Looking in Mondays (18/6/2012) examiner (Irish Examiner http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2012/0618/opinion/mobile-phones–send-the-right-signal-197733.html ) it seems that we may be seeing the start of a worrying trend.
ComReg our beloved communications regulator has failed to notice, that people do live in rural Ireland and not just in cities. The fact that some of our mobile phone licensing structures seem to now be wrote to allow operaters cover only 70% of the country.
It makes me think about how Marconi tested his wireless system in Clifden in 1907 and was able to receive signals all the way from America, but it seems with our communications regulator, the poor people in Clidften and other rural parts of Ireland may not be able to receive signals from some of our mobile-phone operators, if the mobile-phone operators invest in a 70% coverage license.
Even with if the “Rabbits ears” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rabbit-ears_dipole_antenna_with_UHF_loop_20090204.jpg) firmly tuned in, Reception will be impossible in rural Ireland if you live in the 30% of Ireland with out the opportunity to receive the mobile-phone signals, apparently in Dublin South West the signal will be picked up, as it is in the 70%. however. We do have three Mobile-phone operators that have 100% licenses, but is this the start of a slippery slope? Do Rural people need the market in Ireland distorted this way, so that if they are lucky they may only have one provider, if they have reception, and I’m sure people could find plenty of spots in Ireland where there is no mobile-phone reception currently.
I’m not the only “Crazy person” out there if your interested you might be worth having a read of http://irelandoffline.org/2012/06/comreg-and-70-population-coverage/ where they show a map of Ireland with 70% population coverage.
It’s even worse than you outline above it’s 70% of the population not 70% of the country…that equals about 12% of the country by area