Not so Smart Telecom

[KeithM]

From RTÉ's website

The majority of Smart Telecom's customers are no longer able to make outgoing calls from their phones tonight because of a dispute with the company and its wholesale provider Eircom.

Smart customers are being advised to contact ComReg. They can still receive incoming calls and are able to make emergency 999 calls.

An Eircom spokesman said that the company has had credit issues with Smart Telecom for some time.


A small number of Smart customers - those who still pay their line rental to Eircom - can still make outside calls by using the pre-fix 13666 before the telephone number they want.

A spokesman for Smart Telecom says the company regrets the inconvenience to its customers and is currently attempting to rectify the situation.

In a statement tonight, Eircom said it regrets that it has been forced to cease providing services to Smart Telecom in response to serious credit issues.

It added that it will work closely with the regulator and the industry to assist in whatever way possible to help affected customers.

A spokesman for ComReg, the telecommunications regulator, said tonight it is regrettable that Smart customers have had their services affected because of today's events.

ComReg said it will put information on its website for affected customers and will take out ads in the national newspapers to inform affected Smart customers of what steps they should now take. The ComReg website is www.askcomreg.ie

Smart Telecom has been in financial trouble lately. Last month, it said it had concluded a strategic review which would see about 250 jobs being cut as the company's staff numbers are reduced from 348 to about 100.

It also said it planned to sell off a number of non-core businesses - including payphones and pre-paid call cards - in the coming months.

[ailish]

From RTÉ's website

The majority of Smart Telecom's customers are no longer able to make outgoing calls from their phones tonight because of a dispute with the company and its wholesale provider Eircom.

Smart customers are being advised to contact ComReg. They can still receive incoming calls and are able to make emergency 999 calls.

An Eircom spokesman said that the company has had credit issues with Smart Telecom for some time.


A small number of Smart customers - those who still pay their line rental to Eircom - can still make outside calls by using the pre-fix 13666 before the telephone number they want.

A spokesman for Smart Telecom says the company regrets the inconvenience to its customers and is currently attempting to rectify the situation.

In a statement tonight, Eircom said it regrets that it has been forced to cease providing services to Smart Telecom in response to serious credit issues.

It added that it will work closely with the regulator and the industry to assist in whatever way possible to help affected customers.

A spokesman for ComReg, the telecommunications regulator, said tonight it is regrettable that Smart customers have had their services affected because of today's events.

ComReg said it will put information on its website for affected customers and will take out ads in the national newspapers to inform affected Smart customers of what steps they should now take. The ComReg website is www.askcomreg.ie

Smart Telecom has been in financial trouble lately. Last month, it said it had concluded a strategic review which would see about 250 jobs being cut as the company's staff numbers are reduced from 348 to about 100.

It also said it planned to sell off a number of non-core businesses - including payphones and pre-paid call cards - in the coming months.

They're one of the dearest companies to go with anyway. I used to be with them with broadband until I switched because they charged extortionate rates.

[Sidewinder]

Eircom have been allowed to get away with sheer national vandalism on the broadband issue. They held up Smart's entry into the residential broadband market in Galway for over a year. They are still, to this day, acting the bollix in the outlying Co Galway towns, doing everything they can to slow down or stop the provision of broadband.

So much for "competition". Eircom have been allowed to abuse their incumbent position, delay the opening of markets, and financially damage their competitors in the expectation that Eircom has deep enough pockets and the upstarts will be forced to blink first.

This Government has been an absolute disgrace, selling Eircom, removing State control over what is in the modern age a vital, critical piece of national infrastructure: and then sitting back for years while the robber barons sweat the assets and kill the competition. This has massively damaged Ireland's competitive position, when pretty much anywhere else has better access to cheaper connectivity.

And the PDs are supposed to be the economically literate ones. Or so they keep telling us.

[Sidewinder]

They're one of the dearest companies to go with anyway. I used to be with them with broadband until I switched because they charged extortionate rates.

Smart had the best offer available 6 months ago. €35 a month for a 2meg line...including line rental and VAT. €35 all-in. Nice.

Who are you with now, and what package are they giving you?

[Coles]

It's not magic, It's just ...

[krayZpaving]

Their own landlines are fine, it's just the ones where people have an eircom landline and are routing their calls through Smart.
eircom have basically obstructed them out of business (mainly by dragging landline number portability through the courts). It's a disgrace.

[Pax]

This Government has been an absolute disgrace, selling Eircom, removing State control over what is in the modern age a vital, critical piece of national infrastructure: and then sitting back for years while the robber barons sweat the assets and kill the competition. This has massively damaged Ireland's competitive position, when pretty much anywhere else has better access to cheaper connectivity.

And the PDs are supposed to be the economically literate ones. Or so they keep telling us.

Absolutely the cement, the infrastructural bedrock of the nation, now costs us more to run and more to expand or rollout in broadband's case. Then there's the failed idealogical experiment in electricity liberalisation, the largest ripoff of the modern state in the PPP scandal (something the likes of Eddie Hobbs will stay sthum on...), the massive overspend in construction and road building, unprecedented funding of inefficient private healthcare...etc, etc

This particular econ-o-tard issue makes me think of two recent developments. Ibec's begging for €5 billion of corporate welfare to rollout broadband... in more PPP '€5 billion for top broadband service' fleecing. Imagine if it was a public company looking for such an influx of funds and the media opprobrium it would receive?

Tbh makes me hanker for the banning of such corporate beggers, or at least the funding of party's by them.


Ibec yesterday

The second is around, Smart Telecom.....I'm reminded of an article in the Phoenix of last year (early Feb I think).

The article was about a very fortunate minnow of a company (called Digiweb (which had a net worth of €23,000 at the end of 2003 and booked an accumulated profit of €36,000 that year) and it’s MD, Colm Piercy. Curiously they landed the bulk of the €20 million schools broadband contracts instead of major players in the telecoms industry such as ESAT and Eircom, as well as the AIM-listed Smart Telecom. The article went on to outline how the lucky company received €300,000 from the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (under the CLAR scheme which aims to roll-out broadband to rural areas), on top of over €200,000 from the Department of Communications (under theCounty and Group Broadband Scheme and under a pilot trial of wireless technology). Digiweb had also availed of an employment grant from Enterprise Ireland of over €14,000.

I’m sure that the Dundalk-based former Minister of Communications, Dermot Ahern, was pleased for Piercy, who eh is also based in Dundalk. The two have enjoyed a good working relationship to date, with the Minister regularly turning out to launch Digiweb services around the country

[Darren Mac an Phríora]

Here's a telecom company I havent heard much about in the English language media:



http://www.ruatelecom.netfirms.com

[KeithM]

Here's a telecom company I havent heard much about in the English language media:


http://www.ruatelecom.netfirms.com

Is it any wonder when they don't even have an English language button on their website?

[Darren Mac an Phríora]

Good point!!!

They also don't have a decent website and, when I spoke to them last ie. Conradh na Gaeilge, they didn't have anyone working on it full-time.