[Business post] Eircom asks state to foot €200m bill to fix carriers

thebman

Solair wrote:

Perhaps the Govt should do a deal where by they invest the €200m but attach a whole load of conditions to the deal.

Thats what I was thinking. Isn't the government in a good bargining position at the moment. eircom need/want this to happen and the government need to put measures in place to ensure that everyone has fair access if they pay for this to go ahead.

lucernarian

Foxwood wrote:

You want to bet? They'll remove them from the lines of customers who request Broadband. Why bother spending all that money on customers who won't notice the difference, when it could be used to service the debt instead?

What I said still stands. If eircom were to spend the full sum properly, I suspect it would remove all pairgains. I think it's merely an estimate of what the cost of removing all pairgains would be. It would be better for eircom if all pairgains were replaced with proper copper pairs, particularly when the government finances all the works. So they'll want as much govt money as possible to pay for a job which line rental should have paid for.

It is early days yet to think eircom will get that amount of money for that specific problem. The govt. can do other deals with eircom still.

Solair

The other major issue is that the Government and the local authorities need to get realistic about planning for infrastructure.

While eircom are money grabbing and ComReg are clearly toothless there are other issues in the mix that need to be addressed too.

We've estates going up with no access to DSL or Cable and others going up that are turned over to local monopolies by pre-wiring for Smart or Magnet and not putting eircom, NTL, Chorus etc in.

If the planning and regulatory issues aren't addressed in some kind of a meaningful way, we'll simply never have decent universal broadband access.

For example, there's no reason why a universal service order couldn't be put in place requiring that all new housing developments (i.e. estates and apartment blocks) be provided with a copper loop back to the exchange per unit. If it's uneconomic, the developer could subsidise it, it's not like they don't charge enough as it is.

Laying of ducts, allowing the the local cable co in etc should also be manditory.

It's nearly as fundemental as providing electricity service thesedays.

Liam Byrne

the Government and the local authorities need to get realistic about planning for infrastructure

I admire your optimism, but Bob Geldof is still right - we're living in a Banana Republic.

Show me one country where, after years of delays and expense so that the new river crossing in Limerick would allow large ships reach the docks that the powers-that-be propose closing the docks the same month that the first sod is turned for the tunnel...

If these things weren't costing us all millions in taxes and lost productivity, it'd be laughable....

watty

I said they should close the docks and build a bridge further downstream. the tunnel is too close to the City. An a dual carriage way from Foynes to patrickswell bypass. Dual carriage way from Cork to the Bridge and from Ennis to Sligo

I also said before they built the last bridge it should be upstream where the railway crosses shannon part of a North Ring and otherwise it would congest the City.

But No-one listens to me.

watty

No Tolls. What was Road Fund Licence / Car Tax disc brought in for? Demolish the Troll booths on M50 and M1. No-one will use the tunnel as it is close to City and will have Troll Booths guarding it

SkepticOne

Solair wrote:

We've estates going up with no access to DSL or Cable and others going up that are turned over to local monopolies by pre-wiring for Smart or Magnet and not putting eircom, NTL, Chorus etc in.

Not sure I follow this. Why shouldn't Smart and Magnet get a chance at offering TV? Why must it be NTL or Chorus, companies that have held back broadband competition in Ireland? Why should they continue to have the monopoly?

bealtine

SkepticOne wrote:

Not sure I follow this. Why shouldn't Smart and Magnet get a chance at offering TV? Why must it be NTL or Chorus, companies that have held back broadband competition in Ireland? Why should they continue to have the monopoly?

I'd assume he means that the ducting installed should be carrier neutral. That way if Smart or Magnet or indeed NTL want to lay "pipes" into peoples homes there'll be nothing stopping them.

watty

Adamstown EVERYTHING is fed... The inhabitant can decide then which ones to cancel.