Go on the telecoms regulator........(taken from ireland.com)

spanner_head

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2001/0927/fin5.htm

Regulator delays
i-stream launch

---

By Jamie Smyth
Telecoms regulator Ms Etain Doyle has ruled that Eircom cannot introduce its high-speed internet product, i-stream, until it satisfies her office that its prices comply with competition law.

In a statement yesterday, Ms Doyle said she still had concerns that Eircom's wholesale price structure - the price which it would charge other telecoms operators to offer similar products- would be a "margin squeeze" for competitors. She directed Eircom to submit revised, comprehensive and compliant cost proposals for the wholesale product again.

"The director has a duty not to approve a price structure which might breach competition law. In particular, she may not approve a margin squeeze," said Ms Doyle.

This is the latest in a series of disputes with Eircom on pricing. An Eircom spokesman said last night that Ms Doyle wanted to engage in another mathematical exercise to delay the product.

Eircom planned to present i-stream to businesses and consumers next week. This would have been the first deployment of digital subscriber line technology in the Republic. The technology enables connection to the internet at speeds of up to 30 times faster than existing dial-up services. It is considered crucial to promote the Republic's competitiveness. Telecoms experts warned yesterday that delay over the introduction of a high-speed internet service was making the Republic a "laggard" in terms of broadband access.

Mr Harry McDermott, director of Mason Communications, said the consumer was the ultimate loser in the stand-off between the telecoms regulator and Eircom.

In her statement yesterday, Ms Doyle regretted that the benefits to consumers from the i-stream product would be delayed. But she said the action was necessary to prevent a price structure that would stifle competition.

ando

can eircom ignore the ODTR again, like they did 1/2 weeks ago ? I have to say, I really will be dissapointed if the delay goes ahead... even though I do agree in the long term on what the ODTR is doing

Kix

Just who is Mr Harry McDermott, director of Mason Communications?

I feel like sending him a quite annoyed email telling him to put his opinion back where he pulled it from. The consumer is the loser is Eircom have their way unopposed.

I suppose that he's getting paid to say what he did but it makes me sick.

K

Mountjoy Mugger

Originally posted by Kix
Just who is Mr Harry McDermott, director of Mason Communications?
K

You can find out all about Harry here: http://www.masoncom.com/591c/591cr/591cr.htm - well, everything about him but his e-mail address.

dahamsta

I'm not sure he meant it that way Kix, although the choice of words - "stand-off" - was foolish in the extreme.

What surprises - and pleases - me the most in all of this is the patience and understanding IrelandOffline members are showing right now. We recognise that the pricing is unacceptable, and we're willing to support Etain Doyle in fixing it. You're to be applauded for that patience folks.

But it should also be pointed out to Ms. Doyle that patience is finite. We won't accept delays from Eircom, but we /certainly/ won't accept them from your Office. I hope you will support us now that we're supporting you, by accelerating the process as much as you possibly can.

adam

Mountjoy Mugger

Originally posted by dahamsta
We won't accept delays from Eircom, but we /certainly/ won't accept them from your Office. I hope you will support us now that we're supporting you, by accelerating the process as much as you possibly can.

Interestingly enough, Eircom seem to have come at the latest request with a rather simplistic approach. "We'll just submit the same sums again" http://www.electricnews.net/news.html?code=3525202

Quote:
"Basically the position is that we are happy to cooperate in what is an identical mathematical exercise that we have already completed with the ODTR," said the spokesperson.



It really sums Eircom up, don't you think?

Dangger

I dropped a line to Harry McDermot of Mason Communications. He sent me a very speedy reply, and asked me to post this to the thread. So here goes......

Dear David

Thank you for making contact. Having looked at the bulletin board, it seems
like my quoted comments have been misinterpreted. In discussing this issue
with the journalist, I was actually trying to champion the cause of the
consumer. Whereas there are valid commercial and regulatory reasons for the
stalemate between the ODTR, eircom, and other telcos, the over-riding
concern is the fact the end-user, be it a consumer, a SOHO business, or an
SME still does not have broadband Internet access available in the market.
This is in total contrast to the Government's stated ambition that Ireland
will be an e-friendly country and potentially an e-commerce hub within
Europe. In making my comments, I was actually endeavouring to raise the
issue beyond the concerns of the service providers and the ODTR and to
highlight the impact of the standoff on the end-user. This I believe is
very much your own agenda also.

Perhaps you might clarify this on your bulletin board.

With best regards
Harry McDermott
Director
Mason Communications Ireland Ltd

Q_Ball

Originally posted by spanner_head

Eircom planned to present i-stream to businesses and consumers next week. This would have been the first deployment of digital subscriber line technology in the Republic. The technology enables connection to the internet at speeds of up to 30 times faster than existing dial-up services. It is considered crucial to promote the Republic's competitiveness. Telecoms experts warned yesterday that delay over the introduction of a high-speed internet service was making the Republic a "laggard" in terms of broadband access.

Are we not already laggards / laggarded? I never heard of the word before today You don't need to be a telecoms expert to know that we are already far behind, but I wonder how long these telecoms "experts" knew that the situation was this bad and what did they do to try and prevent the country going further down the e-commerce drain?

In her statement yesterday, Ms Doyle regretted that the benefits to consumers from the i-stream product would be delayed. But she said the action was necessary to prevent a price structure that would stifle competition.

Should this not have been done sooner? Based on the prices Eircom gave her that she rejected first time round could she not have set a target to them of roughly what the price should be?

To me it just seems that it takes the ODTR a while to realise if something is wrong. And then a little longer to do something about it.

Kix

Mr McDermott,

I'm laughing now, with some embarrassment I might add, because I'm sure that my earlier comments seemed awfully rude to you. I've read your reply and I hope I didn't offend you too much.

I was assuming that you were anything but independent of Eircom when I read your reported comments. It's in Eircom's interests to paint the ODTR as the bad guy. If Eircom were serious about offering this service, technically speaking, at the latest they could have done so a year or more ago.

I still give the ODTR my full backing in this matter. My perspective is not just a consumer one. Even with my work hat on, as systems manager of a small software company, I'm not prepared to accept "broadband at any price". Eircom are stifling competition at every turn and the regulator is the only hope I can see.

Thanks for your considered reply.

K

Mountjoy Mugger

Originally posted by Q_Ball
Based on the prices Eircom gave her that she rejected first time round could she not have set a target to them of roughly what the price should be?

She set them a target of €50 in place of the €75 that Eircom were/are looking for in repect of wholesale prices. She has no power when it comes to retail prices.

DeVore

Laggard: One who lags (behind, usually).

I think every online games player would concur with the use of the term.

DeV.

Q_Ball

Originally posted by Mountjoy Mugger


She set them a target of €50 in place of the €75 that Eircom were/are looking for in repect of wholesale prices. She has no power when it comes to retail prices.

I wasn't talking about the retail prices, sorry if i didn't make that clear. Correct me if I'm wrong (and i prolly am) but if Eircom knew that they couldn't afford the target set then why launch i-stream seeing that once they did they would have to make it wholesale at the same time?

I've only ever used the term lag or lagged, never thought of laggard.

neverhappen

if Eircom knew that they couldn't afford the target set then why launch i-stream seeing that once they did they would have to make it wholesale at the same time?

IMHO they knew the regulator was going to stop the launch. But they hope that with their big advertising push and with some carefully chosen press releases that they can manipulate the situation to appear to the public that the regulator is holding up the market and its her office that is the bad guy.

And its not working on this board for one place (or in the irish times business commentary for another)

Q_Ball

But surely they don't think the public THAT stupid that they won't realise that it is eircoms prices that are delaying roll-out and not the ODTR.

Then again it is Eircom we're talking about i suppose

sceptre

Originally posted by spanner_head


Telecoms regulator Ms Etain Doyle has ruled that Eircom cannot introduce its high-speed internet product, i-stream, until it satisfies her office that its prices comply with competition law.
......

"The director has a duty not to approve a price structure which might breach competition law. In particular, she may not approve a margin squeeze," said Ms Doyle.

Sounds like a job for the EU Competitions Comissioner.

Mario Monti
Competition Comissioner
European Commission
200 rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 200
B-1049 Brussels
Belgium

Mario.Monti@cec.eu.int


The Irish Competition Authority website is at http://www.tca.ie/ (all contact information there)