From the Irish Independent

Independent.ie – Tuesday April 06 2010

Tuesday April 06 2010

Free wi-fi for rail users

Rail users can make use of free wi-fi internet access on selected Dublin to Cork services, Iarnrod Eireann has said.

An initial trial of the service will last six months while rail chiefs assess the uptake.

Iarnrod Eireann said coverage was strong on the Dublin to Cork line, with access to mobile broadband networks from O2, Vodafone and 3.

If successful, the service will be rolled out to other routes including Intercity, DART and Commuter services.

“Many customers are already travelling with us because rail travel offers the scope to use travel time productively,” said an Iarnrod Eireann spokesman.

“Wi-fi obviously broadens such scope dramatically.”

Tests have shown that passengers should be able to get download speeds of up to 3.5 megabytes.

Press Association

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According to the Daily Telegraph:

The animals have been used by Virgin Media for over a year to help lay cables for its broadband service, the company has disclosed.

The ferrets wear jackets fitted with a microchip which is able to analyse any breaks or damage in the underground network.

The development could help increase broadband in current Internet “dead zones”, giving access to inaccessible places, and and helping bridge the ‘digital divide’.

Currently most broadband technologies are limited to short distances from central switching offices so most companies focus on cities to keep costs down.

The government has set a target of universal broadband access of 2Mbps by 2012. Analysts estimate that the cost of running fibre optic cables to all parts of the country could cost anywhere between £10 billion and £25 billion. A 50p levy of every phone line in the country has been proposed to cover costs.

Currently around two million homes, one in 10 households, are without broadband.

Jon James, director of broadband for Virgin Media, said: “For hundreds of years, ferrets have helped humans in various jobs. Our decision to use them is due to their strong nesting instinct, their long, lean build and inquisitive nature, and for their ability to get down holes. We initially kept the trial low-key as we wanted to assess how well the ferrets fitted into our operations before revealing this enterprising scheme.”

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According to Ireland Offline, this morning’s announcement of the roll-out of “Next Generation Broadband from Eircom is nothing of the sort and is merely “window dressing” for a hike in charges

“What is not in the headlines is the subtle but important change from a speed based model to a usage based model of charging,” Ireland Offline said.

“Let us be clear on this announcement, this is neither Next Generation anything nor will 8 MB be delivered to the vast majority of hapless consumers.While IrelandOffline welcome the attention to the important issue of contention we feel this announcement is nothing more than window dressing.”

“This is yet another attack on the hard pressed telecommunications consumers of Ireland. Not only do they have to endure the highest line-rental on the planet they now have to endure a E2 charge for each Gigabyte they go over their paltry caps. For instance the “Broadband Basic” has a minuscule 10GB cap barely enough for the average “tech savy” family. In reality this package will cost E50 for all but the lightest users. That’s E50 + line rental making the total E75.36 per month. This is hardly a giant leap forward it’s more like a gigantic leap into the dark past and into your wallet.”

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It might be of interest to note that America does not have the highest broadband speeds in the world, in fact they are currently 18th, behind Slovakia and Iceland.

Courtesy of CNN

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In today’s Irish Times “Application to High Court to wind up Ice Communications Ltd”. Ice communications trades as Ice Broadband.

What are peoples recommendations for making the switch? What is the next best alternative?

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