What we need to know

Before we consider signing up to the new fibre optic service we need to know how it will work.

In order to get a full 100Mb download speed, the cable needs to go to your house and not just to a box in the street. Therefore I ask, are Bitel proposing to take their cable into people’s houses?

Will Bitel be the internet service provider? If that is the case then we would end up with new email addresses and login details.

Telefonica offer us 5 email addresses with an allocation of server space for each. What will Bitel be offering?

Will the email service be simply web based or will we be able to use an email client to access our mail as well?

Telefonica has a spam filter that weeds out a lot of the junk mail that we would ordinarily receive. Will Bitel offer a similar service?

Many of us have contracts with Telefonica that would need to be cancelled if we moved to the new system. Bitter experience with Telefonica shows us that cancelling a contract with them is not as straightforward as it ought to be. Are Bitel prepared to handle that part of the process for us?

We would need a new modem at least to access the fibre optic system. Will Bitel be offering a modem or even a Wi-fi router as part of the package?

Apart from the monthly cost of the service there may be a set up cost. If that is the case, how much will it be?

The actual speed that you get depends, not just on the type of cable but on the contention ratio. Too many users sharing the connection would lower the speed. What contention ratio will Bitel be working to?

Perhaps most important of all. Can we be sure that Bitel will be in existence for the long term?

I am sorely tempted by the idea of a high speed connection not just for downloads but for uploads as well. I believe the upload speed with a fibre connection will be in the order of 8Mb which would vastly reduce the time it takes me to upload pictures and video to the internet. Although 100Mb sounds nice, the 50Mb service is 20 euros per month cheaper and should be more that adequate for the moment. I feel sure that could be upgraded if the need arose.