Delay in key Bill is bad news for the economy (Irish Times)

dahamsta

Delay in key Bill is bad news for the economy (Irish Times)

Dustaz

Thanks Karen, thanks a bunch:

On a slightly different tangent, one could argue that home users might as well give up on their dreams of cheap broadband connections because a viable, profitable market for home broadband has not yet emerged, and will not now emerge until years in the future. That, at least, is the contention of author and columnist Robert X Cringely, he of Triumph of the Nerds fame.

Recently the home broadband pressure group Ireland Offline made much of one of his columns in which he explained how to create a cheap home broadband connection - if you could get a particular type of line from a reluctant phone company. Eircom, of course, won't supply that kind of line any more.

I wonder if the group will also accept his argument, over two columns, that home broadband is too expensive for telecoms companies to provide to home or small business users. Home broadband costs around $45 (€50) monthly in the US because it is heavily subsidised by suppliers. Like it or not, Eircom's much higher costs - £99 (€126) monthly - are closer to the real cost of home broadband provision.

In the current battered telecoms market, Mr Cringely says home broadband is not viable. All the major DSL providers, such as Covad, Northpoint and Rhythms, are imploding. The biggest cable ISP, Excite@Home, is gone. No company in the US is making money providing home broadband and no company providing broadband content is making money either (outside of a few pornographers, not enough to support an entire market). It will be years before demand increases and makes home broadband profitable. So companies will stop providing it, he says.

He quotes a Lucent vice-president he recently spoke to: "There are approximately 400 million people on earth who now have internet access, but fewer than 10 million of those have broadband," he said. "That is less than a 3 per cent market penetration and it means that IF broadband is going to be a commercial success - and that's a very iffy IF - it will be years in the future."

Thus, I would argue that perhaps home broadband shouldn't be a commercial issue. Maybe it should be a Government issue - and there are some national governments that already think so. I'll come back to that topic very soon.

Its nice the way she didnt report that the same group of ppl who discussed the first cringely article also discussed the fact that the second was nonsense and ameri-centric.

dahamsta

Have a read off it again Dustaz. She might not be supporting our "cause", but she is bringing attention to it, which is almost as important at this stage of the game. Also, as pointed out by Dave (dangger?), she's issuing a challenge of sorts to us, albeit in a roundabout manner. I've issued challenges to Karlin in the past, and now she's taken me up on it, whether intentionally or not. Now we'll take up hers...

Watch this space. <adam writing frantically>

adam

nahdoic

The Communications Bill contains provisions that could have helped to unsnarl this situation by redefining the role of the ODTR. The Bill would see this office turn into a far more powerful three-person committee with real ability to compel telecommunications companies to comply with its rulings. This commission could also force companies (namely, Eircom) to comply with EU legislation regarding unbundling the local loop (giving competitors access to the copper phone lines that run directly into homes and offices).

The Commission's rulings would stand during any process of appeal - none of these endless delays while lawsuits are filed.

I want this Communications Bill to be passed already. It really does sound like it would work wonders. How can we get this bill passed sooner?

dahamsta

I want this Communications Bill to be passed already. It really does sound like it would work wonders. How can we get this bill passed sooner?

Write letters/emails to your local TD, the Taoiseach, party leaders, etc. Make sure you ask for a reply. If they don't reply, write again asking why they didn't reply. Go to your TD's "clinic" and express your concern.

Seriously, it works.

adam

Fergus2

Whats the official name of this bill / process, i.e. in terms that one's local TD will recognise..

I think this illogical putting on ice of the bill is the best evidence yet that there is some form of government corruption underpinning the Eircom fiasco. My bet stays on for the tribunal.

dahamsta

Sorry Fergus2, the name of the Bill is the Communications (Regulation) Bill 2001, and you can read the proposed Bill on the Department of Public Enterprise site here.

adam

ando

I think we should all be shouting a little louder about this one than we currently are ??... I mean, FFS, if this bill was passed, it would only be a matter of time before Irelandoffline would cease to exsist, which (no offence) would be great !!

GET THIS BLOODY BILL PASSED ... it really would be a HUUGGGEEEE step forward for IrelandOffline's cause. No more £ucking court cases that seem to take years to happen ....... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH don't get me started on LLU and how long thats taking... (me think ADSL is heading the same way).

I for one am sending a few thousand emails to TD's

Fergus2

Thanks Adam.

It looks handy enough.. I see the 10% turnover penalty is after indictment. I guess that would probably take quite a while to bring into force...

Another point regarding kicking up about this.. What is the official explanation (if any) as to why this bill has been delayed? And who was responsible for formulating it?

Just asking in case you know already

Red Moose

Well surely it's going to be the Communications Bill 2002 now, not 2001 (funny is a sad way ).

With the general election due next year, I am not sure at all why they do not pass it, unless they are going to use it as leverage, as in "We will fix the problems with communications development".

Better they pass it, and then people would vote for them. I think people don't believe jack from politicos like maybe 20 years ago. Also, they are going to have a not so nice pre-election budget, so it would actually be a plus point for them to actually get Ireland going on DSL and LLU before EU starts laying the smack down.

SkepticOne

Originally posted by Red Moose
With the general election due next year, I am not sure at all why they do not pass it, unless they are going to use it as leverage, as in "We will fix the problems with communications development".

Because there are a group of about 500,000 who will vote as a block against any measure that is seen to curtail the absolute monopoly status of Eircom (or so it is believed).

Fergus

Because there are a group of about 500,000 who will vote as a block against any measure that is seen to curtail the absolute monopoly status of Eircom (or so it is believed).

What can we do to persuade the average non-technical ripped-off Eircom shareholder to support the cause?

SkepticOne

Originally posted by Fergus
What can we do to persuade the average non-technical ripped-off Eircom shareholder to support the cause?

I think, ironically enough, that the 500,000 will be some of the first to switch once they realise that they will not be benefiting from future measures to protect Eircom from competition. There was a letter in the Irish Times recently where someone was resenting the forced purchase of his shares in the 'cash cow' Eircom.

On a more general level, it is simply a matter of spreading the message that there is no need to put up with paying monopoly prices and that it is quite acceptable for the people to demand change.

There is a great lack of knowledge at the moment and that needs to be combated. A lot of this is due to Eircom PR tactics and advertising. Up until recently they have had little or no opposition. When the Valentia sale takes place, although there are major competition and cross-media ownership issues, a lot of the pressure will be removed from politicians.

Fergus

Is the price the shareholders will get still floating? I mean, I thought it was pretty much tied up.. Obviously until the final price is set in stone (disasterous though it is), the folks will not be too keen on any Eircom basing that might make it even worse.

dahamsta

Wandering slightly: Does anyone know how many people Eircom employ?

adam

SkepticOne

Originally posted by Fergus
Is the price the shareholders will get still floating? I mean, I thought it was pretty much tied up.. Obviously until the final price is set in stone (disasterous though it is), the folks will not be too keen on any Eircom basing that might make it even worse.

The price Valentia will pay has been agreed upon, but the market price fluctuates according to the probability that the sale goes ahead. At the moment the market price is fairly stable at close to the Valentia offer price, but the Sunday Times suggested that should the sale fail, then the price would drop to half the current value. The market wants the sale to succeed.

JANER

Depressing ****ing read:mad: