There were thirty two submissions to the DCENR’s public consultation on to the National Broadband Plan – the ‘Call-for-Input’. Of those, six believed that what they had to say was so commercially sensitive, dangerous or controversial that the general public should not be allowed to see it – any of it. Perhaps the security of the state is at risk. Three of them are monopolies owned by the public. They are: An Post Aurora Telecom (subsidiary of Ervia) Coillte We shall now be seeking the submissions from the Department under the Freedom of Information Act 2014.

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...

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...