ComReg says that Eircom has failed to implement Port Transfer

yellum · 12-12-2003 7:56pm #1

Communications Regulator ComReg on Friday said that Eircom has failed to implement a process known as Port Transfer, which facilitates retail broadband competition. Port transfer is a process which allows Eircom to move a customer's DSL line from one operator to another without a change of physical wiring in the Eircom network, thus saving time and hassle if a subscriber wants to switch.

ComReg said that negotiations over the matter began in August 2002, but ComReg said it was "disappointed" to find that after a "considerable period of time" this process is still not available. The regulator said it was now obliged to direct the introduction of this process.

What limp words. Do something worthwhile ffs !

We know there are some good people in Comreg who want change to happen but they are being smothered with all this idling from upper management.

shinzon · 12-12-2003 8:06pm

DISAPPOINTED

Christ comreg wheres your flippin teeth, dont ask them nicely to introduce the service, get round there with 20 stone guys with baseball bats and kick there damn nuts in until they do it

I never heard the likes of it

"Please Mr Eircom, we would be awfully obliged, no really we would, if your just please, and in your own time, no rush, say mebbe 6 months time would do, could you see our self clear to introduce, ohh did we say introduce, we actually and no offense meant here, think about , not even think about, possibly an inkling, oh no thats going to far, we didnt mean inkling, we meant a pasing thought of actually putting this idea into a committee, just so it looks as if you mebbe you might do it sometime very soonish"

dear sweet jesus eircom must be laughing all the way to the fat cat bank

Shin

dahamsta · 12-12-2003 8:13pm

Was just about to post this. We give Eircom grief - deservedly so - for not doing their homework, but if anything Comreg is worse. We've watched the organisation now for four or five years, and it's the same thing over and over again: "We set Eircom a deadline and they didn't pay attention, now we're going whupass on them." And then they don't of course. It's like a bad sitcom with the same storyline every week. Yes, they have to regulate on an ongoing basis, but is there no long-term plan in there /at all/? Do we have to send Daddy Aherne in to teach them this?

Pathetic.

adam

Yoda · 12-12-2003 8:22pm

Gosh. You three are all worked up.

nahdoic · 12-12-2003 8:48pm

http://www.comreg.ie/_fileupload/publications/ComReg03148.pdf

Draft Decision No. 2
ComReg directs that eircom puts in place workaround processes to facilitate the
transfer of ports no later than 10 calendar days from the date of the Direction.
At this time eircom shall be able to accept OAO orders for the feature and shall
be able to implement the transfer within 7 calendar days of the order. No
charge for the development or operation of this manual process should be levied
on the OAO as an OAO will have associated costs of working to an interim
process which should by now reasonably have been developed by eircom. This
interim process shall allow the transfer of a customer from eircom to an OAO,
not from an OAO to eircom and all reasonable efforts shall be undertaken by
eircom to coordinate the transfer with the OAO in question. This interim
process shall not allow any retail win back processes by eircom. This process
should remain in place until the final product is in place and agreed by ComReg
and OAOs.

I like the fact that ComReg are being very specific about "calendar days" and not "working days". I also especially like "This interim process shall not allow any retail win back processes by eircom". It's like - we know what your like lads, and we're not taking crap this time.

nahdoic · 12-12-2003 8:54pm

No charge for the development or operation of this manual process should be levied
on the OAO as an OAO will have associated costs of working to an interim
process which should by now reasonably have been developed by eircom.

I also like this one. You jerked us about - now you can manually take the orders at no extra cost. And don't even think about doing your winback attempts on them.

De Rebel · 12-12-2003 9:05pm

Originally posted by nahdoic
Draft Decision No. 2
and shallbe able to implement the transfer within 7 calendar days of the order.

Thats hardly very ambitious!! They should have been given 7 calander hours to do it.

nahdoic · 12-12-2003 9:15pm

and then eircom would have taken ComReg to the high court over it and won. That wouldn't be very clever now would it?

yellum · 12-12-2003 9:19pm

Originally posted by Yoda
Gosh. You three are all worked up.

We should be sent to work in Comreg then because in fairness they need to come off the valium or learn to give a toss.

yellum · 12-12-2003 9:20pm

Originally posted by nahdoic
and then eircom would have taken ComReg to the high court over it and won. That wouldn't be very clever now would it?

But they go to court over any decision anyway that might make them be competitive.

Ripwave · 12-12-2003 9:20pm

Originally posted by nahdoic
and then eircom would have taken ComReg to the high court over it and won. That wouldn't be very clever now would it?

Why would a court find in eircoms favour over a 7 hour limit, but not a 7 day limit? Other phone companies can do it. I'm pretty sure that Eircom can do it if it's some eircom rep standing on your doorstep who calls in to get you switched over there and then.

They can do it in 7 hours. They just don't want to. (And given the shambles that ESAT seems to be, ESAT probably don't want them to do it in 7 hours either, because it'll take ESAT another 7 days to realize it's been done, and send the modem out!).

nahdoic · 12-12-2003 9:29pm

I would say eircom could convince a court that they needed more than 7 hours in order to accomplish it.

Of course they could do it in 7 hours - they could probably do it in a matter of seconds if they had the right systems in place.

De Rebel · 12-12-2003 9:35pm

Originally posted by nahdoic
and then eircom would have taken ComReg to the high court over it and won. That wouldn't be very clever now would it?

This is the 21st century. The objective of port transfer is that the changeover should be "flick of a switch"/"click of an icon" - 7 second activities. 7 hours would be more than generous. 7 days is ridiculous.

This is a key enabler for effective competition.

That fact that eircom probably send a van full of men around to the exchange to fiddle with the wires and make the tea and use the effort and expense as an excuse for even longer delays is irrelevant. They are obliged to provide port transfer. They have failed to provide port transfer. And they should pay the price for failure.

To misquote that Dennis Healey, "being savaged by Comreg is like being savaged by a dead sheep"

spongebob · 12-12-2003 9:48pm

Ripwave · 12-12-2003 10:18pm

Originally posted by nahdoic
I would say eircom could convince a court that they needed more than 7 hours in order to accomplish it.

But you don't think they could convince the court that it would take more than 7 days?

7 days is as arbitrary a figure as 7 hours. It's a task that supposed to be done in software, by telling the network to reroute the packets. It only takes seconds to do, once eircom stop being obstructive about it.

bk · 12-12-2003 10:35pm

You are all missing the point here.

Now that Eircom has been forced to do this manually for free (which costs lots of money), they will suddenly find that they can in fact can do it automatically and that they just didn't realise it was there all along. Then it really will take them only a few button clicks and a few minutes.

I just hope that when Eircom do get the automatic system working, that ComReg reviews and reduces the alloted time, to ensure Eircom don't abuse it (waiting until the tenth day to click on the icon, etc.)

ComReg says that Eircom has failed to implement Port Transfer

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