IrelandOffline

Hi ho Comreg to the rescue!

IrelandOffline cautiously welcomes (yet another) leaked announcement by ComReg of their intention to measure the performance of mobile operators around Ireland, we would like to take this opportunity to point out :   This is the actual job of the regulator and yet here we are seemingly in shock when the regulator sets out to do what it is actually supposed to be doing. They should be more concerned with enforcing the current licence conditions rather than announcing a future intention to do “something”.   Now that the government NBS scheme is over, Comreg announce they will now “test” the...

Huge broadband price rises imminent

IrelandOffline has recently been examining documents emanating from Comreg and have spotted a worrying trend and the certain likelihood of large price increases for ALL users and not just rural users. Much has been made in the media of a probable “price hike” for rural broadband users, the spin helpfully put on this is that urban dwellers are subsidising rural users leading to the conclusion that eircom may be allowed to charge correspondingly higher prices outside of urban areas(1). This is a very worrying development as consumers with bad and rotten connections will now have the privilege of paying more...

Refunds due!

http://www.comreg.ie/_fileupload/publications/ComReg1477.pdf Well done Comreg! Finally a decision that is consumer focused. Now apply the same logic to all the other telcos! This decision this means that eircom can no longer charge penalties when changing providers and many consumers are due a refund if charges have been applied to your account on these grounds. From the decision: “Eircom will immediately remove from its terms and conditions any provisions allowing charges, claims or penalties to be applied in lieu of notice.” “This means that Eircom customers outside of their minimum contractual term may change service provider by agreement with a new provider without...

Missing you already

IrelandOffline would like to take this opportunity to express its disappointment at the removal of Minister Rabbitte from the Department of Communications. Initially we were skeptical, as when Minister Rabbitte took over it seemed like business as usual, recycling old Press releases and statements, however the Minister seemed to get to grips with the position after a time. This is unusual as most Ministers in a difficult technical area like communications do not seem to comprehend even the basics. However Minister Rabbitte DID get to grips with many of the issues (but not all) Minister Rabbitte achieved two important transformations...

Comreg – the consumer champion

We here at IrelandOffline note once again that Comreg is announcing that they intend to measure the performance of broadband providers here in Ireland. Speaking at the Broadband Forum 2014 in Dublin, Kevin O’Brien said ComReg would be seeking to establish a panel to conduct speed measurement trials. “An ongoing bugbear of consumers is that actual broadband speed is often not as fast as what is advertised by their internet service provider. However, Mr O’Brien said the planned project would bring greater transparency to the Irish marketplace when it comes to speed.” Thanks for the update Kevin. We pointed this...