Irish broadband - 10 years to catch up???

probe

SiliconRepublic.com carried the news item below, earlier today, suggesting that it will take IRL 10 years to catch up with Seoul (KR) on the broadband stakes.

It will NEVER HAPPEN while eircom, comreg and the Dept of Fish http://dcmnr.gov.ie control the market.

The Dept of Fish is in the process of giving a blessing to eircom’s de facto closure of the former Smart telecom company by allowing them to shut down anyone else who tries to engage in serious loop unbundling, with just 10 days notice. At a minimum it should be 30 days notice to give people time to find an alternative solution. All eircom has to do is magic up an alleged unpaid bill, and throw the switch ten days later. No time for the courts to decide on the merits of eircom’s claims. Goodbye. You are gone. “Now where were we (eircom) on our “application” (read monopolist’s demand) to increase the monthly subscription for a phone line by €10?”

Without efficient, seamless, loop unbundling, the country will be stuck with slow expensive broadband mode forever and a day. In properly regulated markets in the rest of Europe, your broadband connection is as fast as your line can carry it, generally at a single low price (ie around €30 per month inc VAT). Typically this is 15 to 25 Mbits/sec – particularly in urban areas and rural areas near the local MDF serving them. i.e. most of Dublin city, Cork city, Limerick city, Galway city, Waterford city, and every town and the village in the country should have broadband at 10 Mbits/sec or faster available within a few kms of that town or village, or in the case of cities within a few km of each local MDF in that city. No excuses. No blackguarding.

In Ireland you are stuck with 1, 2 or 3 Mbits/sec depending on how much money you have...

One could go on! No HD television. No DTT (aside from lab experiments). No motorway service areas. No integrated, intermodal public transport (your home to local bus to tram to train to intercity rail or airport on one ticket with an end to end seamless almost no waiting service…) - to wherever you need to go. Things that most of the rest of Europe takes for granted. Without having to use a car.

Along with decent broadband - killed off at conception in Ireland by vested interests and gross administrative incompetence…

.probe

quote:

Ireland more carry-on than Korean in broadband stakes
12.04.2007 - At over 105pc penetration, the South Korean capital city of Seoul is around 10 years ahead of Ireland in terms of homes connected to broadband despite having started rollout around the same time, claimed IrelandOffline.
According to the latest city-level broadband penetration statistics from the South Korean Government, broadband penetration in terms of households accessing broadband stands at 105pc.

Across most of Korea’s cities average broadband penetration per household stands at 89pc.

Irish observers reckon it could take Ireland up to 10 years to reach such a level.

According to recent EU data, broadband penetration in Ireland stands at 10.5pc, below the European average of 15.7pc.

Broadband lobby group IrelandOffline said this country failed to grasp the potential of broadband in the same manner as South Korea.

However, it would be fair to point out that South Korea has the advantage of dense populations living in apartments compared with Ireland’s sparse population and stand-alone housing regimen.

Nonetheless, said IrelandOffline spokesman Damien Mulley, a vital opportunity has been missed.

“South Korea saw the advantage of a knowledge economy and then implemented what needed to be done,” he said.

“In Ireland we also saw the need to have a knowledge economy but so far achieving it has been grossly mismanaged with finger pointing and excuse-making being far too common instead of getting down to joined-up thinking.

“It is a shame that both countries started around the same time yet Ireland is well over a decade away, if ever, from matching what South Korea has done,” Mulley said.

By John Kennedy

unquote

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single8125

jonny68

Good article, the Broadband in this country is pathetic, an absolute shambles compared to other countries, and something needs to be drastically done about it.

swoofer

Ah but if you were handsomely paid for doing nothing why would you want to rock the boat and look efficient. Until the electorate get real and make a "statement" by ejecting the current incumbents things will never change here.

On the motorway front am I right that there are NO warning signals eg FOG!!

I rest my case.

gb--

Higgsy

I just called up Eircom to find out when they plan to enable our local exchange which was suppose to happen last year. The response:

"we plan the upgrade one month in advance, and your exchange is not on it".

Someone please tell me that out national telecoms carrier does not plan just one month in advance. I think of all the former state companies, Eircom is the biggest shambles.

I am totally feb up with this utter cr*p.

JNive

yes, i wouldnt be surprised, what they are saying is that they publish a list of exchanges that they intend to do at some stage or another, and at least do them eventually. then they each month they decide which ones they will enable for the next month, and enables them to keep track of competitive threats and influence the market more.

if they said, 'this exchange will be enabled in about 4 or 6 months' then competitors then say ' if we enable it before then, we can get a headstart and steal customers etc lol.

Steffano2002

This situation is so frustrating :mad:

And it's the same with Transport and Health... Useless politicians... Useless...

Sponge Bob

eircom simply want to block wireless operators , thats why they recently announced 300 exchanges that will no be done until 2010 .

last year they announced 100 none are done yet 6 months later.