In a co-operative move that will see UPC Ireland’s Chorus NTL and Digiweb working with each other, a live triple-play trial will begin next Monday, 25 August in homes across Fingal, Co Dublin.
The pilot scheme aims to bring the combined digital television, phone and broadband package to a wider market in Ireland.
The bundled package will cost users €49.95 per month and for this they will receive UPC’s digital TV services, which includes 41 TV channels and around 30 digital radio stations.
Digiweb will be supplying broadband speeds of up to 5.3Mbps and a regular landline phone service (as opposed to VoIP phone service).
The firm said the idea of a combined triple-play offering was envisaged at the Alternative Broadband Conference, which was held in the Westin hotel back in July of this year.
Colm Piercy (pictured), CEO of Digiweb, said: “We’re eager to provide fast, secure internet access with an easy plug and play service to suit all entertainment and communication requirements in the home.”
The package is aimed at providing an affordable offering and claims to give savings of over €432 on annual household bills when compared to the alternative of subscribing to Sky Digital’s basic package (savings of €132) and Eircom’s line rental of €300, along with an 85pc savings on phone calls in comparison to Eircom’s rates.
What do the two companies hope to achieve from this pilot scheme? “As we continue to convert more customers to Digital TV, this pilot will act as a further catalyst to broaden the adoption of digital services using solutions provided by both parties to make it simple and easy to make the switch,” said Robert Dunn, CEO of UPC Ireland.
By Marie Boran
