IrelandOffline Quarterly Report Q1 2012 This is the latest IrelandOffline Quarterly report, based as always on Ookla Netindex Data. Two particular issues are highlighted in this report. 1. Why is Bandwidth, measured as in $ per mbit delivered, so expensive overall  in Ireland. 2. The Urban-Rural divide.   Internationally. Ireland dropped 8 places to 53rd place in the World during Q4 2011 and staged an insipid  recovery to 51st in Q1 2012. We passed Vietnam for download speeds and just avoided being passed by nearby Laos for Upload speeds. In Quarter 1 2012 Ireland’s Position is as follows: Ireland is...

Probable eircom Fibre To The Cabinet locations This is the overall picture for Ireland. This is very similar to the original DSL rollout locations, one can only hope that other areas will eventually be enabled as was the case in the original programme, which however is still not yet completed. These are the Dublin locations: Provisional and unofficial  list of exchanges to be completed by mid 2013 CLONEE MERVUE SWORDS DOUGLAS TALLAGHT LETTERKENY PALMERSTOWN DONABATE BALLYBODEN DOORADOYLE BLANCHARDSTOWN PRIORY PARK BRAY DROGHEDA ROCHESTOWN DUN LAOGHAIRE BELCAMP DOLPHINS BARN DUNDRUM DUNDALK ENNIS SUTTON TERENURE BALLINCOLLIG RATHMINES BALBRIGGAN CROWN ALLEY BEGGARS BUSH...

Publish the Report Ireland Offline calls on Minister Rabbitte to publish the report of the Broadband Taskforce before his department makes another irreparable blunder. Late (yet again) The report of the Broadband Taskforce, first proposed by Noel Dempsey in 2007, will be concluded, according to Minister Rabbitte, by Saint Patrick’s Day 2012. While this is about five years later than former minister Dempsey anticipated and ten years too late by the standards of any other country apart from Greece perhaps, it is already three months later than Minister Rabbitte himself promised only nine months ago. Are we then to be...

The shocking state of broadband in Ireland For many years now IrelandOffline have called for the proper provision of broadband throughout Ireland. We have made much of the sad and sorry state of the provision of broadband throughout rural Ireland (and indeed urban Ireland). Slow speeds and rotting telephone lines leading to pathetic speeds for consumers throughout our republic. Today we read that the State cannot even provide broadband to it’s own police force, with over 40% of garda stations left unconnected to the PULSE system, leading to the ludicrous situation where policemen (gardaí) have to drive up to a...

The privatization of censorship (an Irish SOPA) Ireland has in its past, had a time of censorship which was rightfully overturned by right thinking politicians. In those more enlightened times certain politicians eventually saw the ultimate futility of censoring James Joyce and hacking feature films to death.. Eamonn Wallace, Chairman of IrelandOffline said : “under the bullying of the Content Oligopoly we propose to hand over censorship and public policy to private companies. The probable outcome to this is that the likes of IRMA will now be given control over the websites that Irish people can visit and view.” Wallace...