John Collins of the Irish Times was kind enough to invite me to contribute to his weekly podcast.

Check out the podcast and hear my thoughts about the state of broadband investment in Ireland.

Interesting commentary from David McWiiliams in today’s Irish Independent.
Not so sure about his world Cup analysis but hard to argue with his conclusion on fibre rollout.

Click here to see the article.

What can deliver reduced IT costs, greater productivity as well as a reduction in energy consumption? Cloud computing, that’s what.

I’m sure there’s a whole host of definitions out there, but for me, cloud computing is simply running applications over the internet (or cloud) and the trend is gathering momentum.

Cloud computing is seen as a cost effective alternative to maintaining a costly supply, or in some cases, oversupply of in-house computing. If done properly, it can not only outsource the provision of software and other applications, but also the necessity to manage and maintain it as well. Cloud computing can reduce the significant upfront hardware investment as well as the ongoing maintenance costs. In addition, by utilising cloud computing, small and large businesses alike can enjoy powerful business enabling solutions such as high definition video and real time collaborations.

Thankfully, someone (Harry Wingo from Google) has put some metrics behind the debate – particularly the savings that can be made in the public sector. Check out his blog here. Essentially, Google’s analysis shows that clouds make significant savings in labour and equipment; they can also facilitate substantial reductions in an organisation’s energy costs.

In my opinion, there is a strong argument for running some or all applications in the cloud (particularly when expanding into the cloud for new applications). So, if there will be an almost inevitable move to the cloud, what effects will this have on telecoms networks?

Well, if everyone is accessing applications via the cloud and the volume of information trafficking on the network increases, there’s going to be an even greater need for connectivity and the availability of sufficient bandwidth will become critical. When you consider the essential nature of enterprise applications such as SAP or SalesForce, a patchy or unreliable internet connection simply won’t cut it.

This is where fibre comes into play in a big way. Fibre is universally accepted as the best technology for the sheer volume of traffic that would be carried to and from the cloud.

Even if cloud computing doesn’t currently plays a role in your organisation or if you just predict a small future role, you’ll need to consider buying fibre sooner rather than later as an insurance policy against the day when that capacity is needed.

The DCENR has announced that it is investing €5m in telecoms equipment design company, Intune Networks, allowing them to develop a superfast broadband network or “exemplar network” as it’s known.

Exciting stuff! This technology has the potential to remove the need for multiple Internet switches currently being used today – meaning that data bottlenecks can be removed. Naturally, the reduction in the amount of electronics would mean a significant reduction in the amount of energy needed to operate the systems.

e|net obviously welcomes this breakthrough. It goes without saying that a proprietary communications network that is ahead of anything else on a global scale would make Ireland an extremely attractive proposition for major international companies and would put us centre stage in the digital revolution.

The work that Intune Networks are doing highlights the opportunity that exists in liquidating the vast economic benefits that flow from the digital environment and we’re looking forward to working closely with them in the future.

Ireland has the opportunity to lead the way in the new digital economies of the world but we’re also seriously in danger of falling behind if we don’t act now. We need to deliver a genuine, integrated Next Generation Network (NGN) across the country.

The stakes have never been higher. How a country competes in the 21^st Century will be defined by the relative quality of its digital infrastructure in the same way as physical infrastructure (roads, railways, power and ports) defined the winners and losers in the 20^th century. As with roads and railways, in fifty years time all countries will have ubiquitous high quality Next Generation Networks, but the countries that build them first derive the most significant long term competitive advantage.

When I talk to anyone about NGN deployment, the question always arises about who pays for it. The only way that I can answer that question is to try to pose another – who gets the biggest return from rolling out a NGN?

From an industry point of view, it’s becoming clear that the any predicted return on investment is not high enough to entice deployment. Global consumer spend on telecommunications is flat to declining whilst the level of investment required is accelerating. Clearly, there is no longer a strong business case for private NGN roll-outs. That being the case, it puts the ball back firmly in the court of the State.

So if the financial return isn’t high enough for private companies to invest, why should the State? For me, public investment makes more sense because having a world class NGN underpins all major areas of public policy:

• Health care cost can only be managed through e-healthcare initiatives such as electronic records and remote monitoring
• Education is globally becoming a web based application, already in third level and increasingly so at first and second level
• The country will only achieve its environmental targets through the deployment of smart grids and a widespread adoption of teleworking
• Real public sector reform can only take place electronically and almost certainly “in the cloud”
• In terms of economic development the more widely available the NGN infrastructure the more likely Ireland will be able to meet the needs of the next century’s big employers. Similarly it is in the smart and creative use of communications technology that we will be able to develop and grow new and indigenous Irish industry.

I’m convinced that there will be those countries, on one hand, that seize the opportunity to develop their infrastructures, embrace the new possibilities and use them to grow their economies and nurture social benefits. On the other hand, there will be those countries that run from the problem, choose to ignore the current communications revolution and be left with aging networks quickly heading towards economic obsolescence.

When e|net and the MANs first came out of the blocks, there were no iPhones and people thought tweeting was what birds did. Equally strange was the phrase – Open Access Networks (OANs). Five years on, the open access model is becoming more the rule as opposed to the exception, certainly in a worldwide context. Here in Ireland, the MANs and the e|net open access model are moving to the centre of the telecoms landscape, as the model and its benefits become better understood.

So what is an Open Access Network?  An OAN allows multiple service providers to have access to, and compete over, the same network. Importantly, this model is totally contrary to traditional operators’ exclusivity of network.

In the case of the MANs, the network is owned by the State, operated by e|net on a wholesale, open access basis, allowing all telcos (currently 35) to utilise the infrastructure and compete for the communications requirements of businesses and homes across regional Ireland.

OANs were first viewed as feasible ways of deploying next generation networks in low population areas where telcos could not obtain a sufficient return on investment. Some call this market failure. Current economics and an unwillingness to invest mean that the case for a genuinely national, genuinely open access fibre network is becoming compelling.

Why? Well, OAN networks stimulate competition. The end user has multiple telcos to choose from, now trying to be service companies as opposed to network companies, vying for their business – this increases the choice of products and service levels offered and, equally importantly, it reduces the costs. All of this has been borne out by our experiences on the MAN project.

Lastly, let’s not forget about the road works, traffic disruption and general inconvenience.  OANs allows for a once off fibre deployment which minimises the civil works and knock-on inconvenience and disruption to the locality.

With no single operator prepared to invest what it takes to give Ireland a the Next Gerenartion Infrastructure it needs – we are faced with a stark choice – stakeholders share the burden of building the NGN or it won’t get built and the industry will shrink and Ireland will loose competitiveness. Open access is the obvious way to run a network that is paid for by a number of stakeholders.

Welcome to my first and hopefully not my last blog!

On the back of winning the concession for Phase 2 of the MANs, we’ve embarked on a whistle-stop tour of the country visiting and engaging with the relevant Local Authorities. One thing that has really surprised me is the huge difference in understanding and expectations key stakeholders have about the project. A number believe that the MANs are not being utilised and are a waste of money, and are in effect a “White Elephant”. Another group see the MANs as a telecoms magic bullet that will solve all local broadband issues, the “Great White Hope”.

So what’s the truth? In reality, neither position is true. The MANs are categorically not a waste of money but nor will they answer all the broadband requirements in any MAN town.

Let me explain. I strongly disagree with the stance that the MANs are “White Elephants”. e|net have been managing the network for over 5 years and in that time it’s obvious that the existence of a MAN has a major impact on boosting the range, quality and importantly the value of communications solutions in the area being served. Also and significantly, the MANs have also removed a major barrier to foreign direct investment in MAN enabled towns – 70% of all IDA jobs created in 2008 were in MAN-enabled towns.

On the other hand, the MANs were never conceived as channels to deliver ubiquitous broadband. The MAN infrastructure is a classic middle-mile infrastructure, providing a very high-quality link between Ireland’s national telecoms network and the range of last-mile or access technologies such as mobile broadband, WiMax or LLU. This again is borne out by the reality of the situation. We now have 35 telco’s trading with us and accommodate a wide range of operating models and access technologies, each working successfully in tandem with the MANs.

Finally, remember, just because you don’t have a direct fibre connection to the MAN doesn’t mean that you can’t benefit from it. In fact, it’s common for end users to be benefiting from the network without even realising it.

I’m interested to know what your thoughts are, so feel free to leave your comments below.