Coalitions disinterest in technology hurting economic future

[Respvblica]

From todays IT.
Report criticises Coalition's record on Broadband

" The Government's record on broadband rollout is "unsustainable" and needs to be addressed as a matter of the "gravest urgency", according to an Oireachtas committee report to be published today."

We continue to languish near the bottom o the EU in terms of broadband penetration..only 8%!! And all the reports indicate that if anything we are falling even further behind.
And that not all. We dont seem to be very well prepared for Voice over IP either. VoIP is the future of ommunications and many businesses are already using it. However I have found that comreg's 076 national numbers are not reachable from certain countries within the EU!!! This is to do with our Telco providers and it has not been addressed. Furthermore, compared to the US and UK Comreg have imposed some needless restrictions on number portability. Of course this can be easily worked around, but it shows what a pointless, powerless and petty organisation it has become.

What we need is more control and support to allow our business to prosper, coupled with less regulation from bodies like comreg. Did the coalition consider these important technological and business issues during the Eircom fiasco?

Meanwhile other countries, especially in the east are stealing a march on us here. So another area where our competitive advantage was whittled away under FF-PDs and all for the usual reasons: greed, stupidity and sloth!

[cyberianpan]

NTL's exclusive license to broadcast was originally based on promises around broadband. They have a monopoly to re broadcast the BBC which they don't pay for. Ray Bourke was involved in these strokes which supposedly were to stop piracy & improve services, he certainly got at least one €30k donation from Princes Holdings (Sir Anto's TV arm) . NTL(& their MMDS friends) are probably one of the worst monopolies in the country.

Also something that no politician will admit (because it sounds boring) is that a constitutional referendum is needed around municipal communication ducting. By this I mean say a strong pipe of say 20 cm diameter, it could contain many fibre optic cables & future/new cables could be inserted at access points without need for digging the roads. The ideal way to create these ducts is alongside each new request for road digging, but the roads are public & forcing this solution is unconstitutional. Dublin Coporation want to do this- alone it would cut down on traffic disruption (I can think of many roads that are dug up more than twice a year).

cYp

[smiffy]

On a pedantic point, that should be 'lack of interest' rather than 'disinterest', which means something else.

[limey]

On a pedantic point, that should be 'lack of interest' rather than 'disinterest', which means something else.

Keeping up the post count I see smiffy?

[rockofcashel]

I said this already on another thread.

Was at a radio debate for candidates last night, and when the issue of broadband arose, one candidate, who's been a councillor for years, admitted he didn't know what broadband was.

Wept.

[joemomma]

On a pedantic point, that should be 'lack of interest' rather than 'disinterest', which means something else.

Keeping up the post count I see smiffy?

I was actually going to post the same point, but it seems some dictionaries allow for a usage of "disinterest" to mean "lack of interest; indifference". "Disinterested", on the other hand, should not be used to mean "uninterested".

[Respvblica]

On a pedantic point, that should be 'lack of interest' rather than 'disinterest', which means something else.

Yup I see now though"Lack of interest" wouldnt fit in the title. "Neglect" is probably the word I should have used.

[cyberianpan]

On a pedantic point, that should be 'lack of interest' rather than 'disinterest', which means something else.

Yup I see now though"Lack of interest" wouldnt fit in the title. "Neglect" is probably the word I should have used.

Webster's

Main Entry: dis·in·ter·est·ed
Pronunciation: -t&d
Function: adjective
1 a : not having the mind or feelings engaged : not interested <telling them in a disinterested voice -- Tom Wicker> <disinterested in women -- J. A. Brussel> b : no longer interested <husband and wife become disinterested in each other -- T. I. Rubin>
2 : free from selfish motive or interest : UNBIASED <a disinterested decision> <disinterested intellectual curiosity is the lifeblood of real civilization -- G. M. Trevelyan>
synonym see INDIFFERENT
- dis·in·ter·est·ed·ly adverb
usage Disinterested and uninterested have a tangled history. Uninterested originally meant impartial, but this sense fell into disuse during the 18th century. About the same time the original sense of disinterested also disappeared, with uninterested developing a new sense--the present meaning--to take its place. The original sense of uninterested is still out of use, but the original sense of disinterested revived in the early 20th century. The revival has since been under frequent attack as an illiteracy and a blurring or loss of a useful distinction. Actual usage shows otherwise. Sense 2 of disinterested is still its most frequent sense, especially in edited prose; it shows no sign of vanishing. A careful writer may choose sense 1a of disinterested in preference to uninterested for emphasis <teaching the letters of the alphabet to her wiggling and supremely disinterested little daughter -- C. L. Sulzberger>. Further, disinterested has developed a sense (1b), perhaps influenced by sense 1 of the prefix dis-, that contrasts with uninterested <when I grow tired or disinterested in anything, I experience a disgust -- Jack London (letter, 1914)>. Still, use of senses 1a and 1b will incur the disapproval of some who may not fully appreciate the history of this word or the subtleties of its present use.

Disinterested is acceptable.

cYp

[irishpeoplearewhingers]

On this issue I am fully behind the critics. Technology is a fundamental determinant of economic competitiveness and if we don't keep at the cutting edge, we are phucked. Why did we give tax relief to unproductive property developments but ignore ScI-Tech? We must change this attitude.

[Respvblica]

I said this already on another thread.

Was at a radio debate for candidates last night, and when the issue of broadband arose, one candidate, who's been a councillor for years, admitted he didn't know what broadband was.

Wept.

I was involved in a broadband ADSL roll-out in Holland in 1999/2000 and all the dutchies were talking about it then. We seem to be literally years behind. Yet in 1995-6 when I first got involved in the business, it looked like Ireland would be a leader in europe. We werent lagging as we seem to be now.
I cant help thinking that the actions surrounding the privisation of Eircom at that particular moment has a lot to do with this. Apart from the obvious corruption, it was also foolish at least from a technical point of view.
I think for a lot of govt people, eircom was some goldmine that was there to be utilised for short term profit. They didnt have the understanding of developing a proper infrastructure which would benefit us all in the long term.