All expenses paid, of course.
So Lieing Ryan has called in the mercenaries. He’s formed the International Advisory Forum on Broadband to talk about the next generation of broadband. Always good to look beyond the horizon, especially if there’s a huge mess around your feet that you don’t want to deal with.
The Forum will be facilitated by Mr. Eddie Molloy, a consultant with Advanced Organisations. The Forum members are:
Mr. H. Brian Thompson, Executive Chairman, Global Telecom & Technology.
Mr. Ken Carter, Senior Consultant, wik-Consult GmbH, Germany.
Mr. Martin Cronin, CEO, Forfás .
Ms. Isolde Goggin, Independent Consultant, Former Chair of ComReg.
Dr. Michael Nelson, Senior Professor, Georgetown University, USA. (and Obama fan)
Dr. Frank Sanda, CEO, Japan Communications Inc..
Mr. Tony Shortall, Economic Advisor, European Commission
ComReg have advisory panels like this too. In fact I think they have one on NGN, no? With the International aspect to it, you can take it for granted that the expenses of these folks will be quite large. I must dig out some FOI’d documents from ComReg but I know one person expensed over 20k for travel and stays when he flew in to attend meetings. Can we expect 100k to be spent to decide on our broadband future? 100k that might have enabled two exchanges for people in the present? Eamon says that availability is sorted.
Here’s the PR spiel from the Minister:
I have established an International Advisory Forum to advise on next challenge ahead – how we can get higher speed broadband at lower costs
Here’s the lie about availability:
The availability of broadband remains an issue for many consumers. The National Broadband Scheme will, in the coming months, begin to address the final piece of the availability issue. The competitive tender process for this Scheme is underway, which will serve the remaining parts of Ireland currently without access to broadband.
More words, more reports, more taxpayer money, more waiting for a lot of people.
So they hire a “broadband strategy manager” and then still have to spend money on an advisory panel?!
How about they read the information that’s available out there, take an example from situations where a succesfull solution was applied and adapt that to Irish needs?
In short; do these people know how to wipe their own arse?
Words on paper that cost thousands of euro and “plans” that never get implemented.
The usual then.
I suppose they will have to spell the word duct out to Eamonn as well . Its spelt Duct Eamonn and no feathery critters will be harmed.
The sheer stupidity of this man and his coterie of advisers astounds me.
He ALREADY OWNS AN NGN ( on behalf of the people of Ireland ) .
He is the ONLY shareholder in this NGN.
Its called ESB Telecoms and owns the ESB fibre ring .
Spare me please before I go postal on him 🙁
Sorry guys I had to turn them down. 🙂
You may remember Brian Thompson from the original Telecom Eireann floatation. He was parachuted in to replace Ron Bolger as chairman because he had a higher profile in telecomms. Just before the floatation he buggered off because he got a better offer from elsewhere. Mary O’Rourke was left high and dry. Who to get with only weeks to go ?
Step forward Mr Raymond McSharry the well known telecomms expert.
Mr Thompson should not be given another cent of irish taxpayer’s money.
lets hope they look to Japan:
‘Its average advertised download speed is 95 megabits per second’ http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10534573
we live in the equivalent of a boreen in broadband super highway terms!
Now, I have been accused by Damien if being a ‘green party apologist’ – but this time I think Ryan has completely lost it. What the fuck is this ‘Forum’? another talking shop to avoid doing anything. My question, what is behind it?? While trying not to be an apologist I would have thought Ryan was better informed. He surely doesn’t think this construction will deliver anything.
My read – the whole gov is shit scared about the possibility that B&B will dump part of Eircom, creating redundancies all over the place. This is a real possibility if B&B don’t get what they want in a breakup….. So Ryan is requiired to row in and not interfere with B&B/Eircom’s special status…. i.e. they can continue to drag their feet on LLU and suchlike….while the Forum suggests what can be done….
[…] to my site using a feedreader or email. Thanks for visiting – Damien.From a question about the International Advisory Forum on Broadband. 222. Deputy Simon Coveney asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the […]
Damein,
As a member of the Advisory Forum, I want to tell you that I truly appreciate your concerns. The task of advancing broadband in Ireland, or any country, is no small feat. There are, as they say, no right decisions which the goverment can make. I can only choose the least wrong course of action. Your commentators point to some of the seamingly intractable problems.
While Mr. Ryan’s actions may or may not produce the disired results, at the very least he is trying. He is asking the right questions and has some excellent people working for him. I can honestly say that I wish my government was doing the same for its communciations policies, and not caught up in trivial other matters.
The rest is up to you to make sure your goverment not only tries to come up with good ideas, but also to effectively act on those ideas.
Very truly yours,
Kenneth R. Carter
P.S. As for you concerns about government waste, I flew RyanAir at a cost of about 80 euro, plus two nights in a hotel.