[IIU] Re: [ILUG] OT But esat unlimited has been scrapped

[Fergus McDonald]

How about our wonderfully "linux aware" TV3 'Agenda' show. Seems all the RTE
newsroom ever manage to report on the internet is paedophile rings and other
nastiness to be protected from.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Adrian Wooster" <adrian.wooster at foretel.net>
To: "Fergus McDonald" <ottoman at gofree.indigo.ie>; <iiu at taint.org>; "Chris
Higgins" <chris.higgins at horizon.ie>
Cc: "irish linux users group" <ilug at linux.ie>
Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2001 1:59 PM
Subject: RE: [IIU] Re: [ILUG] OT But esat unlimited has been scrapped


>
> Although Eircom is acting the big incumbent, it is in the middle of
demerger
> based on share price - anything seriously detrimental is likely to focus
the
> holders of substantial  share holdings (unions and the board).
>
> The reasons ADSL is "delayed" is two-fold. Firstly, as soon as Eircom
> announce a commercial package they are under obligation to unbundle the
> local loop - initially as bitstream and then full unbundling. The second,
> and more serious, is that it is believed that Eircom's local loop copper
has
> been neglected for so long that is incapable of supporting the frequencies
> needed for aDSL.
>
> That said, technically there is absolutely no reason why iDSL can't be
> rolled out as a starting point - it uses the same signalling as ISDN and
> offers 144k (64+64+16 bonded) of unmetered access. Even that is a step in
> the right direction and would bring "fast" connections to the entire
> country - no worries of upsetting the BMW region, and the rural TD's
holding
> the balance of power.
>
> It would however force Eircom to unbundle - a good thing but one which
would
> require Etain to actually rule on something, and carry it through. If
Eircom
> had any commercial pressure from the other carriers with alternative
> technologies then this would be a lot easier - cable companies and CLEC's
> alike, they are all as incapable of delivering as Eircom. We should by now
> be able to have narrow-band wireless links to the internet with 384k
> unmetered from Esat and Formus - one has folded and the other is very
quite
> after miscalculating the number of masts needed to meet its obligations.
> Chorus has been promising services for months but in my area they can't
even
> get the TV to work.
>
> The regulator will not step in - I defy anyone to say otherwise. Court
cases
> and multinationals haven't managed and the ODTR, like Eircom, doesn't care
> about bad publicity. The best strategy here is to push her incompetence in
> the face of her bosses (the Dail) and get her replaced.
>
> Getting a journalist on our side is probably the best way - there is very
> little informed debate in the media. The technical literacy of this
country
> is woeful - but without wider debate it will be impossible to change
> anything. It is clear that between us we have a very broad and deep
> understanding of the issues - lets find someone to publicise our message.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Fergus McDonald [mailto:ottoman at gofree.indigo.ie]
> Sent: 28 March 2001 12:43
> To: iiu at taint.org; Chris Higgins
> Cc: irish linux users group
> Subject: Re: [IIU] Re: [ILUG] OT But esat unlimited has been scrapped
>
>
> In terms of ammo, would it be possible to focus on and specify any people
/
> rganisations that are deliberately trying to hinder or drag feet on the
> introduction of these services, and how and why. It would be something the
> media could latch on to.