Sunday Business Post : Dermot Ahern's internet plans face failure

Dangger

From todays Tribune.

By Gavin Daly, Technology Editor
Dublin, Ireland, 27 October, 2002


Minister for Communications Dermot Ahern's plan to force the introduction of flat-rate internet access could be scuppered by questionable demand for home web use, according to a recent survey.


Research commissioned by the telecoms regulator showed 49 per cent of the 756 respondents already had home internet access. Around 25 per cent of those without home internet access said they were `extremely interested' or `very interested' in the service, indicating total internet penetration could reach 62 per cent. Three-fifths of those with home internet access were in the Dublin area, according to the MRBI research.

Its not only about who already has it at home. The issues are about the cost to the home user and how much they feel they can afford to use it.

Almost 70 per cent of home internet users stayed online for under 30 minutes per session, and a third said they did not stay online longer because they did not need to use the service. The survey found internet content was "a key factor in determining not only getting online but staying online".

So could the other two thirds say the simply could not afford to use the service?

Ahern last week said 30 per cent of Irish homes had internet access and getting people online was "a pivotal part of our development as an economy and as a society". A spokesperson for his department last week confirmed it had not conducted any independent research into demand for internet services.

Well how is the rest of Europe doing?

Sources said Ahern's plan could also fall down as he had directed a body that does not exist to address the issue.

Ahern sent the direction to the Commission for Communications Regulation, which will replace the existing Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation (ODTR).

However, the commission members have not been announced, and the body has not been established. An ODTR spokesperson said she could only infer from Ahern's comments that he planned to establish the body in the near future.
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Surely the Commission's arrival is a matter of days now? Is this really a stumbling block?

Ahern's spokesperson said a draft direction on the issue would be published shortly, followed by a 21-day consultation period.

Eircom, which will have to cut the price it charges other operators to use its network, is expected to object to the direction.

No surprises there, although Eircom did officially state at the hearing of the EU telecoms report in October of this year which IOFFL attended that they vew flat rate access as an important step in devlopment of Internet use in Ireland. In a meeting with their CEO Dr. Philip Nolan, IOFFL were told that the PC ownership figures in Ireland need to be a lot higher to be sure there is a suffucient market.

The telco was last week considering Ahern's directive, but has previously said it would be uneconomic to provide flat-rate access here and comparisons with other countries were unrealistic.

Of course its uneconmonic for them in the short run look how much profit they are making currently on dial up per minute. Eircom.Net and Indigo their dial up business units are two of the the few business units within Eircom doing well. The current owners will under no circumstances act to endanger that revenue. Eirocom is all about short term profit, they have shown they have no intention of acting in the best interests of Irish people, and why should they they are now a private entity. However they are quick to look for government handouts.

Currently they are arguing to have the price cap removed so they can increase the price of phone calls, they'd like to see them in the same league as mobile phone call prices.

Bill Murphy, the chief executive of Eircom rival Esat BT, dismissed Eircom's argument and said the topography of Ireland and Britain were similar.

The government spokesperson said he didn't see any reason why flat-rate internet access would not be available next year.

The network congestion network arguement is a dead duck. However what could be a problem is the follwoing. During the population growth in the 80's many urban areas were not sufficiently upgraded with 'new' lines to cater for demand. The use of splitters ensured that new homes had a phone line capable of a voice calls (9,200 bps) and not much more. Many Irish Internet usrs can only connect at speeds ,much lower than the speeds their 56k modems can handle. A lot of the infrastructure to many residential areas outside large towns requires attention to ensure good quality lines are available for those who which to avail of high speed Internet access. If flat rate was to grow usage the shodiness of the under lying infrastructure which Eircom like to boast about spending so much on could be exposed.

While the British telecoms regulator issued a similar direction two years ago, seven other European Union countries do not have flat-rate internet access.

Ahern is expected to announce the three members of the new Commission for Communications Regulation as early as this week. The body, which will replace the ODTR, is expected to be chaired by ODTR boss Etain Doyle.

Market sources said the commission's other members were likely to be ODTR employee John Doherty and Isolde Goggin, the head of regulatory affairs at the Competition Authority. The spokesperson for Ahern's department said the commission should be established within weeks.

mike65

This also from that story-

Sources said Ahern's plan could also fall down as he had directed a body that does not exist to address the issue.

Yes Minister....! :rolleyes:


Mike.

spongebob

I remember clearly that Eircon were wittering on about the fact that their network could not handle the initial deregulation about 4 years ago . They whined about hotspots of congestion which as it happens werent an issue.

They have trotted the same twaddle out again, this time in reference to flatrate. For a variety of reasons this is simply sh1te.

Dangger also raised another point about popular misconceptions ...caused by one Eircom who currently cannot give us a website

A lot of the infrastructure to many residential areas outside large towns requires attention to ensure good quality lines are available for those who which to avail of high speed Internet access. If flat rate was to grow usage the shoddiness of the under lying infrastructure which Eircom like to boast about spending so much on could be exposed.

This is potentially explosive. Very few people realise how badly they are being treated by Eircom. The worst problems are in rural areas adjacent to the large towns that have grown in the 90's and in what are known as mature (over 30-40 year old) suburbs.

During the early to mid 1980's Eircom provisioned most of the copper in copper still in use in rural and mature suburban Ireland.
Once they finished this they got rid of a lot of the linesmen in the late 80'sand early 90's. They couldn't get rid of the biddies bacause a complex equality case was dragging on at the time although they wanted to dump at least 2000 of the useless cows. The system had all been automated by 1987 so the biddies have been surplus ever since.

During the 1990's they have provisioned underground copper in new housing estates in urban areas, Lucan or Knocknacarra come to mind as examples. In rural areas (and some mature suburbs with overhead Telephone lines such as Rathgar or Fairview) they found that it would be cheaper to split lines than to provision new copper bacause Eircon are actually understrength when it comes to linesmen as they got rid of too many in the late 80's early 90's. Yes they are overstaffed but not with those skills they now need.

Many people also got second lines in FOR internet use....not a few during the period 1998-2002 when it became clear for the first time that DSL was going to be a realistic proposition in Ireland. Eircon actually ran cut price specials as late as 1999 on second lines.

Eircom actually took money off people knowing they wanted the second lines for internet access and THEN split their lines. The biddies are great at misrepresenting everything and getting really thick if you ask a smple but intelligent question....its a skill you learn as a switchboard operator it seems.

The worst affected areas are rural within a 20 mile radius of the big towns ...not your Lucans but your Kinnegads or Ashbournes, not your Knocknacarra but your Moycullen or Claregalway.

M