Dumb and Dumberer . Pat Rabbitte and Comreg

Sponge Bob

Some time in 2010 the IMF rolled into town and many peace offerings were made by our administrative classes to their new Gods as they stepped off their chariots.

Among the peace offerings was a little publicised but solemn promise to 'maximise' gains from spectrum auctions and to hand the whole lot over pronto at the altar to their new Gods.

Consequently DCENR and Comreg agreed:

1. To impose no real coverage obligations (bar a paltry 70% population coverage) on the new Mobile Networks...which shall be LTE technology.
2. Not to mandate RAN Sharing and spectrum pooling in rural areas ( whereby the operators share a single physical base station with large spectrum blocks that CAN provide broadband to a smallish population rather than the guaranteed contention narrowband peddled in Ireland).
3. That Comreg would rig the consultations to ensure that the wishes of the operators for minimal coverage obligations (and effectively none in many rural areas) would take primacy in the auction structure.

And Comreg and DCENR prided themselves on leaving 80% of Ireland well cooked for the next 10 years and off we go to hell on a handcart as 2g is swtiched off in less than 2 years.

This is in stark contrast to regulators in functional markets such as the UK and Austrial and Germany ( from):

http://www.totaltele.com/res/Total%20Telecom%20Plus/TTPLUS_Sept2011.pdf

Regulators and governments increasingly are imposing LTE coverage obligations to prevent national digital divides emerging.

We don't have one of them lads here. We have a poodle that puts a gloss on the long death rattle of a terminally bankrupt eircom instead.

Winners of spectrum in the 800-MHz spectrum auctions in Germany, for example, must roll out services in rural areas first and aim for nationwide coverage by 2013; and when Austria allocated 2.6-GHz spectrum in September 2010 the regulator ruled operators should provide 25% of the population with mobile broadband coverage by the end of 2013.

Many other countries are planning to set out similar obligations, particularly in the lower frequency bands (800 MHz and 900 MHz) which are more suited to wider coverage:

Wireless Intelligence says Denmark, France and the Czech Republic have already expressed their intentions to set coverage targets for rural and remote areas.

But not our muppets. Hang on there is a Comreg Consumer Panel ....innit....Dermot Jewell and the lads will will save us.

In the UK the Communications Consumer Panel—an independent group formed to provide advice to the regulator—in July called on Ofcom to enforce coverage obligations on operators taking part in next year’s LTE spectrum auction. “The forthcoming auction presents an opportunity to address the fact that GSM coverage has largely stood still
since the arrival of 3G,” it said in response to Ofcom’s consultation on the auction. “Most coverage not-spots ten years ago are still not-spots today. For the first time in over 25 years significant spectrum is about to be released that is lower frequency than any that is currently deployed…800 MHz is a good solution for rural coverage and presents the opportunity…to
correct the adverse coverage position.”

While that bolded bit describes Ireland perfectly I see the problem with it. They are INDEPENDENT is what the problem is not like the captive and incontinent sheepdog that is the Comreg Consumer Panel on its perambulations around the basement in Abbey Street.

Spectrum caps are also favoured by NRAs as a way to promote competition. UK regulator Ofcom favours “spectrum floors” for the auction of 800-MHz, 1800-MHz and 2.6-GHz spectrum next year. By setting minimum amounts of spectrum for bidders as well as
imposing spectrum caps—and taking into account MNOs’ existing spectrum—Ofcom says it is aiming for at least four “credible” national providers capable of delivering “high-quality data services” in the UK. “One question regulators have to grapple with is whether or not it is socio-economically effective to hobble operators by forcing them to roll out networks into
rural areas,” says Norman at Anal ysys. “It might be that the cost of rural rollout is passed on to the customer, which would have a negative socio-economic effect. Another unknown is how much of a positive socio-economic effect there is from rural broadband connectivity.”

And the simple answer is that you cannot desktop that from your offices in London and Dublin like you desktopped and signed off on NBS coverage that often does not exist lads. Comreg wants to fragment the Irish spectrum into 5 rather unusable blocks for some reason even they can't justify.

And the Dept of Communications has no policy at all and Pat Rabbitte cannot seem to make them come up with one....because Pat probably knows they are now just conduits for spectrum revenue to the Dept of Finance and that he is outta here at the next election.

Maybe Pat has been reading his Enoch Powell, he who elegantly described Pats final ministry long before Pat embarked upon it.

"All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure"

Pity Pat couldn't wait 6 months before proving Enoch correct.

cookie1977

I'm interested in what you're talking about here but I do find it difficult to follow your post (sorry). In saying that I do find that comreg can be unfairly dismissed. I'm not sure (if I follow you correctly) that the EU would allow a lot of what you speak of. They've been very forceful in dealing with the networks over roaming (charges) and contracts (reg 17). A lot of our current protections have come down from EU law rather than local laws.

I for one think comreg are doing a good job but they have asked before for a lot of input from consumers over various issues and I'm not so sure they get much unfortunately. And the networks are very adept at putting forward their opinions. It's up to consumers to point out the issues and sometimes that ends up falling to Jewell and colleagues rather then everyone else.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=73201324

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=73910969

Sponge Bob

cookie1977 wrote: »

It's up to consumers to point out the issues and sometimes that ends up falling to Jewell and colleagues rather then everyone else.

Jewell and his colleagues are appointed by Comreg so they can ignore consumers. They are a figleaf ...always were.