French put va va voom into broadband

zugvogel

Are you happy with the speed of your broadband? A comparison of fast broadband in London and Paris, shows it is a far, far better thing to head to the French capital if you want to surf at speed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6936325.stm

Lucky feckers...

Jesus Wept

I wouldn't devolve myself by living in Paris. Not even for a high speed connection.

kmick

ill be back in nappies before Eircom rolls this out.

Sponge Bob

from that Beeb article

What has sparked investment in broadband is France is the low take-up of digital television, which makes it more attractive to offer TV over the internet.

Whereas here 1/3 of homes have Sky and 1/3 have cable . The takeup of digital TV is high. This leaves a much smaller space for ISPs and the one who tried TV over Copper ( Magnet) no longer offers it.

SkepticOne

"ill be back in nappies before Eircom rolls this out."

Eircom aren't going to do this unless some other company starts. Or they get a load of tax-payers money.

thebman

Well UPC or NTL or Chorus or whatever name they are going under now a days should be offering broadband and trying to expand to more areas and bringing the cost down and the speeds up but they seem as incompetent as eircom.

The real difference between Ireland and France is that they have better management than us. From politicians to companies. I'd presume there is more competition in France too.

Sponge Bob

The very fast stuff in France is only available in the cities. However there are many more rural exchanges than here AND I believe they all have DSL ( like ours in speed / quality) nowadays.

Our lot have not even done half their exchanges and look unlikely to hit 50% of exchanges before 2008 .

Liam Byrne

Let's compare like with like, though.....since so many people watch so much TV, how much of the 10MB is used up if 2 people are watching 2 different channels in your house while you're using the net ?

And does your neighbour's viewing habits enter the equation too ?

bk

Liam Byrne wrote:

Let's compare like with like, though.....since so many people watch so much TV, how much of the 10MB is used up if 2 people are watching 2 different channels in your house while you're using the net ?

Almost all of it. SD MPEG2 will eat up about 4 - 5 mbps

I'm actually on the Smart Vision fibre service and IPTV even on fibre is a little flaky, I shudder to think what it would be like on DSL. IMO stick with cable/sat for TV, unless you are doing VOD.

Of course the French prices for BB/phone are excellent.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

In japan, a 50 Mb fibre optic connection will only set you back about $30 a month from what I've heard, so if you're moving anywhere for broadband, let it be there;)

Liam Byrne

bk wrote:

Almost all of it. SD MPEG2 will eat up about 4 - 5 mbps

I'm actually on the Smart Vision fibre service and IPTV even on fibre is a little flaky, I shudder to think what it would be like on DSL. IMO stick with cable/sat for TV, unless you are doing VOD.

Of course the French prices for BB/phone are excellent.

Cheers for that, bk......just think it's important that people view the French setup for what it is....

10MB connection standalone
5MB connection if someone's watching TV
Feck-all if 2 people are watching TV

If we keep those 3 in mind we can compare the options properly......

It is still a great price, though!

JMcL

Sponge Bob wrote:

The very fast stuff in France is only available in the cities. However there are many more rural exchanges than here AND I believe they all have DSL ( like ours in speed / quality) nowadays.

Yep, there're a couple of small villages I'm familiar with in the middle of nowhere in Languedoc, and they've had signs outside the village for years now proudly proclaiming they've got DSL (bit like our own "XXX host town to YYY")

mental07

A 30MB connection in Paris costs about €20/month.

BarryM

Sponge Bob wrote:

from that Beeb article

[low takeup of digital tv]

Whereas here 1/3 of homes have Sky and 1/3 have cable . The takeup of digital TV is high. This leaves a much smaller space for ISPs and the one who tried TV over Copper ( Magnet) no longer offers it.

Not so true, now, it may be that it was later than Sky et al. IMO, the French gov's policy approach, to really hang the incumbent, France Telecom, out to dry and to liberalise tv over the internet, etc., is the real reason.

What exactly is the situation for tv via the internrt in Ireland?? I cannot seem to find anybody offering it.

Bye, Barry

BarryM

JMcL wrote:

Yep, there're a couple of small villages I'm familiar with in the middle of nowhere in Languedoc, and they've had signs outside the village for years now proudly proclaiming they've got DSL (bit like our own "XXX host town to YYY")

I live part of the year in Cucuron, a town/village of about 1,500 in the Luberon, one hour's drive North of Marseille. Since 2005 I have had 1Mb BB, tv via Internet, 'free' local and international landline calls, for €40 a month, from Neuf, one of the many 'alternative [to France Telecom]' suppliers. I also have tv on the pc, and a mobile with no fee, 10 mins a month included and a wireless network.

Here, I live in West Cork, I finally got 'proper' BB this year, having tried an EU sponsored satellite system, which wasn't great. I pay €24.99 for 0.5Mb. Of course I have to have a phone, and a mobile, and a satellite dish.....which I pay for....
Bye, Barry

P.S. I am not a millionaire capitalist, just happens that my living arrangements have worked out this way