ODTR Press Release 05/03/2001

ButcherOfNog

ODTR Press Release 05/03/2001

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MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Monday 5th March 2001

Telecoms Regulator Opens Way for Greater Choice on Internet Access
Including Flat Rate Access.

Telecoms Regulator Etain Doyle today (5th March 2001) paved the way for
telecoms operators and ISPs to offer Internet users a greater choice of
pricing models. Two new access codes and number ranges for Internet
access, 1892 Pay-As-You-Go and 1893 Partial or Full flat rate were introduced by
the Regulator following a public consultation.

According to the Regulator "These dedicated Internet access codes will
open the way for the development of new and innovative pricing models for
Internet access and should further stimulate the already strong growth in
Internet usage in Ireland. Latest figures would suggest that the residential
Internet market in Ireland is experiencing strong growth. As of January
2001 there were over 1 million people with access to the Internet from home
and approximately 500,000 using the Internet each month from home. This is
an increase of over 50% on the equivalent usage figure as at April 2000. I
believe this framework allows for the future development of the Internet
market in Ireland. I would encourage the operators to capitalise on it
and look forward to the development of more choice for the consumer."

In introducing these new codes the Regulator is developing the existing
framework by opening new numbers that are dedicated to Internet traffic.
The main Internet access pricing models now include the following
categories:

1891 Hybrid models: the customer chooses a mix of subscription charges and call charges, depending on their pattern of use of the Internet.
1892 Pay-as-you-go (PAYG): the customer pays for the telephone calls to access the Internet but does not pay any subscription fees to the Internet Service Provider (ISP);
1893 Partial or Full Flat rate: the customer is not charged for the telecommunications time on-line and/or for traffic generated up to a pre-set limit or with no limits, but pays an agreed flat rate subscription for its Internet service.

The existing "1890" shared cost (local call charge regardless of
location) code may be appropriate for use with Pay as you go services,
as these tend to be priced at a rate equivalent to that used for local calls.

The next step for operators wishing to develop products using the new
numbers is to negotiate appropriate interconnect (wholesale) arrangements with eircom.

The Report on consultation paper ODTR 01/12 " Allocation of additional
access codes and number ranges for Internet Access" is available on the
ODTR website ( www.odtr.ie.)

ENDS

Chris_533976

Sweeet.....

Snowbat

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by ButcherOfNog:
...The next step for operators wishing to develop products using the new
numbers is to negotiate appropriate interconnect (wholesale) arrangements with eircom.</font>

And there lies the problem, as Eircom are left completely free to charge whatever they like. Eircom will want to protect their eircom.net and Indigo services, and call revenue generated from users of other ISP's.

Is there some reason why the ODTR are not going to set wholesale rate pricing?