IrelandOffline on Last Word on TodayFM 18.15ish 7th Nov

damien

IrelandOffline will be on the Last Word tonight to discuss the Labour Party document on Broadband which is being released in Buswell's today.

Cabaal

I saw try and listen to it, thanks

GoneShootin

can some1 record it?

damien

From Labour

Suggestions for Going Forward

It is clear that there must now be strong direction from the government to inject some much needed increased efficiency and dynamism into the Irish broadband market. This discussion paper will advance some proposals that would both address many of the problematic issues of broadband supply and demand, and at the same time ensure that the progression of any advanced telecommunications networks such as broadband does not intensify the digital divide and fuel a new type of social exclusion.

Given the fast moving world of broadband technologies these suggestions are not policy diktats written in stone. The purpose of the advancement of these proposals is to stimulate a renewed policy agenda and action that recognises the critical stage that broadband development stands at in Ireland at the moment, and the need for a new vision to drive broadband development in the country.

Developing a Broadband Enabled Ireland – 10 Points for Consideration
1. Establish a new government vision of broadband connectivity in Ireland – The present government strategy shows no ambition and vision for how Ireland’s connectivity should develop and the wider economic and social benefits intensified broadband development will facilitate. Renewed objectives, vigorously approached targets and a commitment to delivering on these targets should be a policy priority.

2. Establish a new Department of Communications and Broadcasting – The critical importance of so many issues in the telecommunications sector to Ireland’s future economy and society demands the establishment of a dedicated government department. The present structure that sets Communications with the very different sectors of Marine and Natural Resources ensures that none of these important areas receive the attention they deserve.

3. Launch a broadband task-force and accompanying e-envoy – The institutional responsibility for broadband rollout is far too diffuse and spread between too many organisations, both within and outside of government, and between various ministerial roles. A specific broadband task force headed by an e-envoy will concentrate resources and responsibility in a central location to drive an intensified rollout. The ICT industry itself should lead this development.

4. Internally restructure Eircom - A settlement with Eircom to create an operationally separate network division would address the absolutely crucial problem of access to the Local Loop. This should ensure greater access for other broadband operators to provide services. A greater variety and less expensive range of broadband products will be on offer for Irish consumers and businesses if other operators have more significant access to the local loop.

5. Promote inter-platform competition – Measures to encourage greater proliferation of cross-platform broadband services should concentrate on the cable and wireless sectors. With the prospect of a strong cable player finally emerging there is great potential for a much strengthened cable broadband sector in Ireland. There is also significant scope for innovative measures to promote wireless broadband. These would include a widespread designation of ‘hot spots’ for wireless transmission, and making entire urban areas ‘hot zones’ that are entirely wireless broadband enabled.

6. Serious regulatory reform – The Communications Regulator (ComReg) needs to be empowered to regulate the broadband sector much more effectively. A first step would be for ComReg to have the ability to impose much greater financial penalties on telecom operators, as the current rates of fines are ridiculously low. Operational changes should also be examined to allow ComReg to operate without the current intensely prohibitive legal restrictions and to strengthen its anticompetitive mandate. To expedite competition blockages and remove obstruction, a separate court division of regulation needs to be considered.

7. Instigate a national information technology education programme – In order to provide the essential knowledge and training for using the critical ICT infrastructure of a modern economy, a nationwide education programme in information technology has to be established. Although some schools provide such education, it is essential that all children regardless of the school they attend have access to a proper IT education so as to equip them with the knowledge and practical experience to participate fully in society. The provision of laptops, IT support and digital syllabus content will require major new investment and changes in Irish education.

8. Laptops for secondary school children – Broadband connectivity needs to have a practical application. An objective of a national ICT policy should be the provision of all secondary school students with laptops so the relevant knowledge of and necessary skills for advanced technology can be experienced within the classroom. All methods of practically facilitating such a scheme, such as a partnership agreement with the IT industry, should be examined to ensure the widespread provision of laptops to the secondary school sector.

9. Incorporate local government institutions including partnerships, county leaders and county development boards in broadband roll-out – In promoting the further roll-out of broadband and to address issues of social exclusion in urban and rural areas, local government and regional partnerships should be co-opted to co-ordinate roll-out in chosen gateway centres. Local partnership and development organisations are best placed to understand and meet local connectivity needs and should be tasked with monitoring broadband rollout in their regions.

10. Create a Universal Service Obligation (USO) for broadband – Accessibility to broadband networks will assume the same character as the presently understood expectation of universal access to the postal service or telephone network. The development of mechanisms for ensuring that a broadband USO is in place creates considerable potential for ensuring a widespread and universally accessible broadband network. Broadband infrastructure must be ubiquitous.

viking

Good luck!

rymus

GoneShootin wrote:

can some1 record it?

The Last Word has an archive on the todayfm site so it'll already be all neatly packaged up for you when the show finishes

GoneShootin

excellent -thanks

Eurorunner

Good opening from John.
The McRedmond fella on now. Going on air head to head with irelandoffline - how times have changed.

They cant get a hold of Tommy Broughon (Labour) - who was supposed to be on..

eircomtribunal

Excellent Mr. Timmons,

good debunking of McRedmonds unbundling figure trickery.

Now somebody has to point out some fundamental maths to McRedmond:
When he admits (first time and very quietly) that currently only "close to 70%" of population can get broadband (these figures need still to be questioned as such), how should the government pay for the remaining 10%?

P.

SeaSide

www.jwtsucksdiesel.com

dahamsta

rymus wrote:

The Last Word has an archive on the todayfm site so it'll already be all neatly packaged up for you when the show finishes

The archives are non-obvious, point me in the right direction?

damien

eircomtribunal wrote:

how should the government pay for the remaining 10%?

Peter, surely if you go down that route you legitimise eircom's aim of not bothering with that 10%? You change the debate from they should enable every line to one where you ask how much they want to do the lines they couldn't be arsed with. And then the 10% goes to 15% or 20%...

ai ing

http://www.radioireland.ie/lastword/lastword.html

cgarvey

Ken Shabby wrote:

The archives are non-obvious, point me in the right direction?

Snip here

.cg

Cabaal

cgarvey wrote:

Snip here

.cg

thankyou much, dispite what In said I missed it

dahamsta

cgarvey wrote:

Snip here

.cg

Nice one cgarvey, thanks.

damien

cgarvey wrote:

Snip here

and no more ickle CGarvey's

cgarvey

Cabaal wrote:

thankyou much, dispite what In said I missed it

welcome ok it's you .. or .. you it's welcome ok

eircomtribunal

damien.m wrote:

Peter, surely if you go down that route you legitimise eircom's aim of not bothering with that 10%? You change the debate from they should enable every line to one where you ask how much they want to do the lines they couldn't be arsed with. And then the 10% goes to 15% or 20%...

It's only the first question McRedmond should be asked:
Why are you publicly stating that the taxpayer should cough up for supplying the remaining 10% of customers with broadband? It seems you want to suggest that eircom is supplying broadband to 90% of the population, when in reality only less than 70% of your customers could get dls if the asked for it.
Next question:
Why should the taxpayer cough up and grasp the dirty end of the stick?
Eircom already gets the highest line rental in Europe to compensate for longer line length. And the state is already heavily financing schemes to bring broadband to uneconomical regions, or those 10% eircom is asking for.

P.

jwt

eircomtribunal wrote:

It seems you want to suggest that eircom is supplying broadband to 90% of the population, when in reality only less than 70% of your customers could get dls if the asked for it.

David McRedmond admitted that last night (02:33 on cgarveys snip) "....we've rolled it out which covers 85% of the population...."

and (05:25)

"it's about 85% of customers if you live in a braodband area can get broadband and broadband is available in about 80-85% of the country its something, it's somewhere around those statistics so close to 70% of people should be able to get broadband today."

06:15
"...there's very well organised and clever lobby groups..." bit of a change from a few months ago when david wondered who were these people doing down Ireland.

eircomtribunal wrote:

Next question:
Why should the taxpayer cough up and grasp the dirty end of the stick?
Eircom already gets the highest line rental in Europe to compensate for longer line length. And the state is already heavily financing schemes to bring broadband to uneconomical regions, or those 10% eircom is asking for.

P.

If one and and all were satisfied that 90% of the population was indeed bb covered and by that I mean that 90% can GET broadband as opposed to 90% being connected to BB enabled exchanges, then if gov subsidy would get the remaining 10% I would look at it very closely.

Obviously contingent on a strict tender process it. yes we have the highest line rent, yes eircom are supposed to be utilising some of that funds to maintain and IMPROVE their network, but real politik suggests that taking the moral high ground and denying bb to the 10% just to stop eircom getting away with it might be like cutting off your nose to spite your face.


John

ednwireland

2years after the exchange i am on was broadband enabled i still have no broadband. eircom point blank refuse to do anything about the situation, i have complained to politicians to no avail, my business is seriously affected, i have a hill between me and a possible wireless operator i basically have no way of getting broadband, i even went for a job interview recently and they wanted me to have broadand at home so i could do out of hours support.
this gov. has no interest

dahamsta

JWT: IrelandOffline's attack dog.

Good work fella, keep the pressure on.

Sponge Bob

jwt wrote:

If one and and all were satisfied that 90% of the population was indeed bb covered and by that I mean that 90% can GET broadband as opposed to 90% being connected to BB enabled exchanges, then if gov subsidy would get the remaining 10% I would look at it very closely.

The 2 90's Rule.
Once Eircom (themselves) Enable the exchanges to which 90% of all the lines in Ireland are connected then 10% of lines are not connected to a BB enabled exchange .

In order to qualify for funding to enable one of those 10% of exchanges, these will all be small or tiny, Eircom have to guarantee that 90% of lines , connected to those exchanges, and within 6KM of the exchange by line length, will pass for BB on day one .

jwt wrote:

Obviously contingent on a strict tender process it. yes we have the highest line rent, yes eircom are supposed to be utilising some of that funds to maintain and IMPROVE their network, but real politik suggests that taking the moral high ground and denying bb to the 10% just to stop eircom getting away with it might be like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Of course. We are looking at about 600 small exchanges.

The cost of enabling each one will be circa €70k on average .

Thats about €42m but the money is wasted unless the lines are adequate to carry BB . There are exchanges out there where 100% of lines will fail because the copper is so bad so why enable them.

Hence The 2 90's rule .

The USO Functional Internet Access requirement at 28.8k can be implemented on the exchanges that fail . Thats for 90% of lines out to 10km on day one once they fail under the 2 90's programme ....we could make it a 3 90's rule maybe ?? .