Eircom and ‘next-generation’ broadband
Price gouging comes to Dublin
eircom today have announced their “Next Generation Broadband” promising speeds of up to 8MB to all subscribers, they claim to have also finally addressed the contention issue (which they call congestion). What is not in the headlines is the subtle but important change from a speed based model to a usage based model of charging.
The announcement
Let us be clear on this announcement, this is neither Next Generation anything nor will 8 MB be delivered to the vast majority of hapless consumers. While IrelandOffline welcome the attention to the important issue of contention we feel this announcement is nothing more than “window dressing”.
The phrase “Next Generation” alludes to the next generation of broadband products usually delivered by Fibre, this most certainly is not anything like that. This is purely “marketing speak” as almost everything else remains exactly the same.
The only thing “Next Generation about this product is the charging policy. This is a 200% increase on the average user’s bill for those who can least afford it. This product is only Dublin based for the moment.
Usage based charging
This is yet another attack on the hard pressed telecommunications consumers of Ireland. Not only do they have to endure the highest line-rental on the planet they now have to endure a €2 charge for each Gigabyte they go over their paltry caps. For instance the “Broadband Basic” has a minuscule 10GB cap barely enough for the average “tech savy” family.
In reality this package will cost €50 for all but the lightest users. That’s €50 + line rental making the total €75.36 per month. This is hardly a giant leap forward it’s more like a gigantic leap into the dark past and into your wallet.
eircom webiste states that the price includes line rental
http://www.eircom.net/broadband/products/bundles/ngb/16/?view=Standard
Many thanks for your ‘side’ of the Eircom story printed in the Irish Times. Very helpful in seeing the ‘offer’ for what it really is!
i don’t have a ‘side’
Sheeno, I think the €50 refers to the maximum limit for the broadband portion of your bill. That is, your base broadband package (~€25-€44) plus overcharges of €2/GB up to a maximum of €50/month.
Your link shows the package price, with line rental, but doesn’t allow for over-charges.
Also, William was referring to IrelandOffline, rather than your comment.
Since the average speed possible is about 3Mbps to 5Mbps (depending on if ADSL or ADSL2+ is deployed), maybe as many people that would get 8Mbps will only be able to get 1Mbps.
Eircom’s planned reduction of “congestion” on backhaul, is only puting the kind of backhaul Magnet, Digiweb and UPC (ex Chorus / NTL) already have. The only “NGN” element is their backhaul upgrades to the standard others already have.
There is no NGN element for the circuit from the exchange to home.
I really must laugh at this ‘news’. There is nothing in this announcement to celebrate. Eircom have had a monopoly for too long and as new cheaper/faster alternatives come in, Eircom will be left by the side of the road. Hopefully people will wise up to the rip off service Eircom provide sooner rather than later.
According to this CNN world broadband map : http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2010/03/tech/map.broadband.speeds/index.html, it seems Ireland has an average broadband speed of 5.32 Mbps, where as the UK’s average is stated as 3.48Mbps. That can’t be right can it?
in the past i have been a huge critic of eircom, but this IS a huge leap forward.
You have been far too harsh on eircom in this article.This is actually the biggest step we have take towards the ‘green economy’.
I will be switching over to eircom soon. Ill be going for the 8gb with 30gb download allowance and without a phone. Line rental is included in the charge so the max i pay each month is €30 unless i go over the download limit.
Hats off to eircom they have set down a marker for other ISP’s to follow
There are good and bad aspects to the NGB announcement (mainly good IMO). Also some scope for debate re: usage based billing (my opinion: inevitable). However this article is poorly written and sensationalist, and loses ALL credibility with the ridiculous “200% on the average bill” claim. Check your facts!
Regardless of any pricing issues, Comreg have defined next generation broadband as 25M, not 8. This is nothing more than Eircom’s marketing department branding 8megs as “next generation” which is total bull. Eircom is holding the country back and has been sold so many times in the last few years, stripping it of cash and selling it on again, I’ve lost count.