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Lightnet or Airwire?

  • 01-12-2014 2:46pm
    #1
    Galway92
    Registered Users Posts: 11 ✭


    can anyone who is with either of these isp's please post a speedtest or give me a rough idea of the service they provide? I'm looking to get decent internet with at the very least, low pings...and these guys are my only options..

    I spoke to Airwire and they said that they don't get much complaints, and lightnet basically can't answer til they get an engineer out.

    Lightnet has the closest access point to me, but I've read a lot about latency issues with them.

    Any input would be helpful, the speedtest megathread doesn't bring up any results for 'lightnet' searches. typical :P


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Comments

  • #2
    irishchris
    Registered Users Posts: 3,169 ✭✭✭irishchris


    Galway92 wrote: »
    can anyone who is with either of these isp's please post a speedtest or give me a rough idea of the service they provide? I'm looking to get decent internet with at the very least, low pings...and these guys are my only options..

    I spoke to Airwire and they said that they don't get much complaints, and lightnet basically can't answer til they get an engineer out.

    Lightnet has the closest access point to me, but I've read a lot about latency issues with them.

    Any input would be helpful, the speedtest megathread doesn't bring up any results for 'lightnet' searches. typical :P

    Was replying to another Airwire problem page when I saw this request
    Here is an example of Airwire on any evening after 6pm
    http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/a/1066095721
    Lightnet have been reported to have bad latency issues and a speed cap that reduces your speed if you continuously use full bandwidth for a half hour continuous.


  • #3
    Galway92
    Registered Users Posts: 11 ✭Galway92


    Jesus christ that's not great at all..are you on their 1mb package??
    That ping is mentally high...
    Way worse than what I'd get with Three even...is it always that bad?

    And yeah I've heard about Lightnet throttling speeds too, IDK who to go with now as I need unlimited. Three's 60GB package is too little for me.
    Thanks for the reply


  • #4
    irishchris
    Registered Users Posts: 3,169 ✭✭✭irishchris


    Galway92 wrote: »
    Jesus christ that's not great at all..are you on their 1mb package??
    That ping is mentally high...
    Way worse than what I'd get with Three even...is it always that bad?

    And yeah I've heard about Lightnet throttling speeds too, IDK who to go with now as I need unlimited. Three's 60GB package is too little for me.
    Thanks for the reply
    That's their 3mb package. Speeds vary from .1 to 1mb at best in evenings but pings are the most worrying aspect of it making Skype,viber, gaming etc impossible. There are reports of a handful in areas with low user base that have decent service in evenings but unfortunately was the same here until 3 years ago when their user base went up and they don't invest in improving it. Same experience with 3 of my colleagues in 3 different areas of Galway with same shoddy service in the evenings. During day is OK but as soon as 6pm-12am arrives the above is the standard quality test

    Problem is lightnet then throttle so you could well be below 1mb if using their service over a period of time with high usage


  • #5
    Galway92
    Registered Users Posts: 11 ✭Galway92


    irishchris wrote: »
    That's their 3mb package. Speeds vary from .1 to 1mb at best in evenings but pings are the most worrying aspect of it making Skype,viber, gaming etc impossible. There are reports of a handful in areas with low user base that have decent service in evenings but unfortunately was the same here until 3 years ago when their user base went up and they don't invest in improving it. Same experience with 3 of my colleagues in 3 different areas of Galway with same shoddy service in the evenings. During day is OK but as soon as 6pm-12am arrives the above is the standard quality test

    Problem is lightnet then throttle so you could well be below 1mb if using their service over a period of time with high usage

    ....wow, I know one of the neighbours up by me has Airwire so I'll ask them how they find it as I live just outside Craughwell..not too many people would be using internet around me, so I might be lucky in that sense.

    And,I'm not sure if I'm understanding this right or not but say I get lightnet and I'm downloading a 15GB file...after half an hour will I see my speeds start to drop?
    Cos honestly, I'd rather have ****ty speeds all the time than have good speeds for a little while. They're not cheap either..
    Landlines out of the Q for me because when I rang Sky for their Bb they did a test and said I'd get under 1mb and they wouldn't actually sell me internet because of that. I think I should just move to f*ck, it'd be less hassle:p


  • #6
    funnyname
    Registered Users Posts: 1,744 ✭✭✭funnyname


    Had airwire in galway and it was very flaky, especially at peak time.

    Moved to Clare during the summer, now using lightnet and can't fault them. Would totally recommend them.


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  • #7
    Scruff
    Registered Users Posts: 4,222 ✭✭✭Scruff


    had lightnet's 4mb package. speed was consistent at the max up and down for the package but pings were too high for me at >100ms as i was on their newer "4G" technology.
    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=92700484&postcount=11


  • #8
    Galway92
    Registered Users Posts: 11 ✭Galway92


    funnyname wrote: »
    Had airwire in galway and it was very flaky, especially at peak time.

    Moved to Clare during the summer, now using lightnet and can't fault them. Would totally recommend them.

    Would you be willing to post a speedtest result for me? That would be really helpful :)


  • #9
    Galway92
    Registered Users Posts: 11 ✭Galway92


    Scruff wrote: »
    had lightnet's 4mb package. speed was consistent at the max up and down for the package but pings were too high for me at >100ms as i was on their newer "4G" technology.

    I'm really worried about the pings too, a lot of bad things on here about that..Gaming is the main reason I'm switching my internet. Why don't we have fibre yet...-.-


  • #10
    irishchris
    Registered Users Posts: 3,169 ✭✭✭irishchris


    Galway92 wrote: »
    ....wow, I know one of the neighbours up by me has Airwire so I'll ask them how they find it as I live just outside Craughwell..not too many people would be using internet around me, so I might be lucky in that sense.

    And,I'm not sure if I'm understanding this right or not but say I get lightnet and I'm downloading a 15GB file...after half an hour will I see my speeds start to drop?
    Cos honestly, I'd rather have ****ty speeds all the time than have good speeds for a little while. They're not cheap either..
    Landlines out of the Q for me because when I rang Sky for their Bb they did a test and said I'd get under 1mb and they wouldn't actually sell me internet because of that. I think I should just move to f*ck, it'd be less hassle:p
    Ping with lightnet 4g antennas supposed to be quite high whereas their older antennas ping is reasonable.
    Yep with lightnet if using full bandwidth for 30 mins, eg downloading a medium sized file, then a 2 mb connection would drop to 1mb, after a further half hour to .5 mb and if still downloading after a further half hour to .25mb. Speed returned on the same basis over next few hours when you stop using it. Eg not using full bandwidth for 30 mins back to .5 then further 30 mins back to 1mb etc.


  • #11
    funnyname
    Registered Users Posts: 1,744 ✭✭✭funnyname


    Galway92 wrote: »
    Would you be willing to post a speedtest result for me? That would be really helpful :)


    3968704066.png


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  • #12
    Galway92
    Registered Users Posts: 11 ✭Galway92


    Thought I should update the thread

    I went with Lightnet in the end, got their 4MB package, and this is a speedtest result from today(had to use the UPC one because I cannot post links yet)

    Download Speed: 3055 kbps (381.9 KB/sec transfer rate)
    Upload Speed: 994 kbps (124.3 KB/sec transfer rate)
    Latency: 9 ms
    Jitter: 23 ms
    12/18/2014, 1:02:13 PM

    Pretty happy with these results!! Even though the weather is pretty bad out right now I'm still getting speeds close to what I'm paying for, and it's consistent as well. Ping hasn't gone above 50 and online gaming is really smooth, wired or wireless.

    @funnyname, is that a business connection you're on? 7Mb....damn


  • #13
    funnyname
    Registered Users Posts: 1,744 ✭✭✭funnyname


    I'm on the 6mb residential package, not sure why it went over on that speed test. It's nearly always 6/1.
    Galway92 wrote: »
    Thought I should update the thread

    I went with Lightnet in the end, got their 4MB package, and this is a speedtest result from today(had to use the UPC one because I cannot post links yet)

    Download Speed: 3055 kbps (381.9 KB/sec transfer rate)
    Upload Speed: 994 kbps (124.3 KB/sec transfer rate)
    Latency: 9 ms
    Jitter: 23 ms
    12/18/2014, 1:02:13 PM

    Pretty happy with these results!! Even though the weather is pretty bad out right now I'm still getting speeds close to what I'm paying for, and it's consistent as well. Ping hasn't gone above 50 and online gaming is really smooth, wired or wireless.

    @funnyname, is that a business connection you're on? 7Mb....damn


  • #14
    DaDerv
    Registered Users Posts: 253 ✭✭DaDerv


    I have a LightNet engineer coming in the next few days to test my connection. I'm in Ballinakill and was told I should get good reception. Like that I'm moving primarily for gaming. Have a Vodafone 4mb connection now and it's awful. LightNet is expensive though, 65 for the 6mb.

    Is it worth the change? How has it been since you got it in?


  • #15
    tomtom_murray
    Registered Users Posts: 7 ✭tomtom_murray


    Hi guys just wondering what would you do I am a lightnet customer paying for 2mb and was getting it till they readjusted my dish in early December. now only getting .9mb they say I cant get anything more and basically said if I not happy to leave.

    how would airwire compare?


  • #16
    Galway92
    Registered Users Posts: 11 ✭Galway92


    DaDerv wrote: »
    I have a LightNet engineer coming in the next few days to test my connection. I'm in Ballinakill and was told I should get good reception. Like that I'm moving primarily for gaming. Have a Vodafone 4mb connection now and it's awful. LightNet is expensive though, 65 for the 6mb.

    Is it worth the change? How has it been since you got it in?
    Hey!

    Gaming is really good with them, been on a Battlefield winning streak since switching haha. This speedtest is from today:

    Download Speed: 3683 kbps (460.4 KB/sec transfer rate)
    Upload Speed: 985 kbps (123.1 KB/sec transfer rate)
    Latency: 11 ms
    Jitter: 4 ms

    And it's manky weather right now as you know... Weather has no effect on the signal so far it seems!

    My experience is that they are consistent with the speeds, and no problems yet, the most annoying thing is paying 100 quid for an install and not even getting a router. I got a NetGear 'WNR2200' for 49Euro in Currys. It's a cable modem that you'll need, and it works well! Decent signal through the house with it!
    Let me know if you decide to go with them or if I can help more. :)


  • #17
    Galway92
    Registered Users Posts: 11 ✭Galway92


    funnyname wrote: »
    I'm on the 6mb residential package, not sure why it went over on that speed test. It's nearly always 6/1.

    Ah not so bad, hey let it go over as much as it wants.:P


  • #18
    DaDerv
    Registered Users Posts: 253 ✭✭DaDerv


    Galway92 wrote: »
    Hey!

    Gaming is really good with them, been on a Battlefield winning streak since switching haha. This speedtest is from today:

    Download Speed: 3683 kbps (460.4 KB/sec transfer rate)
    Upload Speed: 985 kbps (123.1 KB/sec transfer rate)
    Latency: 11 ms
    Jitter: 4 ms

    And it's manky weather right now as you know... Weather has no effect on the signal so far it seems!

    My experience is that they are consistent with the speeds, and no problems yet, the most annoying thing is paying 100 quid for an install and not even getting a router. I got a NetGear 'WNR2200' for 49Euro in Currys. It's a cable modem that you'll need, and it works well! Decent signal through the house with it!
    Let me know if you decide to go with them or if I can help more. :)

    Appreciate the reply! I postponed the engineer, I didn't want to have it installed before i knew more!

    What about the fair usage? Lets say hypothetically myself and the brother stream 2 3pm Saturday kick offs at the same time, hes a United fan and im a Spurs fan! we are talking 2 hours of constant use at a high load. Will the download speeds be badly hit by this? Even realistically gaming sessions are going to last longer than 1 hour, if like yourself i manage a serious CS GO streak ill never get off!

    Im all for Fair Usage, I see its benefits, but at the same time I'm selfish!!


  • #19
    Galway92
    Registered Users Posts: 11 ✭Galway92


    DaDerv wrote: »
    Appreciate the reply! I postponed the engineer, I didn't want to have it installed before i knew more!

    What about the fair usage? Lets say hypothetically myself and the brother stream 2 3pm Saturday kick offs at the same time, hes a United fan and im a Spurs fan! we are talking 2 hours of constant use at a high load. Will the download speeds be badly hit by this? Even realistically gaming sessions are going to last longer than 1 hour, if like yourself i manage a serious CS GO streak ill never get off!

    Im all for Fair Usage, I see its benefits, but at the same time I'm selfish!!


    I'd say you'll be grand man, watching the game shouldn't be an issue unless ye're both streaming at full 1080p quality, and even then it should be grand for that length of time!

    As for gaming, that uses feck all bandwidth, so you'll have no problems there as long as there's not loads of other stuff going on the same time!
    My brother plays Cod the whole time while I'm downloading stuff and on Facebook or whatever else, and he's not complained about lag once to me yet haha
    I thought the fair usage would be a bitch, just be mindful of what's being used and you'll be grand!


  • #20
    Scruff
    Registered Users Posts: 4,222 ✭✭✭Scruff


    @Galway92, looks like ye were in luck an are on their older transmission tech. What shape is your antenna out of interest? mine was rhombus shaped for their 4g tech.

    For the few moths i had them i never was throttled by their fair usage policy.


  • #21
    Mikegalway2015
    Registered Users Posts: 9 ✭Mikegalway2015


    Airwire need to give a service before I could give you an answer. Your lucky you a speed to reference. Basically airwire drop their signal for hours and days on end, on a frequent basis, so it's very difficult to say how bad there speeds really are at times.
    My last call with them stated that this is part of their own terms before I signed up!! An Irish success story of a company eh.


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  • #22
    Mikegalway2015
    Registered Users Posts: 9 ✭Mikegalway2015


    I'm in the moycullen area - does anyone use lightnet that they could provide more details on please?

    With airwire and find the internet to be really really poor. Pings in the high hundreds and up to the thousand mark. Reception drops for hours and days on end.

    Would be very interested to hear if lightnet is okay in the moycullen/Rosscahill area.
    Thanks


  • #23
    spudgobbler
    Registered Users Posts: 26 ✭spudgobbler


    Guys lightnets fair policy is a nightmare, after about half hour of downloading they slow down your speed big time. Unlimited maybe but your better off with a limit and get the speeds you've paid for. The moment eircom can get to me I'm taking it, 3mb speed with a fair usage policy is kinda sad. It's 2015


  • #24
    funnyname
    Registered Users Posts: 1,744 ✭✭✭funnyname


    Anybody know anything about this upgrade?

    http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/76749/one-million-euro-lightnet-investment-creates-new-jobs-for-loughrea

    I had a look at their website and it mentions 20mb but no pricing schedule.

    I'm currently paying €48 for 4/1, must give them a call tomorrow to check it out, will update I'd no gets back re this upgrade.


  • #25
    ItHurtsWhenIP
    Registered Users Posts: 1,954 ✭✭✭ItHurtsWhenIP


    funnyname wrote: »
    Anybody know anything about this upgrade?

    http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/76749/one-million-euro-lightnet-investment-creates-new-jobs-for-loughrea

    I had a look at their website and it mentions 20mb but no pricing schedule.

    I'm currently paying €48 for 4/1, must give them a call tomorrow to check it out, will update I'd no gets back re this upgrade.

    Oooooooooooo!

    This smells to me that a WISP that feels they are about to go out of business due to the NBP is trying to lock in customers for the final little spin around the drain. :mad:


  • #26
    GerardKeating
    Registered Users Posts: 7,526 ✭✭✭GerardKeating


    funnyname wrote: »
    Anybody know anything about this upgrade?

    http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/76749/one-million-euro-lightnet-investment-creates-new-jobs-for-loughrea

    I had a look at their website and it mentions 20mb but no pricing schedule.

    I'm currently paying €48 for 4/1, must give them a call tomorrow to check it out, will update I'd no gets back re this upgrade.

    The new pricing plans all have download caps.


  • #27
    funnyname
    Registered Users Posts: 1,744 ✭✭✭funnyname


    GerardKeating wrote: »
    The new pricing plans all have download caps.

    Can move from 4/1 with unlimited downloads with throttling for €48 to 5/1 with a cap of 80MB(presume its MB not mb) for €45.

    They are updating different areas, mine not done yet but top residential product is now 20/2. That would seem to be below NBP requirement so you'd wonder are they doing this piecemeal to get there


  • #28
    irishchris
    Registered Users Posts: 3,169 ✭✭✭irishchris


    funnyname wrote: »
    Can move from 4/1 with unlimited downloads with throttling for €48 to 5/1 with a cap of 80MB(presume its MB not mb) for €45.

    They are updating different areas, mine not done yet but top residential product is now 20/2. That would seem to be below NBP requirement so you'd wonder are they doing this piecemeal to get there

    Did they give price for the 20mb pack?


  • #29
    funnyname
    Registered Users Posts: 1,744 ✭✭✭funnyname


    irishchris wrote: »
    Did they give price for the 20mb pack?

    I didn't ask at the time but sent an email soon after enquiring but no answer yet.


  • #30
    funnyname
    Registered Users Posts: 1,744 ✭✭✭funnyname


    funnyname wrote: »
    I didn't ask at the time but sent an email soon after enquiring but no answer yet.

    At the moment the 20MB package with 80GB of data is €60 a month. This pricing is valid for 30 days and may be subject to change.


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  • #31
    Scruff
    Registered Users Posts: 4,222 ✭✭✭Scruff


    funnyname wrote: »
    At the moment the 20MB package with 80GB of data is €60 a month. This pricing is valid for 30 days and may be subject to change.

    €100 installation + above = Fail.
    Had been open to going back to them if they were going to have a realistic offering and had sorted out their high ping problem but not at that price for a capped service.
    looks like i'll be investing in an external 4g aerial instead.

    Oh-look, a banner ad is appearing right above this post (for me anyway) for a Wireless provider in Cork that is advertising what are much more realistic prices and limits
    http://www.novabroadband.ie/w/residential/mywave-broadband/
    MyWave 20M

    Up to 20Mb Download Speed
    Unlimited Downloads
    No phone line needed
    Wireless link to our fibre network
    20GB/day fair usage
    Up to 1M Upload Speed
    Suitable for ultimate gaming, heavy video streaming etc

    Only €56.99/month


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