IrelandOffline News - Updated 18/11/2004

Moriarty

This thread will keep links to all recent announcements and news from the IrelandOffline committee. To chat about any of the announcements, follow the link in each of the posts. As more news comes through, this thread will be updated so if you want to keep bang up to date with all the happenings, it's suggested that you subscribe to this thread

Moriarty

Originally posted by Dangger
Christian Cooke chairman of Ireland Offline attended and chaired a discussion at the South West Regional Authority and the European Regional Information Society Association workshop on "Models for sustainable deployment of broadband in rural and peripheral regions", last Friday in Cahersiveen Co. Kerry.

Discussion

Moriarty

Originally posted by Dangger
IrelandOffline have been invited to address a group of TD's in the Dáil chamber on Wednesday the 22nd of October.

First Tuesday who run briefing sessions for TD's in Buswells Hotel have been invited into the Dail ante chamber by Ceann Comahairle Dr Rory O’Hanlon, and have asked Ireland Offline to make a presenation.

Ireland Offline will be making a presentation on the day as will HP and Axia. A lively and informal interaction between TD’s and the speakers usually ensues after the presentations.

Discussion

Moriarty

Originally posted by Dangger
Michael Megan, [snipped] and David Long today attended a meeting with officials from the Department of Communications who are working within the Telecoms Strategy Group (TSG).

Previoulsy IOFFL had met the group in June to discuss demand side issues, and today representations were made by IOFFL on what we deem to be important supply side issues.

A document outlining our responses to a comprehensive discussion document from the TSG which we discussed today will be made public shortly.

Discussion

Moriarty

Originally posted by bk
IrelandOffLine needs you help.

First of all, for those of you who don't know, I'm a Committee Member of IrelandOffLine.

Over the last few months, representatives from Eircom have given interviews on various newspapers and radio shows.
We in IOFFL often feel that these interviews are one sided and that they don't paint an accurate picture of the current broadband crisis here in Ireland.

Generally speaking Eircom refuse to appear on the same interview as an IOFFL representative
and therefore we don't get an opportunity to refute Eircoms claims or to tell our side of the story.

Therefore we need the help of all IOFFL members to counter this. We have seen in the past how, after Eircom have had a one sided interview in the press, IOFFL members wrote to the editor and journalist in question, pointing out the mistakes and a few weeks later a far more accurate and balanced article is published. This is fantastic and we in the IOFFL committee would like to see more of this happen in the future.

...

Discussion

Moriarty

Ireland Offline AGM 2004

The Ireland Offline AGM will be held on 17 July, beginning at 2:30 pm at the Royal Hoey Hotel, Mardyke St., Athlone.

...

Full Information

Discussion

sceptre

damien.m wrote:

I'm looking for everyones horror stories about getting Broadband or not getting it. I'm looking for as much detail as possible from anyone that's had a bad experience getting broadband.

Things like delays(12 weeks to get it), various faults and obstacles, who you had to communicate with before it got resolved. Many of you have posted your experiences here already and I'd appreciate it if you linked me to those posts.

I may also need your name and email address for proof that we are not making these stories up. If you want to send us on copies of email communications ad letters etc, please do so.

What IOFFL wants to do is to compile a report of the horror stories and distribute this report to the various Telcos, the press, Comreg and the Government.

Discussion

sceptre

jwt wrote:

A new survey has been created here for Ireland Offline.

This survey has been designed to collect relevant data to allow us present hard facts and figures to politicians, telcos and the media as well as for our own information.

Not all the questions are mandatory, but we would appreciate you taking the time and effort to fill it out as completely and honestly as possible.

Discussion

dahamsta

** The IrelandOffline Survey **

As was mentioned in the last newsletter, IrelandOffline has created a survey to help us gauge current views on internet access in Ireland as well as people's views on the IrelandOffline organisation itself. We appeal to you the members to fill out this survey. Using multiple choice style questions the survey also allows you to voice your opinions at length and provides the option to leave contact details too.

This survey is open to everyone in Ireland and not just those on this mailing list, so we would encourage you to forward the survey address to everyone you know. Friends, colleagues and anyone you feel should have their say on the current internet access situation.

Don't underestimate the impact that your answers will have. Your views are important and will directly affect the future internet access situation in this country, so please take 10 minutes and answer the survey at the following url:

http://irelandoffline.org/survey


** EGM Reminder **

The IrelandOffline Extraordinary General Meeting will take place on September 11th in Dublin. We would like to see a large turnout to this and if you can make it please attend. The future of IrelandOffline will be decided at the EGM. More details about venue will be available closer to the event. Please keep checking the website and the forum:

http://irelandoffline.org/
http://irelandoffline.org/forum


** Broadband Horror Stories **

Still can't get broadband even though Eircom and Comreg say it's as easy as pie to get? Or do you have broadband, but it was harder to get than Indiana Jones getting his hands on the Holy Grail? We want to hear your stories.

We are compiling these together and will be making a detailed report, which we will present to the Regulator and to the Government. If you have experienced trouble, now is not the time to hold your peace, now is the time to stand up and make your mark. Tell your story on the forum thread below, or email it to research@irelandoffline.org .

http://irelandoffline.org/horror


** Volunteers Wanted **

IrelandOffline needs volunteers to help with online research. We ask anyone that volunteers to give us 2-3 hours of their time. Just that small amount of time can help us quite a lot. If you wish to volunteer your time then email your contact details to research@irelandoffline.org stating that you want to help out.


** Last Newsletter **

In case you missed out on the last newsletter you can read it here:

http://irelandoffline.org/newsletter/040730

It covers:

. AGM Report
. Current Interim Committee Projects
. IrelandOffline EGM
. IrelandOffline Survey
. Photo Project
. Website Feedback


** Final Words **

The IrelandOffline Committee would like to thank all its members for their support and hopes to see you at the EGM.

.......................

damien

IrelandOffline September 2004 Newsletter

Hello everyone, my name is Martin Harran and some of you know me from the
earliest days of IrelandOffline and I am delighted to be reinvolved,
especially with all that is going on right now. The last few days have been
extremely hectic so you'll forgive me if some of the notes here are brief.

First of all, we had our EGM last Saturday and there was a unanimous vote
against the motion to disband and it was agreed that IOFFL should continue
in business. There was significant discussion on the direction that IOFFL
should adopt but none of it was significantly different from our current
day to day activities. The new committee has undertaken to bring forward
for discussion within the next 3 months a detailed proposal covering policy
and constitution; you will hear more about this later and have your chance
to contribute.

For the record, the members of the new committee are:

Gareth Pelly
John Timmons
Martin Harran
Eamonn Wallace
Seamus Ryan
[snipped]
Damien Mulley (Chairman)
Aidan Whyte
John Hackett

Elana Kehoe is continuing to help in an admin role.

IrelandOffline now has an exceptionally talented committee, all of whom
have been involved with IrelandOffline for some time, and we all look
forward to exciting times ahead.

The main focus of our activity over the last few weeks and days has been on
the media who are seriously buying into the Broadband story. We have
always had some success with the printed media and secondary radio stations
but now we have made the breakthrough into TV and mainstream radio.

Two weeks ago, Elana was interviewed on the 11.00 news on Network 2, last
week Damien took part in a discussion on the Dave Fanning Show on 2FM, on
Sunday we were interviewed in the Business Post and there was coverage of
the Broadband issue on the main RTE1 news bulletins this week. This week
we further learned that Reuters have published an article as well.

We have been particularly busy with Morning Ireland on RTE Radio 1 over the
last 4 days. Following an interview with Philip Nolan last Friday Morning
Ireland conducted a hard hitting piece about broadband on Tuesday,
including an interview with IrelandOffline. Morning Ireland then had David
McRedmond, Eircom's Commercial Director on Wednesday to respond to the
issues. Thursday had a representative from E-Net and today the Minister was
finally on to talk about Broadband.

You can read about these interviews on our forum here:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=186862 We'd urge you to
read them and then comment on them.

On Thursday there was an editorial in the Irish Times about the state of
broadband. It can be read here:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=187630 This editorial has
brought Broadband from just being an issue that would be covered in their
Technology section to being a mainstream issue. We further ask you to read
this and send in your comments to the Irish Times.

Interacting with the media is an important area where YOU can help. We
must keep this story live with the media, the best way we can achieve this
is by getting as many people as possible to write or email the radio, TV
programmes and newspapers when they do a piece on Broadband, congratulating
them on their coverage and advising them of any blatant
inaccuracies. Remember to ensure your facts are correct. Greater detail of
recent coverage with a list of email addresses and some tips have been
included at the end of this newsletter.

The downside of all this activity is that so much is happening so quickly
that we are finding it difficult to keep our members informed. If you can
access our forum at http://www.boards.ie/irelandoffline then you will find
a valuable resource for keeping up to date with breaking news plus a lot of
discussion on the issues. We are working on revamping our website to keep
it up to date but that will take a little time.


I would also remind you that our online survey is still open at
http://irelandOffline.org/survey if you have not yet taken part, please do
so now.

We are also still collecting Broadband Horror Stories - you can read
existing ones and contribute your own at http://irelandoffline.org/horror

Both the survey and the Broadband Horror Stories are important to our
continuing campaign.

A final point is that we realize that communication with our membership has
been somewhat haphazard over the last 12 months. We are determined to
avoid this in future and you will be hearing from us on a regular basis.

Thank you for your continued support

Martin Harran


Contact the Media: Tips

1) Keep your letter or email brief and to the point.
2) Praise them for taking an interest in the subject
3) Focus on no more than one or two points.
4) Pay attention to grammar and punctuation
5) Don't be abusive or use bad language
6) Try to deal in facts - if a telco has given an inaccurate figure,
give the correct figure and your source.
7) Tell your own story if it exposes shortcoming (e.g. line failures)
but again, try to keep it short

Recent TV/Radio Coverage and Contacts:


RTE News newsonline@rte.ie
1.00 News and 6.01 News 14th Sep (not available online)

Five Seven Live 57live@rte.ie
Friday 10th Sept Interview with Philip Nolan
http://www.redbrick.dcu.ie/~Dregin/57live-10-09-04.mp3

Morning Ireland morningireland@rte.ie
Tuesday 14th Sep Broadband Problems including interview with Damien Mulley
http://irelandoffline.org/files/media/mp3/040914-rte1-morningireland-mulley.mp3
(Also transcript on Boards forum)

Wednesday 15th September
David McRedmond from Eircom responds
http://irelandoffline.org/files/media/mp3/040915-rte1-morningireland-mcredmond.mp3
(Also transcript on Boards forum)

Dave Fanning Show dave@2fm.ie
Discussion on Broadband including Damien Mulley
http://filepile.davidoneill.net/ioffl/dave-fanning.mp3

jwt

LLU decision by ComReg disastrous for broadband in Ireland




In a statement today, Internet pressure group IrelandOffline berated the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) on their recent decision to fix the Unbundled Local Metallic Path (ULMP) price at EUR14.65 per month.

ULMP, the price other telcos pay the incumbent operator for access to each copper pair which connects homes and businesses with their nearest telephone exchange, is at the core of the Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) process. The telcos can then offer a large range of voice and data services to their customers utilising this copper line. LLU is internationally recognised as a key method of creating and sustaining true competition in the telecoms sector.

LLU pricing has been mired in legal battles between Eircom and ComReg for a number of years. This has created an unstable and unsuitable environment for other telcos to invest in. Most European and OECD countries have meanwhile progressed by lowering prices significantly and reforming the overall process to the benefit of new telco entrants.

"Eircom have bitterly contested any change to the byzantine LLU procedures which could simplify or cheapen the process of other telcos releasing true broadband products." IrelandOffline Chairman Damien Mulley said. "A simple and affordable LLU process is long overdue in this country. The Information Society Commission recognized the need for a reality-based LLU charge, the Oireachtas Committee on Broadband recognized it, the other telcos need it but ComReg have now effectively condemned LLU to obscurity."

IrelandOffline committee member John Timmons stated, "The fact that ComReg have been quoted as saying that the new price is going to energise the market is fantasy. It is in reality nothing but detrimental to an already weakened market. The regulator needs to genuinely facilitate competition and is performing a major disservice to broadband rollout in Ireland with their spin. The facts are obvious: Ireland is two years behind almost every other country with regards to broadband rollout. Guaranteeing the second highest LLU rental price until 2008 is not how the market becomes more competitive."

Timmons also noted the upcoming review of ancillary charges by ComReg: "ComReg is currently reviewing the charges for a bewildering array of services related to the LLU process. Currently, there are over 50 separate charges that a telco must pay before they enable one single exchange. It is IrelandOffline's expectation that these charges and services will be drastically simplified and reduced in price, to make up for the inadequate ULMP pricing that will be in use."

LLU was intended to be the primary mechanism for driving down prices and introducing competition in the market place. The failure to introduce an effective LLU framework represents a major disappointment by ComReg in respect of its core objectives to the detriment of both business users and consumers. IrelandOffline calls on the Minister to urgently review this abject failure and to use his prerogative of intervention to drive this essential and overdue change.

damien

IrelandOffline November Newsletter

Website: www.IrelandOffline.org
Forums: www.IrelandOffline.org/forum
Email: info@irelandOffline.org


Introduction from the Chairman:

It's been a while since our last newsletter at the end of September. In the intervening period we have had an exciting and busy time with IrelandOffline stepping up the pressure on multiple fronts. This newsletter will explain to you what we have been doing. Thank you for your continued support. You the membership are IrelandOffline's greatest asset.

Damien Mulley.

IrelandOffline in the News:

On Tuesday 26/10/2004 Prime Time on RTE aired a piece about Broadband in Ireland featuring our very own Martin Harran. A downloadable copy of this piece is available at http://60hud.com/videos/primetime.wmv Several issues were raised including local loop unbundling (LLU) and eircom's continued asset sweating of the network. The standard of journalism was high and we viewed a well balanced and greatly researched piece.

There is a thread about this here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=196415

On Wednesday Nov 17th Martin did a piece on TippFM about Broadband. A thread about it is here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=202280 and you can find a link to a recording of it there too.

Further to these we had letters in The Sunday Times, we were quoted in articles in the Sunday Business Post, we appeared a few times on the RTE News website, on SiliconRepublic.com and on ENN.ie. We are in almost daily contact with journalists now and have helped to improve the overall quality of news reports on broadband in Ireland. While we may not be quoted in every article about Internet access we are still consulted about them. You can help here too. A few of the contacts we have made with the press are as a result of our members. Keep writing to the papers and local radio about Broadband and get it on the agenda. Don't give up if you hear nothing back, they do read them.


Volunteers:

IrelandOffline wants to start kicking things up a gear and we really cannot do this without a lot of help from the membership. We've previously asked for your help and some have responded and the work you did for us was of great benefit. Again now we require help. We need 15 mins, an hour, whatever you can afford to give us every week. Email research@irelandOffline.org if you want to volunteer. More details available on this thread: http://pie.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=202602 including a letter from Trevor about volunteering.


Freedom of Information Requests:

To better understand how the telecoms environment works in Ireland we have been sending in requests for information to various groups. Sometimes we have found that organisations are unwilling to help us directly so our only method to access information has been via Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.

Our FOI request to ComReg on Local Loop Unbundling unearthed over 800 pages of documentation which we have being going through. FOI requests for DSL line fault rates, Functional Internet Access, split lines, and consumer complaints have also been submitted. Further information can be found at
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=196936

ComReg Consumer Conference

Comreg held its consumer conference last month and just like last year IrelandOffline was snubbed. The last time this happened we were told it was an oversight and were guaranteed it wouldn't happen again. This year we were not even supplied with a reason. We are still waiting to hear back. This is totally unacceptable for the regulator to ignore a large consumer group like IrelandOffline when helping the consumer is in the charter of ComReg. This snub from ComReg was not just a snub on the committee of IrelandOffline but our 2300 members and the general Internet consumer of Ireland. We are continuing to follow this up and hope to achieve an acceptable result.


Website:

Cathal has become our new webmaster and the site will be having an overhaul soon. If you want to give feedback about the website then visit this thread: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=202792 and let us know or email:research@irelandOffline.org. Even David McRedmond - Commercial Director of eircom visits our website. He told a recent Oireachtas Committee "IrelandOffline is a small, vocal group which is entitled to comment as it wishes. I suggest members look at their website to get a flavour of what they do." We'd like to thank David and everyone at eircom for promoting us and glad they are recognising us.


Our Survey:

Finally we are pleased to announce over 250 new members through the
IrelandOffline survey. The survey is available at
http://surveys.irelandoffline.org/survey.php?sid=17 and will close on
November 30th. Please take the time to complete the survey if you have
not already done so or pass details of the survey onto friends, family
or colleagues that you feel would be interested.

Thank you:

We'd like to thank the mods of the forum: Fergal, Paul and Ronan , a big thank you to Adam Beecher for hosting the website and the mailing lists, a big thank you to the FOI Dept in ComReg who are of great help and thank you to the owners of Boards.ie for hosting our forum . A special thank you to those people in the background who help us out but who for various reasons like to remain nameless.

Lastly, all of us in the Committee (Aidan, Damien, Eamonn, Elana, Gareth, John H, John T and Seamus) wish to thank the members who keep us all motivated.