Open Letter to the Oireachtas Committee for Communications – (Short Version)

The full letter detailing how Communications Commissioner Mike Byrne misled the members of the Oireachtas Committee by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration and omission ('lying' to you and me) can be downloaded as a pdf file here (600KB).


1. The flat rate policy direction of February 2003

ComReg was directed by Minister Dermot Ahern in February 2003 to bring about "affordable retail flat rate Internet access", to give "price certainty" and "take the clock out of using the Internet". According to the Minister this was overdue and necessary to overcome Ireland's Internet stagnation. (Full text of the Flat Rate Directive under resources 2)


2. ComReg failed to bring about "retail flat rate Internet access".

This is one of the reasons why we as a country are now at the bottom of the Euorpean broadband league – and not catching up:



We are also at the bottom of the OECD and the EC broadband league:



3. Mike Byrne lies to the Committee

Comreg misled (lying to you and me) the Oireachtas Commitee on Communications about its failure to bring about retail flat rate Internet access as directed.

In a letter dated 23th March 2005 to the Joint Committee on Communications Mike Byrne writes about my statement that "ComReg failed to successfully introduce flat-rate dial-up Internet access for Ireland". Mike Byrne falsely claims that ComReg's actions on foot of and even before the ministerial directive "allowed for the introduction of a wholesale product by eircom which facilitated the introduction of competitive flat rate Internet access products at a retail level. Currently there are approximately 96,500 Flat Rate subscribers."(see full paragraph in resources 1)

Fact is: There is not a single retail flat rate product in the meaning of the ministerial directive on offer and there is not a single subscriber on a flat rate product in the meaning of the miniseterial directive, which would give "price certainty" and "take the clock out of" the equation.
All that came on offer after the belated introduction of a wholesale flat rate product (FRIACO) are bundled Internet hours with inbuilt penal overreach charges of up to €3 per hour. While these bundled offers give some price reductions compared with pure per minute products, they are not what the minister ordered and they cannot achieve what the minister had hoped to achieve.
According to ComReg's definition these products are "Partial Flat Rate" products, which is of course an oxymoron.
You can call a car a "partial aeroplane", but sure it won't fly!


3. ComReg lies in its consumer guides

ComReg misleads the Irish consumer about its failure to introduce flat rate dial-up Internet access, by pretending that flat rate products are offered.
In its consumer guide on Internet access, ComReg misleads Irish consumers to believe that they can choose between "Partial Flat Rate" and "Full Flat Rate" dial-up options:

From the ComReg's "Internet access – get connected" (There are altogether eleven rather useless "Consumer guides" on the ComReg website.):

"What types of tariff options are available?
The flat rate options (often referred to as unmetered options) available include;
• Partial Flat Rate options are where the call costs at defined times and/or a predetermined amount of hours are included in your subscription charge e.g. off peak call costs are included while connections to the internet at peak times are still charged at a cent per minute rate.
• Full Flat Rate options are where you pay a fixed amount every month and this subscription charge includes all your call costs for connecting to the Internet. You should be aware that a fair use or acceptable use policy may apply – i.e. a limit of hours may apply. This option will suit any residential or small business user who plans to spend a large amount of time online, in particular, at peak time."

ComReg should pull this misguiding guide from the askcomreg.ie web site immediately. Even ASAI would condemn such nonsense.


4. How does ComReg inform the Minister?

Since the flat rate policy directive asks ComReg to report in monthly intervals until such time as retail flat rate dial-up Internet access is brought about, one would assume that our regulator is still sending its monthly reports to the DCMNR, or more likely the question arrises: Have the Commissioners as well misinformed the Minister about their failure to facilitate the introduction of real retail flat rate dial-up Internet access?
Time to ask the Minister or make a FOI enquiry.

The Minister's answer to a recent parliamentary question (see resources 3) suggests that the DCMNR was misinformed about the regulator's failure to achieve the objectives of the "Flat Rate" directive. Having wholesale FRIACO was not the objective of the directive, giving consumers "price certainty" and "taking the clock out of using the Internet" by providing retail flat rate dial-up Internet access was the objective!


5. Is the issue of flat rate dial-up still relevant?

Unfortunately it is still valid for the dire Irish situation. Incumbent eircom is allowed to still exclude 40% of the population from access to dsl broadband. Making a killing from expensive metered dial-up access is still one of eircom's core business models and the detriment of Internet growth.
Being in a position to charge consumers, who have no other choice, € 30 per month for a mere 150 dial-up Internet hours (and € 3 for each additional hour!), when the company can at the same time offer real unlimited flat rate national telephone calls for € 15 per month is saying it all:
What's our regulator doing?
How much longer can we afford to stay at the bottom of the leagues of developed nations before the misinformation the Commissioners turn out to save their own asses in the face of failure is seriouisly questioned?

Dermot Ahern Unveils Policy Directions to ComReg
Minister Directs Regulator to Deliver Flat Rate Internet Access
Dublin, Friday, February 21, 2003
Dermot Ahern T.D., Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, today unveiled his Policy Directions to the Commission for Communications Regulation.
 
The Directions amount to a change for the communications sector.  They focus on a number of key policy priorities for the Commission in the short to medium term. 
 
The Minister has taken the radical step of directing the Telecommunications Regulator to introduce flat rate internet access.  He has directed the Commission to provide monthly progress updates on its delivery to consumers.  Following the Minister’s intervention, swift progress can now be expected in this area.
 
Other issues include:
 
·     ensuring that the Commission have regard to Government policy for the communications sector, including broadband rollout
 
·     ensuring that best practice regulatory procedures are adopted by the Commission . These principles include imposition of regulation only where justified, the need to ensure that the cost of regulation is minimised and the assessment of the impact of regulatory decisions before they are imposed. 
 
The Minister said: “I want the communications sector to provide a major contribution to Ireland’s sustained macro-economic growth and competitiveness. The Commission for Communications Regulation has an important part to play in this and I want to ensure that the regulatory framework for the sector is in line with the overall objectives for the sector as laid down by the Government”.
 
Last December Minister Ahern published a series of draft policy directions and asked for comments on them. The Minister received more than 30 written submissions from interested parties. Following study of the comments received the Minister revised and finalised the policy directions.
 
Minister Ahern concluded, “I want to thank all those who participated in the consultation process.  As I have stated before, we have to work together over the next 12 months to kill the myth that Ireland cannot support profitable broadband – because it can.  Flat rate internet access will drive the information society, build demand for broadband and get this country online.”

Copies of the submissions received together with a detailed report on the process will be available on the Departments website on Monday next.
 
 
POLICY DIRECTIONS TO COMREG
 
2.  POLICY DIRECTION ON ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AT FLAT RATE CHARGES  
 The widespread availability of dial-up access to the internet charged at flat rates and at affordable prices would be of substantial benefit to users as well as for the further development of the market for internet access provision. In the first instance, the development and provision of such access services are matters for market players. The Commission shall make use of its powers under the legislation as appropriate, to bring about agreements among market players in order to facilitate early introduction of retail dial-up internet access services charged at flat rates. The Commission shall report to the Minister on progress in relation to this matter within one month of the issue of this direction, and on a monthly basis thereafter until such time as retail services are introduced, making any recommendations it considers appropriate for further action.
 
Reason for Policy Direction
The Minister believes that widespread availability of dial-up access to the internet charged at flat rates and at affordable prices will stimulate the development demand for and supply of information society services.   This purpose of this policy direction is to ensure that the Commission makes use of its powers as appropriate to facilitate the early introduction of retail flat rate internet access services.




3.
The Minister's answer to a parliamentary question by Eamon Ryan, TD, makes it clear, that ComReg must also have misinformed the DCMNR about its failure to achieve the objectives of the Feb 2003 Flat Rate directive. Note: FRIACO is a whole-sale product, and not a single one of those "100 000 FRIACO customers" the Minister is talking about is on a real flat rate dial-up Internet access package, because none is offered.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION No. 119
Dail Eireann; Ref No: 32067/05 Proof: 140

'To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the services available on the Irish market which comply with the directive issued by him in February 2003 to Comreg requiring that retail flat rate dial up internet access services be made available to the Irish public.
- Eamon Ryan.'


REPLY * For WRITTEN answer on Thursday, 3rd November, 2005.

Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources (Mr N Dempsey):
'Flat Rate Internet Access Caller Origination (FRIACO) was introduced in June 2003, following a policy direction issued to the Commission for Communications Regulation by my predecessor.
I understand that there are approximately 100,000 customers using FRIACO at present.'


< Back Home