ComReg probed over Eircom data

damien

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2091-2362218,00.html

A DAIL committee is to examine whether ComReg, the telecom regulator, provided it with misleading information during an inquiry into Eircom’s broadband infrastructure, writes Mark Tighe.

Last June ComReg told the joint Oireachtas committee on communications, marine and natural resources that broadband failure rates in Northern Ireland “are broadly in line with our experience”. But Eircom’s own statistics show its broadband failure rate of 12% is much higher than the 1% claimed by BT in Northern Ireland.

Tommy Broughan, a Labour member of the committee, said he would raise the issue at its meeting this week. “To mislead the Oireachtas will be viewed in a serious light if proven,” he said.

Broughan said he was concerned by ComReg’s tendency to hype positive results and leave out negative ones. “It trumpets the fact that we have reached over 320,000 broadband users in the first quarter of this year but overall the position is bad,” the Labour TD said. “ComReg needs to be reformed and the minister needs to give it real teeth.”

Tom Butler, a spokesman for ComReg, said it stood by the information provided. He said the reason BT’s failure rate appeared much lower than Eircom’s was because of differing approaches to reporting line failure.

Broadband failure affects customers who are connected to an enabled exchange but cannot get broadband due either to their distance from the exchange or split lines.

Blaster99

damien.m wrote:

Tom Butler, a spokesman for ComReg, said it stood by the information provided. He said the reason BT’s failure rate appeared much lower than Eircom’s was because of differing approaches to reporting line failure.

That's excellent, but perhaps what matters is whether people can get service or not. If BT's low failure rate is because they do something about it, then that's an effective 1% failure rate. Chances are that eircom are now thinking along the same lines, but back in the day when those numbers were presented, that was not the case.

Another good example of ComReg mucking around with statistics to make themselves look good.

damien

Blaster99 wrote:

If BT's low failure rate is because they do something about it, then that's an effective 1% failure rate.

Of the 200,000 or so who applied for dsl in NI, 300 of them can't get it due to distance or some other factor so they were given a satellite dish at the same install and rental fee as DSL. £70 install and £27 a month rental. That to me is a failure rate of 0.0015%, 8000 times less than eircom's 12%

mike65

How the hell did Comreg allow itself to end up looking like eircoms cheerleader?

Cos eircoms failure is thier failure?

Guess so!

Mike.

Foxwood

Tom Butler, a spokesman for ComReg, said it stood by the information provided. He said the reason BT’s failure rate appeared much lower than Eircom’s was because of differing approaches to reporting line failure.

If BT is using a different approach to report faiure, then on what basis is Comreg claiming that eircoms rate is the same? Is BT giving Comreg access to data that has not been made public, or is Comreg just "guessing"?

damien

Can't seem to find this in the print edition.

Capt'n Midnight

damien.m wrote:

Of the 200,000 or so who applied for dsl in NI, 300 of them can't get it due to distance or some other factor so they were given a satellite dish at the same install and rental fee as DSL. £70 install and £27 a month rental. That to me is a failure rate of 0.0015%, 8000 times less than eircom's 12%

If the 300 got broadband without additional cost then I'd consider it a 0 % failure rate.

So in NI DLS is only available to 99.9985% of those who apply and only 100% can get broadband. Only question - is this over the whole of NI or just over the 99.5% they said would be covered ?

BTW: Ericom's 12% what is the REAL figure ?

lucernarian

Eircom's 12% comes from the amount of lines connected to DSL exchanges that fail.

That's not an issue in countries where regulators/Govt. want universal availability such as NI where every exchange is enabled.

Out of every line in the state, roughly 25% cannot get DSL, or so I make it.

Sunday Times wrote:

Tom Butler, a spokesman for ComReg, said it stood by the information provided. He said the reason BT’s failure rate appeared much lower than Eircom’s was because of differing approaches to reporting line failure.

Yeah, BT will try to remedy any issue. Eircom's is "Computer Sez No". And Tom, it doesn't "appear". It "is".

smellslikeshoes

Funny how months after they all of a sudden realised that comreg were talking bull. The Oireachtas committee should have known the facts before comreg even had a chance to talk.