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Snow Jobs The Irish internet user is glutted with overpriced bandwidth. Eircomīs latest twist is what it calls Eircom Hi-Speed. It is actually ISDN but it is not available in all areas but yet these people keep promoting it on a national basis. And now the "technology journalists" are jumping on the bandwidth wagon as they notice the internet passing them by. This is an unusual turn of events because most "technology journalists" donīt know things have happened until they get the press release. Now the technological equivalent of the dogs in the steet know that there is a severe bandwidth problem in Ireland. Eircom Hi-Speed was meant to be launched on March 06. The delivery was supposed to be within two weeks. But like most Eircom initiatives, it was a half-assed effort and the plans far exceeded reality. The reality was that ISDN was not available in all areas in Ireland. Some recent posts on the ie usenet groups were from people who were waiting months for ISDN connections. Eircom Hi-Speed is merely ISDN repackaged with a stupid though trendy sounding name. Apparently the character responsible for this whole thing has now left Eircom. In order to get an Eircom Hi-Speed connection, you have to contact them and you will be put on a "prospect" list. Now the logic of this is blinding - if you contact Eircom to sign up for this product you are put on a list that indicated that you are a prospective customer. Someone should explain rudimentary English language skills to these people. Apart from Eircom Hi-Speed being ISDN, it has another couple of features - it allows you to retain your old analogue number and some of the call management services. The installation charge, if you have an existing line is £99.00. Of course Eircom is not able to supply this product in all areas but it will readily offer to supply ISDN at an installation charge of £199. Letīs put this in perspective - the Eircom Hi-Speed product has more features and it is cheaper; ISDN has less and it is more expensive. However the cost in each case for the line rental is the same - £29.00 + 21% VAT. That is almost three times the rental of a single analogue line. Though there are technological arguments for ISDN, the consumer will see only one - the financial one. Eircomīs Hi-Speed product is over priced and it is an attempt to screw the Irish telcoms user for more money. ADSL is still a pipe dream and it could be as late as the second quarter next year before it is rolled out on a nation-wide basis. |
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