls within Ireland enables true flat-rate internet access by default at the same rate ??

Or am I missing something here ??

XDA

Are any ISP's still using local/national numbers or
have they all switched to 1892/1890?

Are such "local" calls covered in this scheme?

De Rebel

Originally posted by dieselfreak
Esat came over well.

Talking the Talk was always ESAT's strength.

The Brigadier

I know if you use O2 as your ISP you get a local dial up number.

vibe666

Originally posted by raster
Are any ISP's still using local/national numbers or
have they all switched to 1892/1890?

Are such "local" calls covered in this scheme?

there are always local numbers attached to the 1891/2/3 numbers, as they are just there for forwarding purposes. depending on where you are the exchange will forward you on to the nearest POP.

I know eircom.net has a list of local pop numbers although you'll need a subscription account to access them as they will require a username & password, although you won't get the subscription discount dialling those numbers.

oscarBravo

Originally posted by dieselfreak
Eircom say they need to make money somewhere.

The highest line rental in Europe isn't good enough for them?

vinnyfitz

here

It says "The €25 charge includes VAT and at the moment does not cover internet or international calls."

I'm not sure how can they enforce this from either a technical or regulatory perspective. OK so you either log off every 59 minutes or get screwed - but can they totally exclude internet access numbers?

seamus

Originally posted by vinnyfitz
here

It says "The €25 charge includes VAT and at the moment does not cover internet or international calls."

I'm not sure how can they enforce this from either a technical or regulatory perspective. OK so you either log off every 59 minutes or get screwed - but can they totally exclude internet access numbers?

Well they can exclude 1893, 1892 & 1891 nos, which will eliminate a whole lot of internet users. Any other local POP numbers being used by people will be slowly weeded out and excluded, I'd say.

vinnyfitz

Of course, what the journos don't seem to have noticed in the spin here is that calls to mobiles are also excluded. I thought it sounded to good to be true.

At the press conference they seme to have said they might include internet access later.

molinaalexis

€25-a-month phone bill to cause a buzz


FAMILIES who run up hefty phone bills can now talk all they like for €25 a month.

The bill includes VAT and will cover unlimited local and national calls to landlines in any part of Ireland, including the North.

Esat BT says its Advantage PLUS service will provide many households with considerable savings on their phone bills. Up to 65pc of the average phone bill is made up of local and national calls.

The offer, which comes on the fifth anniversary of the deregulation of the telecoms market, is open to anyone with a landline and, while it does not cover calls that last for over an hour, customers may hang up before the hour is up and call the number again.

The offer, which is not limited to Esat lines, does not include line rental or internet calls. But the company says internet calls may be included very shortly.

It is also not ruling out the possibility of expanding the package to include international calls or of opening it up to the business sector.

A spokesperson for the company hailed the offer as revolutionising the home phone market.

Nicola Anderson

dieselfreak

Originally posted by oscarBravo
The highest line rental in Europe isn't good enough for them?

Dont get me wrong.. I wasnt defending Eircom.. far from It I despise them so much I actually turn off the radio when thier adverts are played.

vinnyfitz

Originally posted by molinaalexis
€25-a-month phone bill to cause a buzz


FAMILIES who run up hefty phone bills can now talk all they like for €25 a month.

The bill includes VAT and will cover unlimited local and national calls to landlines in any part of Ireland, including the North.

...

Nicola Anderson

Molina Alexis, Could you quote what publication you are drawing from from when you post media items? Thanks

oscarBravo

Originally posted by dieselfreak
Dont get me wrong.. I wasnt defending Eircom..

Yeah, I knew that - sorry if I seemed to be picking on you.

Ripwave

Originally posted by vinnyfitz
Molina Alexis, Could you quote what publication you are drawing from from when you post media items? Thanks

It's right there on the front page of the Irish Independent .

Just above the ad for eircom!

Tazzle

God, I'd love if international calls were included, it'll be a big load off my bill.

iwb

Mr. Taz, while you are waiting for international calls to be included, try out www.skype.com. Get the people you call internationally to download it too. I tried a friend in Sydney the other day and the quality was more than acceptable. It works with dialup too apparently though I haven't tried it.

Urban Weigl

I recommend SIPPhone, especially if you have a few people internationally whom you call a lot. It will require a DSL, cable or other broadband connection (though I have found that it actually works on 64k ISDN, too).

Assuming both your connections are fine, the quality should be at least as good as a normal telephone! The address is: www.sipphone.com

fatherdougalmag

What sort of damage does it do to your download/upload allowance (a.k.a cap)?

eirebhoy

I am using UTVxp but when its busy I use 6496101. Its Eircom's Internet number, I wonder would would that work with Esat but that 1 hour thing is crap as I would like leave downloads on overnight. I wonder why it doesn't cover calls over 1 hour long, if you can hang up and ring back why are they doing this?

wexfordman

Probably to stop you doin exactly that.....

wexfordman

fatherdougalmag

Just on the VoIP thread, BT are now offering the service. STG£7.50 a month for as many one-hour UK landline off-peak calls as you want.

Ripwave

Originally posted by fatherdougalmag
Just on the VoIP thread, BT are now offering the service. STG£7.50 a month for as many one-hour UK landline off-peak calls as you want.

Interesting - I wonder will Esat start offering that here? They could cannibalize all sorts of phone revenue from eircom with it, especially at that price, though they might drive the uptake of eircom BB!

Urban Weigl

Originally posted by Ripwave
Interesting - I wonder will Esat start offering that here? They could cannibalize all sorts of phone revenue from eircom with it, especially at that price, though they might drive the uptake of eircom BB!

I know this is probably obvious, but since it is a VoIP service, you could take this with you to Ireland, or anywhere else in the world, assuming you have a broadband connection. This could also possibly allow you to get a UK telephone number (+44) in Ireland.