Time for eircom's Rex Comb to be sent on a ship back to Oz!

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One has to wonder if he knows anything about the telecommunications system? Or is he simply trying to fool our politicians and media into thinking that broadband is a lost cause for 40% of the country?

In http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/article/11521/comms/eircom-broadband-enables-24-local-exchanges he states that there are only five “exchanges” with over 5,000 (presumably he means subscribers or channels) in Munster. Anyway he is just spinning a story to paint a picture of how “impossible it is” to give Ireland broadband without huge government subsidies to his company.

I can think of exchanges in Munster with tens of thousands of subscriber channels – eg Bantry, Churchfield B, Churchfield C, Quaker Road, Mallow, Clonmel, Waterford Central, Tycor, Castletroy, Limerick A, Limerick B, Tralee, and Ennis – see the numbering allocations in the call origination tab of http://www.eircomwholesale.ie/dynamic/pdf/Call%20origination%20and%20termination%20OCT_2008%20seved%20digit.xls

In any event, the issue of subsidizing eircom should not be on the agenda. Their network is clapped out and badly maintained, and incapable of delivering real broadband (ie HD video streaming and other multi-media traffic for the 21st century). Giving eircom 1c would be throwing good money after bad. The only long term solution is fibre to the premises (FTTH). Might as well do it now rather than wasting money on short term iterations of “investment” in sub-standard technologies that only have a short life span. More bad planning.

The same goes for Viv Reding’s spiel on wireless “broadband” – it is potentially unhealthy when scaled out and incapable of scaling anyway. Go home Madame! Ireland needs proper sustainable broadband.

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/article/11536/comms/digital-dividend-is-a-once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity-for-europes-economy-says-reding

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1063051/Why-mobile-carry-health-warning-like-cigarette-packets-brain-cancer-risk.html

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anthony4335

He is probably correct on the numbers. As only eircom knows how many subsribers hooked up to each exchange are on shared lines, and crappy cable.

paulm17781

I think you should take his job. You clearly know more about Eircom's infrastructure than he does. I'm also assuming you have the necessary business acumen to do his job. I'm actually surprised they picked him as CEO over you in the first place. Though maybe, just maybe an internationally respected businessman knows more about the company he runs than and arm chair warrior.