Ireland's Second City Denied Live Gaa Coverage

[slievegullion]

Its to do with your ip address. From what i can see most of our ip address's are directed from scotland don't understand why but there you go. I think a new server base has been set up in derry something to do with this cable that come in at portrush must ring BT to see if a chage over is going to happen. I think its a disgrace that RTE TV3 ect cannot sort this out. I always say it the small matters in life that count.

Anyone using BT Retail based Datastream ADSL broadband will have their IP address mapped to normally where the ISP connection to the internet is based, not the location of where the subscriber to the service actually lives. Even this isn't particularly accurate, as mine is mapped to either London or Cambridge depending on what website I'm looking up for IP tracking or tracing.

Anyone else wanting to know can have a look at tracing where their connection is by going to www.ip-adress.com and then click on IP tracing. If it comes up that the location lies in the north, it would be worth knowing if access to RTE's content is possible.

The problem is that geo-locking via an IP address only has a reliable accuracy for a country, how it is then located in that country is down to how its distributed. I stand corrected if I'm wrong, but I've never heard of a successful attempt of geo-locking to allow one part of a country to view material and not allow another, and this is the problem that RTÉ and TV3 face, if a surfer from the north wishes to view its content, it will most likely check from an IP trace that they are located in Britain and block them. RTÉ won't know where the subscriber is located, TV3 are I presume just covering their arses and as mentioned by RTÉ in today's Irish News, there's nothing they can really do much about it other than to allow all of the UK in to view. If someone here who lives in N.I. can view RTÉ's geo-blocked material, please say so.[b\]

Have been reading that theres a way to change your IP to make it look like you're in the Republic but haven't figured it out yet.

It can be done via a proxy, but I know of no firm in the south that offers this service on a commercial basis.

Not sure if were talkin about the same thing here but i have watched rtes live streaming of games in belfast here before if thats what you mean?

[Frank Casey]

These links are given on another forum to access RTE from outside the ROI. Don't know if they work but might be worth trying.


http://www.morningstarr.co.uk/forum/technology/23962-watching-rt-one-rt-two-outside-ireland.html
http://temple-bar.blogspot.com/2007/07/watch-irish-telly-from-outside-ireland_18.html

[armaghniac]

While they may officially not have responsibility for telecom regulation, some of the layabouts at Stormont could usefully call in Ofcom people and request that ISPs make NI based services possible (and consequently AI services). There is nothing hard about this, they know the exchange the customer is on, otherwise they couldn't route the traffic. The GAA could usefully chat to the ISPs, pointing out that customers want this and this is a selling point. Is there DSL offered through Gaelic telecom to GAA clubs? The likes of UTVInternet are presumably aware of the issue, and the Belfast cable must have a distinct range of IP numbers too.

[armaghniac]

Its to do with your ip address. From what i can see most of our ip address's are directed from scotland don't understand why but there you go. I think a new server base has been set up in derry something to do with this cable that come in at portrush must ring BT to see if a chage over is going to happen. I think its a disgrace that RTE TV3 ect cannot sort this out. I always say it the small matters in life that count.

RTE b**tards

This is not the fault of RTE. The GAA don't give them the rights outside Ireland. Various posters on this board happily sign up with ISPs that report their location as Birmingham or whatever and then come on here expecting RTE to sort it out. You are the customer of the ISP, you get them to report your location accurately.

[Lazer]

In all fairness, this is not RTE's fault.

In the north - we pay the licence fee to the BBC, so complain to them and the GAA not RTE.

And never mind only being able to watch onr pronincial final, we didn't even get coverage of the minor match at all on BBC TV or Radio.

To those that havce commented about just needing the right aerials in Belfast - I think it only work in some parts, its depends on the buildings around you etc.
Anyway - its not practicle to get one installed if your living in rented flats and moving around each year - like many students and workers in Belfast do

[Donagh]

To those that havce commented about just needing the right aerials in Belfast - I think it only work in some parts, its depends on the buildings around you etc.
Anyway - its not practicle to get one installed if your living in rented flats and moving around each year - like many students and workers in Belfast do

I don't get that at all, students have no problems taking up one of the Sky or cable offers to have someone come and drills holes in a landlords wall. The only difference with putting a tv aerial up is you have to get off your own hole and go get someone to do it and you leave something behind for the next man. I've lived in plenty of rented accommodation over the years and have had no issues putting an aerial up - in one case a landlord even reimbursed me £50.

[A Quinn Martin Production]

My Da lives on the Antrim Rd in Belfast...gets TG4 and TV3 through yer ordinary rooftop aerial...not a bother.  Course that's no help to those who don't.

[Lazer]

To those that havce commented about just needing the right aerials in Belfast - I think it only work in some parts, its depends on the buildings around you etc.
Anyway - its not practicle to get one installed if your living in rented flats and moving around each year - like many students and workers in Belfast do

I don't get that at all, students have no problems taking up one of the Sky or cable offers to have someone come and drills holes in a landlords wall. The only difference with putting a tv aerial up is you have to get off your own hole and go get someone to do it and you leave something behind for the next man. I've lived in plenty of rented accommodation over the years and have had no issues putting an aerial up - in one case a landlord even reimbursed me £50.

I know very few students that get sky TV - cable is often used by students but usually cause its the only viable option for internet. For TV only - its usually freeview!
Personally I wouldn't be prepared to pay £100 a year for an aerial for terrestial tv channels! Its a lot of hassle to get the landlords permission and for flats etc there is often additional permission required.

[Donagh]

I know very few students that get sky TV - cable is often used by students but usually cause its the only viable option for internet. For TV only - its usually freeview!
Personally I wouldn't be prepared to pay £100 a year for an aerial for terrestial tv channels! Its a lot of hassle to get the landlords permission and for flats etc there is often additional permission required.

If you already have an aerial for Freeview then all you need to spend is twenty or thirty quid on an RTE aerial and booster and attach that to the existing aerial mast. There's always ways and means. When I lived in a tower in Queen's Halls of Residence, I got onto the roof through a door on the ceiling of the top floor by unscrewing the latch, mounted the aerial on the lift shaft wall, ran the coaxial down the service shaft for nine floors, then across the top of ceiling tiles and down into my room. Whole operation only cost about a tenner for the aerial and cable and second hand booster box. My point being it's not rocket science to pick up the southern channels if you really want them and much better value than Sky or cable.   

[ziggysego]

There's a new digital box available in the north, which also converts the southern channels to digital up here. £200 or so. Seen it in Omagh a few weeks ago.

[tyssam5]

My Da lives on the Antrim Rd in Belfast...gets TG4 and TV3 through yer ordinary rooftop aerial...not a bother.  Course that's no help to those who don't.

Once you get on up towards the zoo and round the other side of the mountain you are screwed though.

[armaghniac]

I feel that any Ofcom involvement would be pointless, as (a) there's no equivalent problem in the Republic bar some people being locked out of BBC iPlayer services (that goes for everyone outside of the UK), (b) as you've mentioned the NI Executive has no delegation powers towards Ofcom, only advisory and to be honest the technical understanding of such technologies by almost any MLA talking on such issues is frightfully shocking (c) there's little to nothing for ISPs in this. While they know where their subscriber is located, the route between the subscriber to the ISP is handled through BT for most broadband packages (LLU packages are one exception) via either IPstream or Datastream and they are unlikely to base servers in the north to connect with BT without expecting subscribers to pay for it; mandation by Ofcom would simply see many (especially regional) ISPs refuse to comply and end up being unenforceable.

If there is a need for this, then it is Ofcoms  business to meet that need and if they mandate something then the providers need to do that. Other E-Business applications might like this information as many services involving physical delivery are organised on an AI basis. There is no technical obstacle to this, only an administrative one. If BT provide NI IP numbers than these can be mapped on to NI IP numbers by an ISP, end of problem. Small British based ISPs might not want to provide service in NI and BT would not route traffic to them, but this is hardly critical as they would only have a handful of customers.

As for the MLAs I am strongly critical of the nationalist parties, especially Sinn Fein, who rant on about all sorts of things, but did nothing to address this type of issue, mobile phones are another example and things like postal services. In the GFA a subclause about telecoms regulation recognising the All Ireland dimension could have been added without any opposition from anyone, a bit like the TG4 from Divis, yet they never even tried. There is a considerable number of MLAs, I imagine some of them have a clue.