Cret Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 Anyone else hear that on the radio yesterday about them? Said that they have been granted a license to provide landlines and broadband services over here, now that they had passed the 10% market share level. Could make things interesting. Given how much better offers we get with mobiles since they arrived and telecom dropped their prices, this might be another good deal in the making for everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 or more holes in the roads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
immortalpuppet Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 There has always been competition in the broadband market so i cant see much of a difference in anything other than support or package offers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mutley Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 or more holes in the roads The amendment to the license doesn't allow for them to provide new infrastructure therefore they have to use MTs AFAIK. Has the LLU been unbundled over here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pale Rider Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 There has always been competition in the broadband market so i cant see much of a difference in anything other than support or package offers. Am I not right in saying previously on the island you could only get broadband at home with one company, Manx Telecom? What I couldn't believe when a mate of mine on the island decided to get broadband from MT he had to buy his own modem! (In the UK the modem is provided FOC by your supplier). And when he tried to set it up it wouldn't work. Several calls to MT before they admitted it was them that hadn't set up his line properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
immortalpuppet Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 I dont think any of the ISP`s are doing free modems at the moment, MT were doing an offer on speedtouch modems but people are mostly using routers nowadays so they are not much use. I think i remember Wimanx doing a free router at one point but i cant remember where i read that. Making comparrisons to the UK and what they are offering is a bit pointless because the UK broadband market is saturated and they will offer anything to secure a sale. In terms of support then shit sticks and there are bad points that people have heard about most ISP`s but you rarley hear about the good things. If you compare the support to some of the companies in the UK then we are spolit in a way, i play online games with people from all around Europe and it is not uncommon to see a player drop off the grid for 2-3 weeks at a time while the telecoms company/ISP try and fix a problem. I dont think i know anyone that has been off for longer than a weekend over here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pale Rider Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 I dont think any of the ISP`s are doing free modems at the moment, MT were doing an offer on speedtouch modems but people are mostly using routers nowadays so they are not much use. I think i remember Wimanx doing a free router at one point but i cant remember where i read that. Making comparrisons to the UK and what they are offering is a bit pointless because the UK broadband market is saturated and they will offer anything to secure a sale. In terms of support then shit sticks and there are bad points that people have heard about most ISP`s but you rarley hear about the good things. If you compare the support to some of the companies in the UK then we are spolit in a way, i play online games with people from all around Europe and it is not uncommon to see a player drop off the grid for 2-3 weeks at a time while the telecoms company/ISP try and fix a problem. I dont think i know anyone that has been off for longer than a weekend over here. True, support issues are something that can hit any broadband company and I am not suggesting for a minute that every UK ISP is perfect, far from it. Over here if you have problems with your ISP it is generally easier to find another company to switch to. If the island is limited to one or two providers that is cutting down peoples options if they have any huge problems and want to switch. However from what you are saying it would seem that the majority don't have too many problems with MT. I should point out that my mates experience was a couple of years ago now when UK ISPs were still giving out free modems, and wireless routers weren't offered by everyone. I remember at the time though how annoyed he was by the problems he was having. It took him the best part of 3 weeks to get online! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 There are a few ISP's on the Island - there's a few that offer wireless services - these are aimed at business' though. The other traffic is through MT's phone lines, so you have MT sat between your self and your ISP. Wi-Manx, 2e2, Domicillium, MCB, Manxnet & soon C&W are the ISP's I know of over here - not sure about Manxnet, but the others pay a 'wholesale' charge to MT and this has an effect on the price passed on to the customers, none of the providers could survive if they tried to sell their packages at or below the wholesale price. Maybe C&W would be able to add an extra bit of 'clout' to push for LLU - this wouldn't be such a bad thing IMHO. In regard to 'free' modems - don't you usually have to sign up for 18 months or so to receive one of these? Many of the freebies tend to be USB only, so you're screwed if you want to use a number of networked devices (wireless, X-Box, PS 3's etc) - they can be fine for users with just one PC, but I guess many people would prefer a wireless router. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 I have both a MT broadband on the Island + two BT broadband links (mine + a friends I maintain) in UK - MT is infinitely more responsive - get a problem with BT and it takes you a week to get it out of the Indian call centre hands before anything is done about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballaughbiker Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 MT is infinitely more responsive I should think so for £10 a month more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 MT is infinitely more responsive I should think so for £10 a month more yes but a non-working line is not worth £10 a month less - I've generally been lucky with my own BT link but knowing something about the technology I've learnt to insist on escalating a fault very quickly - my friend line took over 3 weeks of hassling BT before they acknowledged an exchange fault Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Unless C&W are going to use the MEA technology and push bandwidth down the leccy lines and/ or the local loop gets unbundled, then no matter what C&W or any of the other ISPs do, they still have to pay MT's higher than normal bulk rates. So either way because of the last mile whatsit you end up paying the bulk of your money either directly or indirectly to MT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triskelion Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 The use of power lines to provide internet relies on phone lines for all but the shortest of distances anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeyconcrete Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Anyone else hear that on the radio yesterday about them? Said that they have been granted a license to provide landlines and broadband services over here, now that they had passed the 10% market share level. What's also interesting is as far as I was aware the process was still at the 'Comments' stage where interested parties are notified... I never heard the radio but if C&W are already saying they have it - then perhaps it was always a done deal .... My understanding was there's no decision made until (at least) the 20th June. The amendments won't provide the same opportunity and innovation that LLU offers - but I think it may open up other avenues for people to save money. The use of power lines to provide internet relies on phone lines for all but the shortest of distances anyway. Range is an issue - but the (limited) deployments I am aware of use repeaters to boost the signal sufficently enough to come in 'via the mains'. It is worth noting that PLC has lots of opponents and the residential broadband market is already quite well serviced, with good penetration - so it would need to be very cheap, high capacity, or both to succeed. In terms of broadband - I would say both the wholesale and retail elements of the local broadband market are more responsive than the UK, certainly in terms of fault resolution. Granted, the wholesale charges are higher and the offerings are far simpler than the UK but the "wholesale" infrastructure is generally quite good. Personally I find it frustrating with the amount of `worlds first` PR we see and yet we lag behind in so many areas. The Island should aim to be the leader in this market rather than playing catchup. It's all choice at the end of the day - and the consumer and local businesses should be the ones who benefit in the long run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballaughbiker Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 yes but a non-working line is not worth £10 a month less Of course, that is not what I was saying. I'm a BT broadband customer as well as Domicilium and I've no real problem with BT. You just say you are going to stop paying until it works and they send someone within a day or two. With me it was next day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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