"Eircom board to consider bids from contenders today"

Son of Blam

From the Irish Times: <A HREF="http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/front/2001/0529/fro2.htm&quot; TARGET=_blank> board to consider
bids from contenders today"</A>.

Interesting, but what does it all mean? If different people are in charge of Eircom will they do different things? Will anybody get broadband sooner? Personally I doubt it.

Word on the street however is that the new 1892 and 1893 numbers (1893 is a flat rate number, these numbers were introduced by the ODTR a while ago as an addition to the current 1891 'subscription' internet number) will be in action pretty soon.

Also Eircom still say they want to start selling ADSL in certain places in Ireland by September of this year. From what I've seen it's not too far fetched an idea, they're currently trialing new hardware and shtuff again.

Oh and please don't troll this topic with "ADSL, hahaha, not for fifty years, Eircom sux, Ireland sux" type posts.

-Son of Blam

hmmm

'Word on the street'? I've heard nothing about interest in the 1892/3 (other than UTV of course) - which dog on the street were you talking to?

Lex_Diamonds

Well, Blam works in Eircom so i'd say he's been putting his ear to a few doors

logic1

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">'Word on the street'? I've heard nothing about interest in the 1892/3 (other than UTV of course) - which dog on the street were you talking to? </font>

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Lex_Diamonds: Well, Blam works in Eircom so i'd say he's been putting his ear to a few doors</font>

Owned.

.logic.

Snaga

I heard that originally they were planning for it to be released sometime in july, but due to staffing probs in the dsl camp its been pushed back to the september time frame.

It was Rover, a poodle dressed in a tutu that divulged that lil gem

-ADREN-

where did this word on the street come from?

Skeptic1

Sorry to be depressing, but none of this bodes well for broadband, in my opinion. The big selling point about Eircom is that it is an encumbant operator whose local loop has not yet been unbundled.

The current board is regarded as being weak by the investment community. The big attraction for these bidders is that they can put in a strong board that will stand up to the ODTR, the Government and the Unions. In this way they can prevent LLU from happening (amongst other things) and thus continue selling their cash cow leased lines and ISDN at inflated prices.

Basically, if LLU was forced into place, you would see a very different reaction from these bidders. All the bidders are looking to milk the existing infrastructure with minimum extra investment. It has been calculated that within three years the potential profits from Eircom will cover the bid amounts. After that it's pure profit.

This is just my opinion. I'm hoping the bids collapse and LLU is forced on a weak board

hmmm

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Lex_Diamonds:
Well, Blam works in Eircom </font>

oh god don't let Joe22 find out or he'll never leave him alone

Magwitch

Terrible development. The only stable internet provider is now to join the ebb and flow of the free market. I really hope Dennis O'Brian does not get it, e-sat is a half assed operation and har to hold to aco****. Dermot Desmond is a known crook and Thatcherite to the core and all concerned are looking to ice it up. Bad for the future of Irish telecomms in general.

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Keep your powder dry and your pants moist

dahamsta

I don't think that's fair to Denis O'Brien actually. His original venture, Esat Digifone, remains the best telecommunications company in Ireland by a long stretch, even considering the difficulties they had with coverage a few months ago.

Hell, I know I pay more to Digifone, and I live in a black spot, but I still use Esat because their level of support is second-to-none. If something goes wrong, I *know* Digifone will try and do something about it. I haven't got that with any other telecommunications business in Ireland, and I've used a few.

You also have to remember that most of the people working in the fixed line side of the business originally came from Telecom Eireann. A good portion of them had and still have the laziness, carelessness and bad attitude associated with working for a monopolistic semi-state body ingrained. Not a lot to work with.

I don't know about Dermot Desmond, and I don't want his bid to succeed for that simple reason. I've read enough about "Sir" Tony O'Reilly in The Phoenix to know I don't want him sitting in the chair at Eircom. But I've followed Denis O'Brien's antics since he set up Digifone, and I think if anyone is able to turn Eircom into a *real* consumer-oriented business - as against the false consumer-caring horseputty Eircom feed us daily - it's him. Better the devil you know.

That said, Eircom have always had a bee in their bonnet about Denis O'Brien, ever since he laid into Eircell so successfully. If Kane and McSharry got their way, they'd turn down DOB even if he had the highest bid. But it's not up to them, it's pretty much down to the workers at Eircom. I hope they'll see through Kane and McSharry's bluff and blunder.

adam

bats

hmm, i'm not convinced that denis o brien's strengths lie in creating value for customers no matter what his pr company spins. Nevertheless, he has the telco experience that dermot desmond and tony o reilly lack (don't forget that the latter is only there to be a friendly irish face). Still, what about that chap, Coulson-wasn't there talk of him entering this fray?

dahamsta

Well, to be fair, I never said anything about value. In fact I commented that I'm probably paying more to Digifone than I would if I was subscribed to Eircell; and that my coverage was a bit hairy locally. But that's about support and customer care. When I was contracted to Eircell, they didn't give a toss about the subscribers and it showed. Esat make an effort, and for that I'm willing to remain loyal to them.

I think the primary reason Denis gets my vote is that there's a chance that he'll see through the politics to the profits, and the profits lie in broadband. I reckon Denis will accelerate the LLU process so he can get DSL lines into businesses and houses as soon as possible, both from Eircom itself and from OLO's. Of course, I could be wrong, he could have an Evil Plan, but I just don't see any other way to get that Eircom share price back up.

One of the funniest comments I've heard was that Digifone was such a success because Denis O'Brien was never allowed set foot in the building. Of course, that was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but even if you take it literally, it doesn't matter - Digifone is a good company and Denis O'Brien would appear to be the man who put it on that track.

Whether he can do it or not with Eircom is another matter - the Esat fixed line business was a screw-up from the off - but as you say, he has experience and it's likely he'll have learned from his mistakes. But then it doesn't really matter what I think, does it? It's the Eircom employees will have the say here, because they'll "vote" along "party lines". If the union points to one consortium and says "that's who we want", that's who we'll get. And unfortunately, some Eircom employees still have a bit of a bee in their bonnet when it comes to Denis O'Brien.

By the way, yes, there were other people involved in bidding for Eircom, but as yet Denis O'Brien and Tony O'Reilly are they only people to have confirmed their ongoing interest.

adam

bats

point taken about broadband=profits. Although if the allegations about denis o brien and the esat licence are proven true then mary harney has gone on record saying she will crucify him personally (or words to that effect!) so that could yet be a factor in the game...

dahamsta

Sadly, that's the way you do business in Ireland if you want to get anywhere. The only new thing about backhanders and brown envelopes is that it's out in the open now, and even with that I can't see anything ever coming out of all these tribunals, apart from a tidy profit for the barristers. I'd be more surprised if Mr. O'Brien didn't have to grease someone's palm.

jd

doesnt make it right if the allegations are true
If they are it would scupper his chances cos he needs 80% acceptance to takeover eircom

strat

ADSL, hahaha, not for fifty years, Eircom sux, Ireland sux

sorry couldnt resist

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"So long loosers whom I've always hated"

dahamsta

Couldn't resist what stratagist? Sounding like a complete moron? Might be better to fight the temptation next time.

Magwitch

I think he was talking about sucking someone. Maybe it was gambled cos he had a mouth full of Denis O Brien. Who knows.