Eircom

BT has now discontinued this scheme, and is moving to upgrade all remaining exchanges in the UK to ADSL during 2005, (including Northern Ireland, which has the highest number of exchanges upgraded to broadband in the UK). The Thai Zodiac does not differ from the Chinese zodiac. Copying a similar scheme to that used by BT in the UK, they have introduced a trigger scheme for DSL enabling their smaller exchanges based on numbers of users committing to sign-up for service. Names of years. They have stated that their strategy is to strongly grow broadband user numbers and re-enter the mobile market. Following is the Hunnish or Turkic Bulgarian Pagan zodiac calendar, distinctive from the Greek zodiac but much in conformity with the Chinese one: Kam-Boyan Calendar. eircom predict 100,000 DSL connection by year end 2004 and promise to announce ambitious further growth targets in 2005. This common Chinese-Turkic Zodiac was in use in Balkan Bulgaria well into the Bulgars' adoption of Slavic language and Orthodox Christianity.

After a slow start broadband subscriber numbers started to pick up in 2004 when eircom cut the price for the basic DSL service and launched an intensive television advertising campaign. The European Huns used the Chinese Zodiac complete with "dragon", "pig". Eircom's line rental costs have increased over the years, now standing at €24.18 per month - the highest such charge in the EU. For example, the Vietnamese zodiac is identical to Chinese zodiac except the fourth animal is the cat not the rabbit, while the Japanese zodiac includes the wild boar instead of the pig. Some consider this act to be asset stripping by the large investors with interests in eircom. However, some of the animals in the Zodiac may differ by country. After the privatisation of eircom, the highly profitable mobile phone division, Eircell, was sold to Vodafone. The Chinese zodiac is also used in some other Asian countries that have been under the cultural influence of China.

eircom's corporate structure has also been subject to criticism in recent years, with accusations of poor management and overstaffing levelled at it. Those who are serious about the fortune telling aspect of the signs can consult a table, such as the one above. This technology, which is not available in all areas is an alternative, albeit expensive option, in some areas where broadband is not available and ISDN is. However, those unfamiliar with the use of the Chinese lunar calendar usually just assume that the signs switch over on Jan 1 of each year. Before eircom announced ADSL it started a telemarketing campaign aimed at customers who spent large amounts of time on dial-up connections to persuade them to subscribe to ISDN - an old inferior technology. The United States Postal Service and those of several other countries issue a "Year of the _____" postage stamp each year to honor this Chinese heritage. Penalities on any extra time spent online mean that a mere 12 hours extra per month (charged at 4c per minute) will result in a bill of around €50 (these charges are on top of the €24.18 line rental), though this product is targeted at lower end users. For one example, they usually appear on Japanese New Year's cards and stamps.

In June 2005 a new product was offered, offering time-limited broadband of 20 hours per month for €24.99 (introductory offer, €19.99). The Chinese zodiac signs are also used by cultures other than Chinese. Some of eircom's DSL packages and offers have been widely criticised. (See Chinese calendar). Only 60% of the population are located in the urban areas where broadband is available [4], and of these, only 75% qualify due to faulty lines (Eircom has no obligation to provide lines good enough for anything other than some level of voice communication). There are some newer astrological texts which follow the Chinese Agricultural Calendar (the jie qi), and thus place the changeover of zodiac signs at the solar term li chun (beginning of Spring), at solar longitude 315 degrees. It has been suggested that this is more to ensure that politicians, local community groups and the public at large feel that Ireland is being connected, rather than advertise available services (A large part of the population cannot take up the broadband deals). Many online sign calculators (such as [2]) will give a person the wrong sign if he/she was born in January or early February.

As of 2004, eircom's PR division runs near-daily advertisements for broadband connections on national media. The start of a new Zodiac is also celebrated on Chinese New Year along with many other customs. Ireland continues to lag behind in terms of broadband availability, with the fifth lowest broadband penetration in the EU25 at 3% of population [3] (OECD, Dec 2004), and the lowest in Western Europe. For example, 1990 was the year of the horse, but anyone born from January 1 to January 26, 1990 was born in the Year of the Snake (the sign of the previous year), because the 1990 Year of the Horse began on January 27, 1990. Although it is not yet possible for other operators such as BT Ireland to buy the lines from eircom and charge their own line rental should they wish. Therefore, a person who was born in January or early February may have the sign of the previous year. However, under a wholesale line rental scheme, it is now possible for customers, to have a single bill from an alternative provider, for example, BT Ireland, including the cost of Eircom line rental, rather than continuing to receive a separate one from eircom for this cost. Since the (traditional) Chinese zodiac follows the (lunisolar) Chinese calendar, the switch over date for the zodiac signs is the Chinese New Year, not January 1 as in the Gregorian calendar.

Introduced in Ireland in 2001, CPS allows subscribers to use an alternative provider for all their calls, without the need to dial indirect access codes or numbers, although they still receive a bill from eircom for line rental. Interestingly, the cat does make it into the Vietnamese Zodiac, in place of the rabbit (see below). While eircom retains a virtual monopoly, at around 80%, on fixed line telephony in the State (the only exception being those operated by cable company NTL - Chorus previously offered wireless telephony but failed to renew their licence) it is required to allow carrier pre-selection (CPS). The Boar, at a loss, proceeded to claim that the meat on its bones 'tasted good.' This explanation was apparently considered unsatisfactory, because the Boar was placed at the very end of the Zodiac. [2]. In yet another variation, each animal was called before its peers and had to explain why it deserved a position at the top of the Zodiac. Eircom announced the successful purchase on 25 July 2005 at a cost of €420m. This format is rather like the one that the National Football League uses to determine its playoff teams (six from each conference).

On 21 July it was announced that Smart Telecom had also withdrawn, leaving eircom as the sole bidder. The first involved all the animals, in two divisions to avoid the fast animals dominating the top, and the top six in each division would "make the cut" for a second round, which would then determine the order of placement of the animals in the zodiac. On 14 July 2005, RTÉ News reported on their business website that Denis O'Brien had withdrawn from bidding, and that it was understood that eircom was the top bidder at €410m. Yet another variation tells of two different races. On 9 July 2005 it was reported by The Irish Times that there had been three bidders for Meteor: eircom, Smart Telecom, and a consortium led by Denis O'Brien. The route ran through a forest, over ranges of plains and grasslands, and along a stream, before finally crossing a lake to the destination town. It was considered that this afforded eircom an opportunity to re-enter the mobile communications market. Another version of the tale expands the race.

In early 2005, several Irish newspapers reported that Meteor Mobile Communications, the third mobile phone operator, was up for sale by its owners, Western Wireless. The trade was acceptable because both animals are members of the family of bovines. The company floated at €1.55 a share, but dipped on initial trading before recovering to trade above its float price. Some versions of the tale say that the cattle nominated a water buffalo to represent them because he was more proficient at water. On 19 March 2004 the company returned to the stock market (although the company being listed, eircom Group plc, was in fact a new holding company, and was registered in England and Wales rather than the Republic of Ireland). Another popular legend has it that a race was used to decide the animals to report to the Jade Emperor:. However eircom did not remain a private company. All the animals who arrived on the night were granted a special place as a zodiac animal - the cat arrived the next day only to find out that the banquet was over.

eircom plc was delisted from the stock exchange, become eircom Limited, a private limited company by shares and a subsidary of Valentia. A variation of this describes the Jade Emperor holding a great banquet in his palace; the cat does not hear the initial announcement so the rat tells him that there is going to be a royal party but instead tells him it is on the day after the actual date. Eventually in June 2001 the company agreed a recommended offer of €1.27 per eircom share. One of the most popular reads, in summarized form, as follows:. After the demerger of Eircell, eircom itself was believed to be undervalued and became the subject of a bidding war between two consortia - the E-Island consortium headed by Denis O'Brien, and the Valentia Consortium headed by Sir Anthony O'Reilly, the chairman of Independent News and Media. There are many legends to explain the beginning of the zodiac (see Origins of the Chinese Zodiac). This left the eircom shareholder with not only shares in eircom, but Vodafone also. The 12 Zodiac animal signs (生肖 shengxiao) are, in order, the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep (or goat), monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.

The company was transfered to a separate entity, Eircell 2000 plc which was then sold to Vodafone via a share swop. The following hours are in Beijing local time (UTC+8). In 2001, eircom disposed of its mobile arm Eircell to Vodafone. (24 divided by 12 animals) The large hour a person is born is their secretive animal as stated above. This may have been a factor in Mary O'Rourke, the then Minister for Public Enterprise losing her seat in the general election. The Chinese zodiac is also used to label times of day, with each sign corresponding to a "large-hour" or shichen (時辰), which is a two-hour period. Many of the 500,000 small investors were angered by the significant financial loss they incurred, blaming the government for not sufficiently warning them of the risks inherent in stock market investment. The month born affects a person's inner animal, as stated above.

The eircom flotation is considered to have been an example of a stock market bubble - after the initial hype of the flotation died down, the stock price fell rapidly. The Twelve animals also apply to the lunar months. eircom plc was then floated on the Irish Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and New York Stock Exchange s on July 8, 1999 and small/first-time investors were encouraged by the Irish Government to buy shares. Many western displays of the chinese zodiac omit these, as well as the elements, for easier consumption and understanding. Due to EU laws requiring the opening up of the Irish telecommunications market, eircom was privatised, a process which began in 1995, and by July 1999 the government had disposed of virtually all of its shareholding [1]. These are said to be critical for the proper use of chinese astrology. For details of the company during its time as a state-sponsored body, see the Telecom Éireann article. It is important to compensate for daylight savings or any clock adjustment performed by your country as it is mapped according to the sun's location and not the local time.

This article deals mainly with the post-privatisation eircom. The secret animal is determined by exact time of birth and is your own true sign with your personality is based in. The company was formed in 1984 as Bord Telecom Éireann, under Posts and Telecommunications Act 1983. It may be considered what the individual wishes to become, or believes to be their true self. See the criticism section below for more details. This dictates your own love life and inner persona and is critical to understand and know to properly calculate compatibility with other signs. eircom has been subject to much criticism in the performance of its activities. Combined with 5 elements makes for 8640 combinations (5 elements, 12 animals, 12 months, 12 times of day) The inner animal is assigned by the month of birth.

Many broadband products offered by other operators are resales of the eircom product. These yearly cycles represent what others perceive you as being, while a person might appear to be a Dragon they might actually be a Snake internally and an Ox secretively. As an operator with significant market power, eircom is required to provide a number of wholesale products to other operators and to switch calls onto other phone networks. It is common misconception that there are only the singular animal assigned by year. eircom Phonewatch provides burglar alarm and home monitoring services. Each year in the 60 year cycle contains twelve animals, each with five possible elements, which distinctively vary the base animal's personality which equals to 60 possible combinations. Their ISP division, eircom net, provides dial-up services, as well as broadband (see broadband roll-out, below) services. This is where many Chinese Astrology descriptions in western society draw solely from.

A full range of telecommunications services is provided on the network. Each individual personality is associated with an animal which represents it. Most homes and businesses in the state are connected by his network. (Notice the title "Green (Wooden) Chicken Year".). eircom operate the largest fixed-line telecommunications network in the Republic of Ireland, under licence from the Commission for Communications Regulation. See [1]. . Some websites denote the years by the colour and zodiac sign (as opposed to animal sign and element).

eircom now has a 44% share of the Irish telecoms market. The traditional correspondences are green to Wood, red to Fire, brown to Earth, white to Metal, and black to Water. It is now run by Vodafone. The elements are also associated with colours. An analogue TACS and a digital GSM 900 network operation in Ireland, started as Eircell, was once owned by eircom. It can lend qualities to all 12 animals as well. eircom currently operates the fixed-line telephone network, act as an internet service provider (ISP) eircom.net, and operate a property alarm installation and montioring unit called eircom Phonewatch. Additionally there is Earth which does not govern over any animals and is the central balance of all elements.

As Bord Telecom Éireann plc, the company was (until 1999) a state monopoly; as a private company it continues to dominate many telecommunications areas, its main competitor being BT Ireland (formerly Esat BT), although this is accessed via eircom's network. Pig , Rooster, Dog. eircom Group plc is the largest telecommunications operator in the Republic of Ireland. 'Governs'.
. Dragon, Horse, Goat. 'Governs'.

Tiger, Hare, Snake. 'Governs'. Rat, Ox, Monkey. 'Governs'.

Divided into 4 groups. Each of the 12 animals are governed by an element plus a Yin Yang Direction. Each element has features that apply to both years and the animals. These are modifiers and affect the characteristics of each of the 12 signs.

The Yin or Yang is broken down into Five Elements ( Water, Wood, Fire, Metal (Gold), Earth) on top of the cycle of animals. The current cycle began in the year 1984. This combination creates a 60-year cycle, starting with Wood Rat and ending with Water Pig. Since the zodiac animal cycle of 12 is divisible by two, every zodiac can only occur in either yin or yang: the dragon is always yang, the snake is always yin, etc.

Even years are yang, odd years are yin. There is a binary Yin Yang cycle, which enlarges the 5 element cycle to a cycle of ten (seen below). See Qi Xi for more versions of this story. The tai bai fairy acts as the chaperone of these two immortal lovers.

The cowherd carries their two sons (the two stars on each side of Altair) across the bridge to reunite with their fairy mother. Each year on the seventh day of the seventh month in the Chinese calendar, the birds form a bridge across the Milky Way. The two forbidden lovers were separated by the silvery river (the Milky Way). For example, the Summer Triangle is the trio of the cowherd (Altair), the weaving maiden fairy (Vega) and the "tai bai" fairy (Deneb).

In addition to astrological readings of the heavenly bodies, the stars in the sky form the basis of many fairy tales. Xuan Wu is also known as the spirit of the northern sky or the spirit of Water in Taoism belief. The seven northern constellations are referred to as xúanwǔ (玄武). For example, the Big Dipper (Ursa Major) is known as 斗 dǒu; the belt of Orion is known as 參 shen, or the "Happiness, Fortune, Longevity" trio of demigods.

The twenty-eight Chinese constellations (宿 xìu) are quite different from the eighty-eight Western constellations. A laborious system of computing one's fate and destiny based on one's birthday and birth hours (known as 紫微斗數 zǐwēidǒushù) is still used regularly in modern day Chinese astrology to divine one's fortune. It is said that the position of these planets, along with the positions of the Sun, Moon, any comets in the sky as well as time of birth and Zodiac Sign can determine a person's destiny according to Chinese Astrology. The ancient Chinese astronomers called the five major planets by the names of the element they were associated with: Venus corresponds to Metal (gold); Jupiter to Wood; Mercury to Water; Mars to Fire; Saturn to Earth.

. This fortune-telling system is derived from the principle characteristics of the system: the Zodiac, the five elements of Chinese thought, calendrical cycles based on astronomy, and ancient Chinese religion. Chinese astrology is the divination of the future from the Chinese calendar, particularly its 12-year cycle of animals, referred to as the Chinese Zodiac. Shushma - Boar (Türk, Russ "Kaban" - Translator's Note).

It - Dog. Taguk - Rooster, Hen. Bichin, Michin - Monkey. Téké - Goat (Sheep).

Tuki (Tykha) - Horse. Dilan - Snake. Samar - Dragon Birgün (Bergen, Birig, Baradj)- Dragon. Taushan - Hare.

Ügur - Tiger Myachè Ügur - Tiger. Kuman (Imén). Shiger (Syger) - Artom (Taurus). Kuzgé - [Year of] Saravana.

21:00 - 23:00: pig. 19:00 - 21:00: dog. 17:00 - 19:00: rooster. 15:00 - 17:00: monkey.

13:00 - 15:00: goat. 11:00 - 13:00: horse. 09:00 - 11:00: snake. 07:00 - 09:00: dragon.

05:00 - 07:00: rabbit. 03:00 - 05:00: tiger. 01:00 - 03:00: ox. 23:00 - 01:00: rat.

pig (or boar). dog. rooster. monkey.

goat (or sheep). horse. snake. dragon.

rabbit (or hare). tiger. ox. rat.

Reliability. Foundations. Balance. The Centre.

Strong. Dependable. Useful. The West.

Movement. Intelligence. Passion. The South.

Growth. Nurturing. Creativity. The East.

Sensitivity. Intuition. Communication. The North.