ADSL Trials sign up closed today at 5pm

Boston

It official no more sign up,
I also got some interesting news from the guy on the line,(daniel) he told me that 25 additional exchanges were upgraded that makes 34 Dublin wide. He also said the trial will end early February and that the 93 pounds prices is a keeper, it will not change as it will be months still after that before esat or anyone else can sell ADSL.

if you disconnect from the trial and don't take up the service not only will you loose your modem, but you will also have to pay for installation again should you go for ADSL at a later stage

nahdoic

*sigh*

pity my line failed the test

oh well happy surfting to everyone who is getting ADSL for free (looky sods)

ando

I dont think this is quite true. I ordered my new line aprox 2 weeks ago, as my normal one failed the adsl test. Twice I rang up eircom saying that I was concerned about a possable deadline for the trials as my line would take a few weeks to be installed... twice I was told there was no deadline, by different people... believe what you want, but I'm keeping my hope up until i see some proof

Dustaz

I still dont believe that the price will remain unchanged. It may well launch with that price, but theres no way it will stay at that. You can keep quoting me on this too:)

Remember Boston that the guy you were talking to only knows as much as he was told by his general uberlords. They will tow the party line with regards to prices for as long as possible.

Matfinn

Here are my thoughts.

Q1: Will we get broadband nationwide within the next year?

A1: No, absolutely not, maybe not for another three years

Q2: Will we ever get flatrate 56k access??

A2: Only when it is too expensive for Eircom not to release it (ie: when theyre being fined heavily).

Thats all

Matt

dahamsta

Boston said: daniel ... said ... that the 93 pounds prices is a keeper, it will not change as it will be months still after that before esat or anyone else can sell ADSL.

That's patently untrue. For a start, Eircom's base-level pricing for i-Stream is no longer £93, it's been raised to £103 in a positively bewildering attempt to deal with the margin squeeze highlighted by the Regulator[1]. Even if you try and jiggle the figures with VAT, they don't add up. On top of that, Eircom can't roll out their retail product until six weeks after the wholesale price has been agreed, and I find it very hard to believe that Esat - and possibly even other operators - will not be in a position to roll out bitstream products by that time. They've had years to prepare, and there's not all that much needs to be prepared anyway - bitstream products are in essence repackaged incumbent products, and Eircom remain responsible for the technical aspect of them on the exchange side. I could run a bitstream service out of my garage if I had the investment.

Another thing I find hard to believe is that the ODTR will allow Eircom to retain their current wholesale pricing levels. They are not cost-oriented by any stretch of the imagination, and it's the Regulator's (and IrelandOffline's) view that they have to be cost-oriented. To extend from that, if the wholesale prices do come down, Eircom will *have* to reduce their prices to be able to sell the retail product. If they don't, the only custom they get will be the triallists, because the OLO's will have lower pricing from the off. Of course this is one of the reasons Eircom wants to continue with the trials, but at the end of the day, what the Eircom chappy told you is probably what the company want him to believe, and he's a very naive person if he swallows it, particularly when he *works* there.

Dustaz said: I still dont believe that the price will remain unchanged. It may well launch with that price, but theres no way it will stay at that. You can keep quoting me on this too

Absolutely. There's a better than average chance that the initial prices are going to be too high, but I believe the prices will come down to a slightly more realistic level before the end of the year. That is, of course, if Eircom decide that DSL is going to work out for them, which is quite definitely not a given. And of course a lot of this hinges on the Regulator. Etain Doyle should be pressuring for reasonable pricing now that will allow Eircom see some profitability, to convince and enable them to continue with rollout.

Matfinn said: Q1: Will we get broadband nationwide within the next year?

A1: No, absolutely not, maybe not for another three years

I'll amend your answer if you don't mind Matfinn: No, absolutely not, maybe not for decades. Broadband in the regions is simply not financially viable, and the only way we'll ever get to that stage is with substantial investment from the government, much like the unprofitable bus routes they subsidise. Of course, if the government invests wisely now, the projections could be improved dramatically, but our government is miles away from understanding the real issues involved. They still think we mean leased lines when we say "broadband"...

Q2: Will we ever get flatrate 56k access??

A2: Only when it is too expensive for Eircom not to release it (ie: when theyre being fined heavily).

Fined or forced by public opinion, that's the only way. And it's something that has to be tackled now. To that end, IrelandOffline is going to have to back off from DSL a little for a while. Flat-rate Internet access is our primary goal, it will be like flipping a light switch in Ireland, which is of course why Eircom don't want to make it available. But the longer it goes on, the worse Eircom are making it for themselves, and they only have themselves to blame for the position they find themselves in. The non-viable line is getting weaker and weaker each day I look into it. It works in the UK, it works in Germany, and it works in New Zealand and Australia - countries even more unevenly populated than Ireland. If the government doesn't force Eircom into making it available soon, we're going to look even more like the boggers of Europe. If that's possible...

adam

[1] Yes Eircom, you confused even me with that one. I have absolutely no idea what you hoped to gain out of that, because to me, and everyone I know, it looks like you just ended up kicking yourself up the arse with it, by delaying your own rollout. Unless of course it was the Daylight Robbers master plan to leave even more crap behind them for "Sir" Tony O'Reilly to clean up. Perhaps I'm underestimating you though, and if that's the case, well done, you're an even sneakier bunch of rodents than I thought.

MS

Perhaps I'm underestimating you though, and if that's the case, well done, you're an even sneakier bunch of rodents than I thought.

Can you turn the 'Light Bulb' off now please. Everyone else is being blinded.


MS

smokin' an'chewin' man

Originally posted by «Bo§ton»
He also said the trial will end early February and that the 93 pounds prices is a keeper,

Correct me if I am wrong but isn't the issue of pricing still in court with the ODTR ?

Matfinn

If I appeared as a smart arse in my last post generally knocking Irelandofflines efforts, then that wasnt the intention. Im pissed off at eircom and their attitude. Im only saying that because I dont like smart arses

Matt

Lemming

Originally posted by dahamsta
There's a better than average chance that the initial prices are going to be too high, but I believe the prices will come down to a slightly more realistic level before the end of the year.

Hey .. that sounds familiar!! Eircon share prices anyone??? :rolleyes:

(Thank f*ck I didn't buy any of those!! )

dahamsta

Correct me if I am wrong but isn't the issue of pricing still in court with the ODTR ?

That's the Local Loop Unbundling pricing issue, which doesn't apply here. The bitstream pricing issue is being negotiated directly with the ODTR.

adam

ando

ah man, with treads like this, i'm getting mighty pi$sed off with the government for not passing the communications bill ...

Boston

well he said 93 to me, i got the impression he didnt quiet know what he was talking about but had heard something, about something, somewere. i was about to suggest he look ot ioffl to get the facts

anyway, what may or may not come, i still feel for the first few months adsl will still be extremely expensive, and once you sign that contract your locked in for months at that price.

ando

Originally posted by «Bo§ton»
i was about to suggest he look of ioffl to get the facts

LoL

i still feel for the first few months adsl will still be extremely expensive, and once you sign that contract your locked in for months at that price.

I know, but I've been waiting so long for broadband.... and who knows what NTL are going to do ?? If I get a chance for the trial, I'm not going to let the opportunity pass me by

Dustaz

Originally posted by «Bo§ton»
anyway, what may or may not come, i still feel for the first few months adsl will still be extremely expensive, and once you sign that contract your locked in for months at that price.

Not nessasarily. this was one of the questions i asked of the sales bloke when i signed up for the Solo deal. He didn think a situation would arise where the price would drop and i would be paying more than newer subscribers. In other words he didnt think i would be locked into one price.

if its worth anything, he affirmed the price would be 93 pm and not that newer price of 108 (? something like that) this was about a month and a half ago btw.

Boston

tell me, does eircom know something we dont(theres a first), they keep on telling me it will be all ready to go end of january -early febuary.
Now i know it takes 28 days after the agreement is reached for them to roll out adsl, wholesale or otherwise. so have they actually agreed something i wonder? if anybody could ask around it would be great.

astrofool

Trial sign up sort of finished today, but should be ok if you ring and ask monday or tuesday, they are line testing for me on Monday for adsl, and I rang up about 2 hours ago, already re connected an old analogue line I had.

they say it lasts for 8 weeks, I assume they'll want to launch after that

dahamsta

they say it lasts for 8 weeks, I assume they'll want to launch after that

They'd want to get the finger out and agree pricing with the Regulator in the next two then, eh?

adam