IrelandOffline Blackout Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - Paul Southworth [I am not affiliated with this group but some of the organizers are net.friends and the project sounds interesting.--PS] http://blackout.irelandoffline.org/ http://www.irelandoffline.com/ [FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE] IRELANDOFFLINE PRESSURE GROUP ANNOUNCES "BLACKOUT" PROTEST DUBLIN, IRELAND -- November 5, 2001 -- IrelandOffline, an independent organisation working to bring affordable Internet access services to Ireland, has announced the "IrelandOffline Blackout", a multipronged protest scheduled to take place on Friday, November the 16th, 2001. The protest has been organised to highlight the non-existence of flat-rate and broadband Internet access services in Ireland - services that make Internet access affordable and so promote the growth of Internet use, e-commerce, and competition. These services are widely available throughout Europe and the world, and the IrelandOffline group contends that the lack of availability in Ireland has already pushed the country into a position where it is unable to compete on the global stage. It believes that Ireland can be kick-started back into competitiveness, but to do that these products and services have to be rolled out immediately. The IrelandOffline Blackout is the vehicle the group has chosen to highlight this serious situation to the key parties involved. The group suggests several types of protest, but of note is a request that Irish Internet users abstain from connecting to the Internet on November the 16th, which it believes will send a clear message to Internet Service Providers - that a significant portion of their customers are disillusioned with the current situation, and demand the rollout of competitive services. The group also proposes messages of support in email signatures, vacation autoresponders and answering machines messages, and the replacement of web pages with a supplied document that explains what the Blackout is, and why it is happening. Companies and organisations, large and small, who are even more directly impacted by the ongoing lack of broadband and flat-rate connectivity options in Ireland, are strongly encouraged to take part in the protest on this date, up to and including replacing their corporate websites with the IrelandOffline-supplied web page. The group is also encouraging student groups and societies, college administrations, and consumer and business groups to actively voice their support, both using the methods suggested, and by communicating with the media on November the 16th. The group states that it does not want to disrupt trade on November the 16th, but that it feels the Blackout protest is a necessary evil to fast-track the rollout of these products and services. From the IrelandOffline Blackout website: "The primary aim of the Blackout is to draw attention to the problems in the telecommunications industry in Ireland, and to educate consumers and businesspeople about these problems and how they can be fixed. We are categorically not attempting to disrupt business in Ireland. In the long term, in fact, we are trying to improve it." For more information, please visit the IrelandOffline Blackout support website at http://blackout.irelandoffline.org. ABOUT IRELANDOFFLINE The IrelandOffline users group, initially formed in response to Esat Fusion's abrupt decision to cut off 2,000 subscribers of its "Surf NoLimits" program, is campaigning for affordable flat-rate and high-speed Internet access services for all of Ireland. As part of that initiative, Ireland Offline has already had meetings with Esat Fusion, the ODTR, Minister Mary O'Rourke, Eircom and other government members and telecoms companies; and recently organised a seminar in Dublin with all of the key parties involved - a first for any such organisation. The group currently represents well over 1,000 Internet users, and this number continues to rise daily. For more information on the organisation, please visit the IrelandOffline website at http://www.irelandoffline.com. MEDIA CONTACTS Adam Beecher +353 (0)86 8544-767 ad@m.beecher.net Elana Kehoe elana@zen.org ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytire-11.09.01-02:37:50-28927