ComReg Survey: 46% on dialup cannot get broadband

damien

On page 48 of they survey here:
http://comreg.ie/_fileupload/publications/ComReg0657a.pdf

"46% of those connecting to the internet via a narrowband
connection claim not to connect via broadband because it is not
available in their area "

"31% of those narrowband users attempted to get a broadband connection to their home and were told that it was not available to them."

When 31% of dialup customers want broadband, this shows conclusively that there is demand for broadband. Yet ComReg try and weasel it and say since 15% didn't try for broadband it shows lack of demand! Keep spinning lads.

ISDN usage gone up yet again. Seems nobody really wants 3G either.

Sponge Bob

well with O2 there is no 3g subscription , you carry on with your 2g package and use 3g service if its there.

And the bit that really stunned me was that 80-85% of homes had a fixed line until eircom got mega greedy with the line rental in 2003 and 2004 with 3 rises.

Now its 69% of homes, below 70% for the first time. I would think that is the lowest figure in the developed world for fixed line penetration by household .

those dopes in eircom have nothing to sell if there are no lines.

Solair

I really don't understand why ComReg continues to try to put a positive spin on these figures. ComReg's role has nothing to do with trying to make the situation look good it's supposed to be reporting it as is and doing something to improve the situation.

If anything, ComReg's PR department might be better off trying to highlight the disasterous situation that does exist so that they can concentrate some Government minds on the issue.

They're just making matters worse by doing this.

If ComReg keep saying "Oh look we're doing great. Everything's fine" while the whole places is crashing down around them they will simply continue not to get ministerial attention / central govt attention.

Really they ought to be creating a huge fuss and seeking more power to do their job effectively!

They're supposed to be on the consumer, tax payer, end user side. Not trying to cover their own ass all the time!

ComReg: Put your Press Office to good use!

smellslikeshoes

No demand at all sure. :rolleyes:
Won't be long till Comreg hire "Comical ali" in PR.

bealtine

Solair wrote:

I really don't understand why ComReg continues to try to put a positive spin on these figures. ComReg's role has nothing to do with trying to make the situation look good it's supposed to be reporting it as is and doing something to improve the situation.

They're supposed to be on the consumer, tax payer, end user side. Not trying to cover their own ass all the time!

Bad assumption Solair:)
Comregs role is to regulate FOR the industry (as do all the "independent" regulators in ireland).
The banking regulator is there to make sure the banks are liquid.
The energy regulator makes sure the energy suppliers get a "fair" price.

Consumers and other victims are irrelevant and a mere inconvenience.

Consider the funding of Comreg, who do you think pays this funding?
Is the funding based on turnover?

Once you understand that distinction the actions of Comreg make "sense".

dahamsta

As well as that ComReg is essentially an arm of the Dept of Comms. They may claim not to accept directives from that department, but you can bet your sweet bippy that when the Dept threatens them with their jobs, they're only too happy to come out with number massaging that makes it look better.

adam

damien

http://www.unison.ie/business/stories.php3?ca=80&si=1710382

dahamsta

I'm getting lots of pings from Google Alerts for the "IrelandOffline" and "Ireland Offline" keywords Damien, more than I've seen in a while now. Well done to ye.

Liam Byrne

I'm surprised that no-one has spotted the smug scepticism in the phrasing....

46% of those connecting to the internet via a narrowband
connection claim not to connect via broadband because it is not
available in their area

Now forgive me if I'm on the side of the consumer here, but doesn't saying that someone "claims" not to connect for some specific reason imply that you're doubting them ?

Think "the ref turned down Drogba's claim for a penalty" or "Bertie claims he did nothing wrong" or "while in court, the scumbag claimed he was innocent"....

Surely ComReg should say that "46% of those connecting via narrowband replied that they could not connect via broadband because it was not available in their area"

By using the word "claim", they seem to be implying that "those stupid consumers don't know it's available.

Has anyone in ComReg actually tried to get broadband in a house more than 4 or 5 km from an exchange ? Or, if they're 7km away, try getting it via Smart without having to change their phone number ?

Maybe it should actually try (masquerading as a normal consumer, rather than identifying itself as ComReg, where I'd risk a "claim" that it might get preferential treatment) and come up with factual surveys rather than cheekily and self-satisfyingly implying that these are only "claims" made by people, rather than the disgraceful actual hard facts of the state of broadband in Ireland in 2006.

Foxwood

I'm surprised that nobody has pointed out that the 46% is understating things.

It's 46% of 231 respondents. That's 106 people who gave "Broadband is not available in my area" as they reason they're not using it.

But 18% of that 231 answered "Don't Know". That's 42 people. So 56% of the people who actually had an opinion said that "Broadband is not available in my area".

And then there's the 7% that answered "My Line failed a broadband test". That includes people who live in areas where broadband isn't available, as well as people who live in areas where it is avalable, but their line fais.

In fairness to Comreg, a not insignificant number of the people who answered "Broadband is not available in my area" are wrong - even IOFFL acknowledge that, on a population basis, eircom DSL is available to more than 54% of the population, and alternative operators cover at least a couple of percent of those that eircom doesn't. The conclusion to be drawn from that is that end users don't have access to useful information about availablility. Simple coverage maps (the sort that comreg refuses to provide because they contain "commercially sensitive information") would help in this situation. "This is where you can get it" works better for a lot of users than the "tell me where you live and I'll tell you if you can get it" approach used on http://broadband.gov.ie

ElNino

Sponge Bob wrote:

well with O2 there is no 3g subscription , you carry on with your 2g package and use 3g service if its there.

And the bit that really stunned me was that 80-85% of homes had a fixed line until eircom got mega greedy with the line rental in 2003 and 2004 with 3 rises.

Now its 69% of homes, below 70% for the first time. I would think that is the lowest figure in the developed world for fixed line penetration by household .

those dopes in eircom have nothing to sell if there are no lines.

Most people that I know buying new houses aren't bothering to get a phone line installed because of the high cost of line rental and the fact that they have mobile phones anyway. I can see the figure falling more. The only reason to get a phone line is to get DSL if you can't get a cable or a decent wireless internet connection.

crawler

It is estimated up to 45% of new dev homes dont connect a phone line and this is growing - oddly that seems to hold true to luxury ABC1 type demographics too....

"Cable and Wireless" or being me should I say "wireless and cable"

SkepticOne

Foxwood wrote:

It's 46% of 231 respondents. That's 106 people who gave "Broadband is not available in my area" as they reason they're not using it.

But 18% of that 231 answered "Don't Know". That's 42 people. So 56% of the people who actually had an opinion said that "Broadband is not available in my area".

And then there's the 7% that answered "My Line failed a broadband test". That includes people who live in areas where broadband isn't available, as well as people who live in areas where it is avalable, but their line fais.

The distinction between "Broadband is not available in my area" and "my line fails" is really only important from the supplier point of view (in this case Eircom). From the consumer point of view he or she simply can't get broadband.

There has been a lot of posts along the lines of "I've been waiting years for broadband and finally the Ballyxxxx exchange has been upgraded. Imagine my horror to learn that my line fails the test!". In reality, dsl was never going to be available to them because of the poor line quality/distance/splitter. The upgrading of the exchange is irrelevant.

Eircom's PR machine has worked very well over the years in making people think that the upgrading of the exchange is the main thing and then all that is necessary is a bit of servicing on the line and you can get broadband. As people are finding out, when the exchange is upgraded, the reverse is the case.

Not only were they never going to get DSL, but the presence of Eircom DSL in the exchange means that alternative infrastructure providers will give the area a miss leaving the user with no choice.

It is a shame (though not really surprising these days) that ComReg panders to Eircom in this way by supporting this view.