Hell is 56k dialup

Left out of the broadband revolution, inevitably I feel I am missing out on something here in rural Ireland.

Youtube movies, repeats of Newsnight, The Apprentice, or other online televisual gems are a non-broadband-enabled pipe dream at the moment.

The odd use of a high-speed wi-fi connection whets my appetite for broadband, so now I am hoping that between them Vodafone and O2 might provide HSDPA (High Speed Digital Packet Access) coverage where I live, which could in theory provide download speeds of up to 8MB per second.

Living three miles from a broadband-enabled exchange, it is frustrating to know that the possibility to surf at broadband speeds is minutes away.

With the cheapest satellite service priced at about 60 euros a month - once you factor in the dialup connection that you have to retain - and landline providers charging a minimum of about 35 euros, including the necessary line rental, 40 euros or so for HSDPA starts to look like an attractive proposition.

But is it commercially viable for the mobile operators?

At a vague estimate, I would guess there might be a few hundred people like myself where I live, that would use HSDPA covered by my nearest mobile phone mast.

I have some vague advice that it costs €80,000 to set up one of these. Let's say each subscriber pays an average of 400 euros a year, then it only takes 200 subscribers in a given mast coverage area signed up for a year for the networks to break even.

They have an opportunity to develop a new data revenue stream and acquire new customers, and at the same time render the landline operators such as Eircom redundant.

Given that they are unwilling and legally bound not to unbundle the local loop / last-mile copper-wiring or to improve line quality in rural areas that would allow their competitors to access new broadband customers, telecoms regulator Comreg should provide all the assistance it can to O2 and Vodafone in bringing HSDPA to market as soon as possible.

Instead of providing subsidies to community broadband schemes, O2 and Vodafone should be granted subsidies to provide HSDPA coverage in rural areas.

Then, instead of having to read Sir Anthony O' Reilly's smug newspaper announcements to Eircom's shareholders while I wait for another webpage to load, I might be allowed the small pleasure of having denied his shareholders some money.


'It's all about bucks kid, and the rest is just conversation.' - Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone's film, Wall Street.