Has anyone elses line failed the DSL test ?

gandalf

Just curious to see how many others are in the same boat. I've just got a mail back from UTV saying my line has failed. I've tried talking to Eircom but as expected no one has anything to say beyond order a new line and it "might" pass.

This is not good enough. I would be interested in seeing the numbers that have failed and to see if we can put some pressure on Eircom to commit to fixing the lines especially considering we are paying the highest line rental charges in Europe (I'd like some stats details on this as well if possible).

Gandalf.

(My line is in the D16 area.)

shinzon

voted

Regards

Shin

homerzero

Yep
Got the same email today from UTVeven though i live within a mile of the exchange . i filled out a complaint form on the eircom site . i wouldnt mind if i was 5 or 6 km away . it seems ridicilous . I gonna have to try IOL now might even get Eircom to try the lines and see if they pass for them even though they wouldnt pass them for UTV

NIBBS

Based Baldoyle, Dulbin 13 - failed.

Should this not be a Comreg issue ?

I don't think that Eircom should continually be allowed to increase line rental charges and still be allowed to have so many areas who's lines haven't been installed to the same specifcations, thus ensuring that so many people can't get Broadband.

I would also be interested to know how many of the people who fail these tests are already using UTV or another carrier ?

BigEejit

I voted no ... even though my line failed LOADS of times (I was asking for the line to be tested on a regular basis:p ) ... but just last week it has started passing .... woot

BattlingCheese

I live in Celbridge and have passed the line test with UTV.
I am already a UTVip dialup user.

Martin-UTVi

Got the same email today from UTVeven though i live within a mile of the exchange

Don't forget that it is the length of the copper run to the exchange, not necessarily the distance. Sitting several feet from the exchange could still involve a few km of copper run, so its not always a straight "as the crow flys" distance. Also in the UK there were parts of BT's network were built with aluminum after the war because it was then cheaper than copper - people hanging off these parts of the network (very very few in our experience) can not get ISDN/DSL. I've never heard of this on Eircoms network though.

gandalf

Martin I think the problem is with the shoddy state of the Eircom network and I have heard of Eircom using cheaper cable and given their track history it would not surprise me.

NIBBS in answer to your query yes this is a Comreg issue but its also a issue for Eircom because I pay them some of my hard earned money for a hobbled service. Normally in the real world if someone is ripping me off I can move my custom elsewhere, I have a choice but with Telecommications in this country we still don't have a choice with regard to the last mile connection and Eircom are taking advantage of this with impunity.

Gandalf.

Scruff

Myself and one of my house mates had a number of arguements in the past few weeks with eircom over our line failing the DSL test despite being less than 3km from the exchange and also about the crap connection speeds we're getting connection with 56k modems. Their attitude was once we could make telephone calls fine then everything was hunkey-dorey as far as they were concerned and were under no obligation to replace\upgrade the line just so we could get better internet connection speeds. I think one biddy actually said €ircom are a telephone company, not an internet company....
Only option was to fork out the extra cash to get a new line that may or may not pass the DSL test.

only hope left is IBBs ripwave based service but dont know for definate if they'll cover where i live yet

gandalf

Yeah Scruff that is exactly the attitude I am talking about. If they don't sell internet access then they shouldn't be advertising DSL or ISDN for that purpose.

What we need to do is to get the name of one person with responsibility for this area and target them. I believe that Ireland Offline need to add the objective to force the incumbant to sort out peoples lines in enabled areas so they can get ADSL. That or reduce their line rental to represent the fact they are being supplied with a inferior product.

Gandalf.

shinzon

More are failing the line test then passing it, the whole infrastructure is ****ed, eircom are basically denying business to esatbt, netsource and UTV, potential customers just cant get it, i wish the other BB providers would get onto EIRCON and tell them that there losing business becuase of cheap copper, pair gain boxes whether above or below ground, street cabinets etc etc etc, the list just goes on and on, its ridiculous in this day and age that EIRCON can continually get away with false advertising, maintaining a network that just cant cope with the demands thats been put upon it, its almost criminal.

Comreg are powerlesss they dont wanna know, they make half assed attempts to please most of the people and its just not good enough.

the government makes declarations saying were getting this that and the other thing, then expect EIRCON to find someway to do it, EIRCON goto court over it, before ye know it its 5 years down the line, the rest of the world has moved on and were left
stuck in the ****

Nothing will ever change until someone mounts a real challenge to eircon. take them to task and really **** them over, simple as that

Regards

Shin

exchange: waterford main (bb enabled exchange for esat and eircom)

Line: Going from exchange to street cabinet then from cabinet to splitter (splitter conjecture on my part but hey i know its there)then to house

raeGten

I haven't tested my line yet. I'm in a new estate in Lucan and I'm hoping for cable at the moment. I know it's early days on the poll but it looks bad for the infrastructure at the moment. I wonder if new estates (built over the last 5 years or so) would fair any better than the older ones? Are Eircom still fitting pairgains and dodgy cabling even in new developements?

echomadman

one passed, then failed, then passed and is now a 1024/256 i-scream enhanced line
the other one failed, then failed then failed again, and it looks like i'll have to get a ne line installed and wait four week berfore i can have it tested, and tehn maybe it'll pass

information age town,..... :rolleyes:

pete

Originally posted by Martin-UTVi
Also in the UK there were parts of BT's network were built with aluminum after the war because it was then cheaper than copper - people hanging off these parts of the network (very very few in our experience) can not get ISDN/DSL. I've never heard of this on Eircoms network though.

I heard eircom went for TTC/POS* technology instead.

* = Two tin cans & a piece of string

Dustaz

This is why user created polls are A Bad Thing

There is nothing conclusive from this poll as it doesnt indicate where the lines are failing from.

If they are all in Dublin 2, then yes its damning to the infrastructure. If however the 18 votes so far have come from Inis mor then that wouldnt be too suprising would it?

gandalf

Well Dustaz all I want is an idea of how bad the problem is. I'm assuming that those answering are from enabled exchanges and I believe inis mor is not enabled.

OK for Dustaz can everybody edit their posts with where their line is based.

Gandalf.

pete

Failed the test - in the middle of the 5 year old 'burbs, Dublin 15

homerzero

THe Replys cant come from inis mor as they will only test areas in broadband enabaled exchanges . so the results are from people who should be able to get Broadband but cant

qwertyup

Failed the test here in Monkstown, Dun Laoighire.

What is annoying is that it is due to substandard copper in the area, plain and simple.

I know it might seem rash to say this, but while I do not have facts, I do have some things which strongly allude to this being the case. To wit, my neighbour ten yards down the road can get, and indeed is getting, an ADSL product. He too failed the line test on his original line. However, after getting a new line last year, he was passed on this.

What really ticks me off is that at roughly the same time, maybe a bit earlier, I got a separate IDSN line which fails now.

Would I be wrong in thinking that Eircom's enabled claims in its adverts is both misleading and essentially false advertising? It would make far more interesting reading if they were forced to use the actual number of currently passed lines if they wished to use any number at all. Instead they get to pimp their "rollout" of broadband for all to see.

Disillusioned here, to say the least.

spongebob

Monkstown has some of the oldest copper in Irlenad, it had phones while Bell himself was still alive

Inis Mór has relatively new copper mostly less that 25 years old.

So stop dissing Inis Mór.

M

Mr. Fancypants

Failed today with UTV. In Inchicore D8. I did pass Eircoms online test thingie which i assume only checks if the exchange is upgraded?
Frustrating, had broadband for 2 weeks before i was kicked out of my old apartment, still on the same exchange and cant get it now. Grrrrrrr.

tony h01

Hi im living in Cobh and up to 5 days ago my line passed the test , however after changing my phone number it has failed the test , any one else ever come across this?

sceptre

Originally posted by tony h
Hi im living in Cobh and up to 5 days ago my line passed the test , however after changing my phone number it has failed the test , any one else ever come across this?

You've changed your number within the last five days I take it? And just your number - same address, same physical line? The database should really reflect that but there's a good chance that it just doesn't get updated till the next test rolls around. There's no real reason why it shouldn't pass when that happens.

AndrewWK

Can anyone tell me what the story is with line tests and ISDN? I've isdn here and am afraid that I'll just fail it because of that. I remember my friend just downgraded from isdn and then got dsl that way and it worked, but it's still a bit risky.

RicardoSmith

I'm in D.15 and in a new house with a new line and it fails. I'm in the position to check a few other lines in the area and they all fail. When Eircom come to the door, which they do a lot since I'm with UTVIP. They always tell me that its rare for someone to fail im my area.

Ultimately theres naff all I can do.

Has anyone got a new line which then passed? or failed?

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by AndrewWK
Can anyone tell me what the story is with line tests and ISDN? I've isdn here and am afraid that I'll just fail it because of that. I remember my friend just downgraded from isdn and then got dsl that way and it worked, but it's still a bit risky.

I've heard that if you have ISDN then they've probably cleaned up your line. So that if you cancel it then your line should pass.

AndrewWK

I'm ringing up tomorrow for a line test. Fingers crossed.

oisin

I live about 200 yards from two exchanges, Lucan and Lucan Ballydowd, although I'm on the Lucan exchange. According to the online test my line passes but on two occasions when I've applied for DSL the line fails. I've got ISDN for the past 2 years but I'm pissed off paying double line charges and double call charges for a quarter of the speed of DSL. Eircom are useless, I just get fobbed off everytime I ring to try and get them to do something about it. Its exasperating.

job

In Leixlip

3 Lines into house

Main Line / Brother's Line & my line.

First 2 pass for dsl, mine has failed ??

My line is the newest, less than a yr old & they had to lay new cable in the street, so i could get my line.

Still waiting

tony h01

thanks Sceptre you were right on the button my line passed no prob tonight now all i have to do is decide between Eircon or Esat Bt
tony h in cobh

Ripwave

Originally posted by job
3 Lines into house
Main Line / Brother's Line & my line.

Still waiting

What are you waiting for? Just get DSL on one of the other lines - it won't impact it's use as a phone line.

Revoque

I live about 2.5 km from the exchange. Of the 14 houses on my road only 2 pass the DSL test,the house nearest the exchange and my dads house-the last house on the road. His is the oldest house with the oldest line running to it with 2 homemade connections on it after a tree fell on the line over 6 weeks ago and it still passed today,

go figure?

I have the newest line (ISDN) on the road, no splits or carriers, isdn works perfectly but still wont pass.

Guess me and the wife will have to move back in with dad !

CuLT

My line failed a week and a half ago.

I got eircom to fix it.





Of course, I still have phonewatch, which there's apparently an issue with.
Esat rep said that "the latest word" on the issue was that it would be resolved two weeks from now.

He also said that esat would be able to take up line rental charges in August, and that it'd be cheaper than eircom. Probably old news tho.

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by CuLT
My line failed a week and a half ago.

I got eircom to fix it.





Of course, I still have phonewatch, which there's apparently an issue with.
Esat rep said that "the latest word" on the issue was that it would be resolved two weeks from now.

He also said that esat would be able to take up line rental charges in August, and that it'd be cheaper than eircom. Probably old news tho.

How did you get them to fix it?

shinzon

Originally posted by RicardoSmith
How did you get them to fix it?

yep took the words right out of my mouth

shin

CuLT

I know someone in the company, a long-term Tech.

I also know someone who worked for eircom sales a few years ago. The sales people are more or less told to give the customer the runaround, no matter what.

That's why it took a week and a half as opposed to a day, I tried sales and lines first.

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by CuLT
I know someone in the company, a long-term Tech.

I also know someone who worked for eircom sales a few years ago. The sales people are more or less told to give the customer the runaround, no matter what.

That's why it took a week and a half as opposed to a day, I tried sales and lines first.

But what was the cause of the line failing. What did they do to fix it?

Raskolnikov

A chap across the road from me tried getting broadband from IOL in our enabled exchange. My line already passed for it (exchange is just a few hundred metres up the road), but yet when he went to IOL his line, he failed. He doesn't have ISDN, Phonewatch, devices attached, an underground spring beneath his house or any of that crap. It was suggested that the copper leading to his house was waterlogged. I suggested a hairdryer, or maybe even blowing all that nasty static off the line. To think, my answer was more constructive than that of Eircom.

Mr. Fancypants

Moved house a few weeks ago. Called Eircom before moving in to make sure the line passed for broadband and was told that it did. Moved in and guess what.....yup its been failing ever since. Have checked a few numbers on the same street and they all pass. Have been leaving my phone unplugged the past few days just in case that has been causing a problem as it has a caller id display, seems like a ridiculous solution though. Is there any way to find out when Eircom actually test the lines?

shinzon

Originally posted by CuLT
My line failed a week and a half ago.

I got eircom to fix it.





Of course, I still have phonewatch, which there's apparently an issue with.
Esat rep said that "the latest word" on the issue was that it would be resolved two weeks from now.

He also said that esat would be able to take up line rental charges in August, and that it'd be cheaper than eircom. Probably old news tho.

Just proves that they can fix the lines if they were bothered to get off there arse and actually do something about it

Bloody disgrace

Shin

egan007

my line is failing
contact Eircom
While (i stay on line)
Keep fobbing me off()
loop

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by shinzon
Just proves that they can fix the lines if they were bothered to get off there arse and actually do something about it

Bloody disgrace

Shin

Couldn't agree more.

conor-mr2

On October 29th last year I put my number into the Eircom site.

I passed.

Last week I put my number in on the Eircom site as I wanted to get the trial.

I failed.

Must have been a bird sitting on a wire somewhere when Eircom did their phone test! Mind you Im after finding out that when we got a second digibox the gimps installed phone lines into the first and second digibox. Suffice to say I've disconnected these now.
Alls I need is more devices hindering the line*

* based on other posts Ive read its better to disconnect as many devices as possible.

egan007

Originally posted by egan007
my line is failing
contact Eircom
While (i stay on line)
Keep fobbing me off()
loop

Loops work my line is ok now!!!!
24 hours later!!!

conor-mr2

Arghhhhhhhh! Stupid stupid Eircom

Next door neighbours either side passes the test.

Had engineer out this morning regarding some wiring issues. Very nice and pleasant I believe.

Fised wiring issues for us.Had laptop, did line test says all tests pass and showed my mother this.
Mother asked "Im interested in broadband -What about broadband?"
"Oh thats a different test they do by sending a pulse down the line. I cant say here whether it would pass for broadband or not"

The chap advised that we disconnect all other devices and get a test done so there and then mother asked him to disconnect others for us.
Mother rang Eircom but obviously got a sales drone who did a "line test" and obviously it failed because all the stupid robot does is look at their database.
So my mother said can you not do a line test now. She replied no they cant.
Mother asked are you not trying to sell this product. "oh theres nothing I can do"

Engineer couldnt really do much other than offer the advice to keep stuff disconnected and mark today in calendar and perhaps check again in a few weeks.

I mean WTF!!! How goddamn incompetent can this company get? The sooner control of the last mile local loop is wrenched away from their hands the better.

In fairness the engineer was trying to be as helpful as possible but I thought (wrongly obviously!!) that the technology was present in this day and age to do a "broadband" compatibility line test there and then.

What irks me most is my line was passing when I wasnt interested in getting the broadband.

Also I have no idea when these muppets do their line test.

My best current opportunity to get broadband, engineer in the house and all passes me by because they apparently cannot do a line test there and then. (I struggle to believe that they cant do one there and then, I just think its the unhelpful people at sales eircom).

Urban Weigl

I heard of a few people who had the same thing happen to them (line passed, and began failing after months of passing). You should still be able to order it over the phone from Eircom. Tell them it passed, tell them whatever you have to, to get them to enter the order for you.

eth0_

Originally posted by Urban Weigl
I heard of a few people who had the same thing happen to them (line passed, and began failing after months of passing). You should still be able to order it over the phone from Eircom. Tell them it passed, tell them whatever you have to, to get them to enter the order for you.

Hello? Have you ever dealt with eircom? That's a dumb suggestion. See my other threads about my experiences with them. My line was passing every single month since RADSL launched, I even saw the results of a line test esat did and it more than exceeded the min requirements, then suddenly last month my line fails, and eircom tell Netsource it's failing because my line was terminated LAST YEAR.

Comreg are f*cking unbelievable, all they did was tell eircom i'd made a complaint and eircom did SFA to investigate it, I was demanding to know who told netsource my line had been terminated and why and they just kept giving me the brush off.

Unless the biddy can see on her computer that your line says 'PASS!' in big red writing, you haven't a HOPE.

Gadgie

My line was passing the line test since December 2003 (when I moved in).
I ordered the free trial option from UTV. The order was rejected...
Now it fails all the time.
Do I smell a rat ?

conor-mr2

@Eth0_:

Yes I've read those threads!! Unbelievable!!




I tell you Im absolutely livid at the moment. I decided to check all the other 14 houses on my road. So out with phone book , check numbers on Eircom site.... pass, passs, passs... etc etc.
My house is the only one that fails!!!

I reckon being on the phone, internet, toilet!! when the line test is conducted must have a detrimental effect

obewan

Well my line has also failed (Sligo); but others close by have passed. The line passed previously on numerous occasions before the "trial" periods appeared.

Mick.

Da Man

If you have intermittent pass/fail results, trying to get ADSL through a reseller is very likely to result in a lot of banging against a concrete wall. Try persuading Eircom directly instead. Their products are more expensive but it's better than spending days getting nowhere with a reseller. It is a fact that many people with ADSL installed show FAIL on their line test, me included. I just happened to order it a month when it passed.