A college project that i completed in January 2010 as part of my New Media Module.

1. Broadband ServiceEoin Casey – N00052531 An educated and informed study on broadband services provided in the Deansgrange area & a reasoned comparison of the Irish Broadband market with that provided for the U.K.

2. Deansgrange Broadband Service As Deansgrange is a densely populated residential area; there are plenty of options available when choosing on a Broadband service best for you. There are 26 packages available from 6 different Providers, in comparison to 43 different packages available from 8 different providers in Tallaght which is the most densely populated residential sub-urban area per sq. km in Ireland. This outlines the ideology behind a broadband service provider’s decision to provide residential broadband to certain areas.

3. Deansgrange Service Providers The following is a list of Broadband Service Providers in the Deansgrange Area: Digiweb : 9 packages Imagine (Wimax) : 4 packages Perlico : 4 packages Eircom : 3 packages Irish Broadband : 3 packages Chorus NTL : 3 packages

4. Deansgrange Service The companies provide different ranges and different speed broadband packages. All the afore mentioned providers offer phone and broadband service in a package deal. Most of these providers offer phone services at a fixed rate for local & landline costs so people know that their bill will be the same every month.

5. What you need to know Download Speed The speed of any link is measured in bits per second. One thousand bits per second is 1 Kilo bit per second and is usually seen as 1Kbps. One million bits per second is 1 Mega bit per second (1Mbps), while 1 billion bits per second is 1 Giga bits per second (1Gbps). As file size is most often measured in Bytes, speed is measured in Bytes per second (with all the higher units listed above as 1KBps, 1MBps or 1GBps). As 1 Byte is 8 bits then 1 KBps = 8 Kbps. Knowing the speed of a line one can calculate the amount of time it would take for a file, of a known size, to travel through the link. So a 10MB file being downloaded on a 1 Mbps link, will take 10x8=80Mbits (file size in bits) divided by 1 Mbps = 80 seconds.

6. What you need to know Upload Speed Upload speed is the speed which the internet takes information from your computer. If you are adding an attachment to an e-mail you are uploading information on to the internet. The formula is the same for uploading as it is for downloading. 1 Byte is 8 bits then 1 KBps = 8 Kbps If your upload speed is 256kbps (standard for a 3mb download speed connection), and you attach a file to an email that is 32 kb in size then it will take one second to attach that file.

7. What you need to know Contention Ratio Most broadband access services share a single connection path between many customers - this is referred to as contention. A contention ratio of 40:1 means that up to 40 customers are sharing the same connection. When usage is light, contention does not pose a problem. However, the quality of the connection can deteriorate if many customers use the connection at the same time. Download Capacity If you have a broadband package it may well have a download limit or capacity which will determine in GB how much you can download (and upload) each month. You use some of your download allowance just by viewing web pages and sending emails, but you use a lot more by downloading large files like music or TV programmes. A lot of broadband providers have an unlimited download capacity and it is strongly recommended that if you are a heavy internet user then you have this facility.

8. Connection Types - ADSL Broadband Explained ADSL broadband, or Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, is the most common type of broadband as it uses a standard phone line. It simply means that by converting your analogue phone line to a digital line (ADSL line) your phone line can now be used to simultaneously transmit data at high speed. Advantages As well as being a faster and more reliable internet service, ADSL broadband differs from dial up internet in that it splits your phone line in two, allowing both voice and data to be transmitted - basically, you can have both the internet and your phone running at the same time. ADSL broadband means that you don't have to get an extra phone line and it avoids your phone line being constantly engaged - very handy if you have a busy household. ADSL only requires you to have a telephone line connection. This means that it can be installed in practically any household and therefore it is widely available Disadvantages You can only access the internet from a fixed position in the property.

9. Wireless Broadband Explained Wireless broadband is broadband that you can connect to from a device, mainly laptops (also newer Ipods and touch screen mobile phones), that has an internal modem (not to be confused with mobile broadband). You must have wireless broadband set up in your house or be in an area that has wireless broadband transmitted through a wireless router. These areas have commonly become known as Wi-Fi Hotspots. Cafés, shopping centres, bars typically have this technology available. Advantages With wireless broadband you do not have to be in a settled position on an non-portable computer or PC. You have more freedom and can access the internet in a more relaxed way. Disadvantages There can be multiple users trying to access the same connection which slows the performance. Wireless routers sometimes tend to act up and are more complicated to fix than say an ADSL broadband connection. Performance speed differs depending on how near or far away you are from the wireless transmitter. Older Laptops might not be Wi-Fi enabled and some might not even be compatible with the Wi-Fi connection cards that you insert into the side of your laptop.

10. Cable Broadband Explained A cable modem allows data to be sent over the cable television structure by taking advantage of unused bandwidth on the network. As a result you need to live in an area that is served by cable – but you do not require a phone line. Advantages Cable broadband is usually tied into TV and phone deals as part of a bundled service from a cable provider. As a result you will be making a larger monthly payment to cover all of these costs. However, this usually works out as a cost-effective method of payment – as long as you plan to have a TV and phone service anyway. Disadvantages Broadband only deals through cable providers often work out more expensive than ADSLdue to the connection type being less common than a standard household phone line

11. Mobile Broadband Explained Mobile broadband is a relatively new technology in Ireland. This market is largely dominated by the mobile phone networks (O2, Vodafone, Meteor and 3). With mobile broadband you connect a small portable modem known as a dongle, to your laptop or other portable device. These portable modems pick up broadband signals that are transmitted across the skies through the mobile phone’s Network. Advantages You have access to high speed internet almost anywhere you go within reason. Allows people who work predominantly on the internet to work on the way to and from work, anytime really. Disadvantages Like with mobile phones, coverage and signal can be an issue. If you have weak signal then your internet speed can deteriorate. Even in some areas, again especially in rural Ireland, you will get no signal whatsoever. For this reason Mobile broadband can be somewhat unreliable.

12. Package Comparisons I am going to compare the following 4 provider’s different broadband packages. I chose these as they are the types of packages and speeds that the average household has in their homes, and they are perfectly ideal for small business start ups and people who work from home, as they would have only 1 or 2 computers in the household. Imagine(Wimax) 3mb ADSL Irish Broadband Breeze 4mb Wireless Chorus NTL Broadband Value 3mb Cable O2 Mobile Broadband

13. Imagine(Wimax) 3mb ADSL Includes Phone Service: Free Local, National and Uk Calls Tech Specifications: Download Speed - 3Mbps Upload Speed - 256Kbps Contention Ratio - 48:1 Connection Type - ADSL Download Capacity - Unlimited Costs: Broadband & Phone - €40 Line Rental - €0.00 Total Per Month - €40 Installation Fee - €50.00

14. Irish Broadband Breeze 4mb Wireless Tech Specifications: Download Speed - 4Mbps Upload Speed - 4Mbps Contention Ratio - 24:1 Connection Type - Wireless Download Capacity - Unlimited Costs: Broadband - €55.00 Line Rental - €0.00 Total Per Month - €55.00 Installation Fee - €100.00

15. Chorus NTL Broadband Value 3mb Cable Tech Specifications: Download Speed - 3Mbps Upload Speed - 256Kbps Contention Ratio - N/A Connection Type - CABLE Download Capacity - N/A Costs: Broadband - €22.00 Line Rental - €0.00 Total Per Month - €22.00 Installation Fee - €0.00

16. O2 Mobile Broadband Tech Specifications: Download Speed - Up to 7.2 Mb Connection Type - Mobile Download Capacity - 15GB Modem - O2 E1752 Modem Costs: Contract Length - 18 months Monthly Fee - €19.99 Modem Cost - €19.00

17. Business Broadband It is truly unnecessary for a small, start-up business operated from home to have business broadband. A medium speed or high speed residential broadband service is perfectly adequate. Business broadband is at least 3 times more expensive monthly than residential broadband and it is a cost that any start-up/small business with only one employee can do without. It is only when a company moves out of the household and has an increased number of employees that business broadband is really necessary.

18. Ideal for Business from home. It is unfair to compare the first 3 fixed line packages I mentioned with the o2 mobile broadband package as they are completely different products. Ideally anyone who is relying on internet access all the time for their business, should have a laptop with the O2 mobile broadband, as this seemed to be the best quality and best priced mobile broadband service that I could find.

19. Which Package would I Recommend? It is always handy to have wireless broadband in a household especially if you work from home. However, I would not buy the Irish Broadband wireless package as it is far too expensive. Imagine (Wimax) 3mb If I were a small start up business with one employee working from home I would choose the Imagine(Wimax) 3mb ADSL package for €40 a month. This package is the cheapest and provides the luxury of free landline calls anywhere in Ireland which will be handy for calling businesses and offices around the country. It has a pretty high contention ratio of 48:1 which is maybe a slight concern but in reality this is rarely an issue. It has the same download speeds as the chorus cable broadband, but I have been using this service for well over a year now and have had no real problems with it. I would also invest in a wireless router which does the same job as wireless broadband from Irish Broadband(which is €55 a month and €100 installation fee), but In the long term saves you a lot of money as these routers can be found from as cheap as €40 these days. Just make sure that the router is set up properly.

20. Uk Comparison It is disappointing to see how much more value for money you can get in England when choosing a broadband package. I looked at packages available in Manchester, in a similar suburban area as Deansgrange would be to Dublin. There was literally ten times the choice of service providers and service at least twice the quality. I found a package roughly the same yearly price (€530) as the Imagine package I recommended in the previous slide, provided by Sky.

21. Sky 20mb Broadband Unlimited & TV & Talk Freetime Includes Phone Service: Free Evening & Weekend National and Local Calls in the UK Includes TV Service: Sky Digital with one free channel package Other Bonuses: Free Wireless Router Free McAfee Security Center for 12 months Tech Specification: Download Speed – 20mb Upload Speed – 1mb Contention Ratio – 50:1 Connection Type - ADSL Download Capacity – Unlimited Costs: 12 month contract Monthly Cost - £23.00 Monthly Line Rental - £11.00 Connection Fee - £60.00 Overall Yearly Cost - £468.00 (€536.10)

22. Why the difference? There are 2 main reasons why you seem to get much more value for your money for broadband service in the U.K. rather than in Ireland. Competition There are far more broadband providers in the U.K. than in Ireland. Subsequently, they must price their product much more competitively in order to stand out from the bunch. This is largely due to population and market size. There is more money to be made in Britain than there is in Ireland. Technological Age It is widely regarded that the UK is at least one year ahead of Ireland in technological terms, in the same way that the U.K. is said to be a further year behind America, and America is said to be a further two years behind Japan. The older any means of technology becomes, the cheaper it gets, which has always been the case. As Broadband becomes more widely available in Ireland (especially in Rural Ireland) then the prices will start to drop.

23. Conclusion Broadband Needs Overall, I feel that dependant on your needs, once you are guaranteed a reliable connection, fast enough for your needs then you should go for the cheapest package available to you. Decide if you really need mobile broadband as it is a re-ocurring cost every month. Irish Broadband Vs U.K. Broadband As the technology is newer in Ireland and it is a less competitive market, the prices over here are generally always going to be a bit higher in Ireland. There was no recession when Broadband was first introduced over here however the prices have remained the same. In time Irish broadband prices should drop as the technology develops even further, and more and more people switch over to mobile broadband.

24. Reference Websites www.broadbandchoices.co.uk www.explainthatstuff.com www.getbroadband.ie www.imagine.ie www.irishbroadband.ie www.uswitch.com