Eircom: 55,000 returnees

Afew days ago I received a letter from Eircom telling me that I was a "valued customer" and it was "sorry to see me leave" and "would love" to welcome me back.

The letter also told me that there were very good reasons to rejoin Eircom and that's why 55,000 people had done so in the past year.

Fifty five thousand people… that is a hefty enough number and it made me wonder why these lost souls on the communications highway decided they wanted to 'go home' again. Now I'm not trying to have a go at Eircom but I just cannot see what is so attractive about returning to the country's incumbent telco.

In terms of price, some of the other main alternatives such as Smart Telecom, UPC and Digiweb all beat Eircom across the various products and services offered.

For instance, the letter was trumpeting Eircom's up-to 7Mb broadband product for €39.99 per month, Smart is offering a similar product for €21.50, UPC's closest equivalent is 10Mb for €32.00, Digiweb's DSL's 7.6Mb offering is €39.95 with its wireless product coming in at the same price.

But let's say you don't really need those high speeds and are looking for a more entry level product at around 1Mb. Eircom is charging €25.09, Smart's lowest entry-level product is 2Mb for €8.50, UPC throws in a phone service with its 1Mb product for €24 or you can have its no phone included 3Mb broadband for €22. Digiweb is charging €24.95 for its 1Mb DSL product while its wireless option will cost you €90 a year (€7.50 per month).

Based on a cursory glance at the pricing, what on earth is attracting people back to Eircom?

Back in 2006, a lot of Smart Telecom customers were set adrift thanks to Eircom temporarily 'pulling the plug' due to monies it was owed by Smart for its wholesale services and access to its exchanges. It left a lot of people running back to Eircom and I imagine there's still a perception that other providers are not stable enough financially and as soon as trouble hits they will pull out.

This couldn't be further from the truth. Smart's new partnership with Digiweb will create a financially sound, very strong provider in the market. UPC is part of a hugely successful organisation, as is Magnet Networks and of course Vodafone is one of the world's biggest telco players.

If you are one of those 55,000 who went back to Eircom, please drop me a line – I'm intrigued as to your reasons for returning.

Acquiring Tech knowledge

Last week I wrote about universal design issues and how many people are excluded from our gadget-laced republic by overcomplicated devices that intimidate the user and end up gathering dust on the shelf.

I received an email from a woman called Catherine who told me that she would love to be able to use the digital camera or three mobile phones that her children have bought for her.

She also mentioned that it would be great if community centres or local libraries ran computer/internet courses.

Well there are some libraries and community centres already running such courses so people should check with their local branch or centre to see if they are organising any self-help technology classes.

In addition, Age Action Ireland has a few tech classes throughout the country that might help. You can contact them at the head office in Dublin on 01 4756989.

Site for sore bank balances

Now for some shameless self-promotion. Recently I have been helping out on a new website called Beat The Recession (www.beattherecession.ie).

The site endeavours to beat the doom and gloom of the recession with a blend of good writing, humour, analysis, news, and commentary.

As well as the three columns – 'Diary of a Recessionista', 'Poor Dad, Poor Dad' and 'Granny Knows Best' – we offer tips on living on a budget, test value products so you don't have to, feature bargains of the week and highlight recession-related trends.

The site has been live for a few weeks now and will be officially launched soon.

Why not check the site out and tell us what you would like to see on it or log onto our forum to discuss the latest recession-related hot topics.

More power to your pocket!