Backup Anytime

3 Ireland win national broadband contract.

Three.ie or simply “3″ have won the government contract to provide broadband which will connect the unconnected in Ireland. This is one part of the national broadband scheme. The department of communications reckon that circa 10% of Ireland is outside of any broadband coverage. This does not address however much of the remaining 90% which can avail of broadband of low speed, high contention and very high cost.

The system to be used by “3″ is their own HSDPA 3G solution. There are critics (as with all systems) but my experience of this system (I have limited experience of using it on the move) suggests that while it is obviously inferior to cable it is at worst very usable, not expensive for general browsing and simple to configure to the point of being almost self configuring.

One of the benefits of using the service in isolated areas (where it worked) was the lack of contention due to low user numbers in said areas. This must be a concern as any success in increasing uptake numbers will increase contention.

The communications minister, Eamon Ryan has been quoted as saying broadband availability is ‘central to our economic recovery.’ It is a clear case of fattening the pig the day before the market (maybe even during the bidding) but any progress is welcome. The lack of urgency with which broadband availability, speed and contention has been addressed has been a great cause of confusion amongst business people for some time. Broadband has the power to assist with decentralisation, reducing the rush to under serviced cities and allowing green, sustainable enterprise to flourish in rural areas.

I have looked for information on subsidies, scope and time-lines for this contract but have failed to find anything clear-cut regarding any of these questions. I will add or track-back when further information becomes available.

All in all, this is good news. A plan is in place. A suitable service and provider have been identified and selected. The deciding factors regarding the success of this contract will be the level of service, the strength of support, the extent of the subsidy and the passing on of this subsidy in full to the consumer.

We hope this gets more coverage for all the right reasons.

Broadband providers of all types are upgrading clients both home and commercial at present. The focus here is download speeds which are being improved (at limited or no cost) to far greater rates than before. This is welcome and will have a very positive effect on not just downloading but end user browsing experience.

The focus of broadband providers is to tell you they have “great news”. The will explain that download speeds are increasing by or to such a level. Some will flippantly just say your broadband speed in increasing without mentioning that this generally relates to download only.

If you are considering moving to a new provider (or getting broadband for the first time) it is important that you focus on upload. Good download speeds are important but they are easily got. Good upload speeds are somewhat less ubiquitous.

Other important terms relating to broadband service are:

Contention ratio : In its simplest format, the contention ratio pertains to the max number of simultaneous users you need share with. This figure can run from a low of 1 to a high of 24.

Limit : The limit as to the amount of transfer you can use.

Fair usage policy : A data transfer figure beyond which your usability (generally speed) is reduced to allow other users their share. Fair usage policies can be implemented on “no limit” accounts!

Back to upload.

Upload speeds are becoming more important for everyone because of critical apps such as cloud data, online backup, web diaries, email and games.

So, word up - “upload”, ensure your provider doesn’t hold you back. Your upload speeds will generally be far less than your download speeds. This is normal (at present) but ensure your chosen provider compares favourably overall. The trick is not to be lead in to judging the suitability if a service based on download only.

We are aware of competitive new offers currently being offered by UPC (NTL) and Magnet business. If you know of an offer we should mention here, please advise.