IOL or Eircom

Konix

I could use a bit of help here. Broadband has just arrived to my area (that is IOL and Eircom has) and I am wondering which to get. I know IOL has the better prices but is there anything that Eircom is better for? What are the Contention ratio's for IOL? Could you please give me a list of the advantages and disadvantages etc?
Also, is Xbox live available to both and if so what do I need (Routers Etc) and will it be easy to install? Should I Get an Engineer to onstall my stuff or should i do it myself (Should someone thats able to put a Pc together be able to do this?)

I'll Appreciate all feedback guys.
Thanks.

talla

all answers to your questions can be found in the "sticky's" at the top of the broadband forum .here , here and here , or use the search function on the page.

Konix

Right....Thanks.

Konix

this is all confusing me a tad.....could i get a few reccomendations....Eircom or ESAT?

talla

eircom appears to be the slightly more reliable RADSL provider, but they are exactly the same prodcts. If it was a choice between the 2 two, i'd go for IOL.

Eicom
up to 512up/128 down
48:1 contention
4 GB cap(3c per MB after)
€54 per month
self install €99
Engineer €199
You have to provide your own modem/router
12 month contract


IOL
up to 512 down/128 up
48:1 contention
5 GB cap(3c per MB after)
€49.99 per month
self install €99*(comes with use of USB dsl modem for duration of contract)
Engineer €199(comes with use of USB dsl modem for duration of contract)
12 month contract


Oh and you will have no problems with the self install option. Just install the modem, plug the filters into your phone connection point, plug the your phone/adsl modem into your filters and away you go. Takes about 2 minutes.

Konix

Whats the story with xbox live and ESAT and what sthe story with connection points in your house?

talla

X box live will work fine on either IOL or eircom. If you are using a USB modem and windows 98 upwards, you will be using ICS(Internet connection sharing), if you are using a router, you can connect the xbox directly into the router.

Not sure sure what your uestion bout connection points is referring to, but a connection point/box is where your phone is plugged into.

Konix

does it just use standard phone line ports? is that what the filters are for?

Konix

Can you explain ICS?

Frank Grimes

try www.dslreports.com and www.google.ie - should answer a few of the general questions about DSL.

gombín

Konix,

Seeing that DSL uses the same copper as your voice calls, there may be a certain amount of static interference on the line. The filters are used to block this out.

Regards.

Originally posted by Konix
does it just use standard phone line ports? is that what the filters are for?

Konix

ah right. thanks. BTW thatnks for all the help about the providers and exchanges. really helped.

Chris.

gombín

More than welcome. For what it's worth; if it's a straight choice between eircom & IOL, I'd go with eircom (lot more reliable).

Regards

Konix

theres the money factor and the dl cap aswell though.

gombín

Yeah. It's just really a case of weighing up the (dis)advantages. As I say, I think the €5 extra with eircom will serve you better given IOL's recent problems.

Dac51

Personally I would go with Eircom. I had a few problems with Eircom during ordering (mostly technical problems at the exchange) but this would not affect my decision in choosing them over IOL after the problems IOL users have had recently.

And remember, if you choose Eircom you are dealing with one company and one company alone. When ordering IOL who in turn have to deal with Eircom who own the telephone network / exchanges etc.

Good luck in whatever provider you choose. It is well worth it in the end as my telephone line was finally switched on for Broadband today!

jesus_thats_gre

Would you not consider netsource. Anywhere you can get Eircom you can get them as far as I know. We have had them now for 4 months and have had very few problems. The odd issue with bandwidth but they were solved relatively quickly. No cap and only a two month contract is too good to be true compared to other offerings.

Third_Echelon

yeah... definitely netsource is the better option if you are going to do a lot of downloading and you probably will....

i've heard a few stories where people using eircom with a cap, have gone over their cap and had extra bills of about €800 and higher.....

definitely would go nowhere near eircom scum......

-Wheeler-

Go with eircom if you want reliability. I have i-stream 3 months now and not so much as a hiccup. The service has worked flawlessly with no interuptions to the service at all.

Can't really comment on IOL or netsource, as I've no had no experience with these companies, but hanging around these boards it becomes apparent that IOL and netsource users experience an awful lot more problems/interuptions to their service.

The decision however, is yours !

Regards.

UbahOne

IOL all the way...i am whipping my neighbours ass who is on the exact same exchange as me and lives next door yet were obviously on the same line...dont ask but my download are 60kbps constantly...his are 35-45kbps. Hes happy though cos he doesnt download that much...neither do i. You get bored of the download buzz after a while...trust me.

IOL IOL IOL IOL IOL!!!

UbahOne

oh ye hes on I stream by eircom.

Konix

i have look ed in to netsouce SOHO and im pretty sure i can get it but ruled both that and UTV out. i ruled netsource out mainly because of pircing (VAT makeds it pretty expensive). looks like its gonna be a tough decision though that eircom CAP story is a bit scary.....at least iol has a 5g cap.
THanks for all the help guys.

Gummy Panda

I'd rule out Netsource if you wanna play Xbox LIVE or PS2 online. They're terrible pings on that service.

I recommend IOL. Once your connectted you have no problems. I have constant high speeds and have no problems on Xbox LIVE.

Konix

cool. i think it will be IOL. eircom have a horribly high priced connection feee compared to IOL. was setting up Xbox Live easy? did you need a router? how much did it cost you?

Konix

why did you change your name by BTW?

Gummy Panda

Just get a network card and do ics. its easy.

1. hook everything up and windows will find it.
2. select the iol dial-up, click sharing and select the xbox lan.
3. Start up your xbox while connectted to the net.
4. Xbox live finds all your settings and will start the sign-up process.

Now i use a UK Xbox LIVE starter kit, because the Irish version isn't released yet. I just put a UK postcode (got off a box of tissues) in where it says postcode. Plus you need a credit card. And thats it!!!

MrPinK

Originally posted by Konix
eircom have a horribly high priced connection feee compared to IOL

It's only €8 more

Konix

thats with out the modem isnt it?

Konix

Option Chosen IOL Broadband eircom i-stream

Self Installation €90* €244.20**
Engineer Install €190* €344.85**
Monthly Rental €49.49 €54.45

* Includes the use of a modem for the duration of the contract.
Modem remains the property of Esat BT
** Based on eircom installation price + the cost of an eircom modem

Spud_Gun

I recommend the IOL option once you get past the gimps in sales. The extra 1GB on your cap for a lower monthly fee is the deal clincher for me.

Konix

I agree.

MrPinK

Originally posted by Konix
Option Chosen IOL Broadband eircom i-stream

Self Installation €90* €244.20**
Engineer Install €190* €344.85**
Monthly Rental €49.49 €54.45

* Includes the use of a modem for the duration of the contract.
Modem remains the property of Esat BT
** Based on eircom installation price + the cost of an eircom modem

That's some fairly dodgy maths esat have there

For starters, nobody buys the modem from eircom. It can be gotten much cheaper elsewhere. You will also own the modem. IOL don't give you a free modem, they only lend you one. You can't keep it, and if you break it you pay for it.

UTV do it much better imo. If you don't want to use their modem, they knock it off the price of the installation. You can then go buy yourself a good ethernet one.

Konix

god im confused. its not confusing though. i just dont have a clue which to go for!

UbahOne

For starters, nobody buys the modem from eircom. It can be gotten much cheaper elsewhere. You will also own the modem. IOL don't give you a free modem, they only lend you one. You can't keep it, and if you break it you pay for it.

What do you expect? Of course if YOU break the modem you pay for it. The same way if you bought one yourself and broke it, youd have to pay for a new one.

Why bother owning the modem? With IOL they give you one for the duration you need it...

And a lot of people have bought the modem from Eircom...mind you not very "with-it" people but they have...

IOL is the simplest option, you get self install and pay the 49yoyo a month and you have 5gb cap which i find difficult to go over...

If you want to download the internet, go for Netsource. there excellent for that...but not for pings.

crowbar

the modem for me was the killer - the iol modem doesn't support ethernet, which means you need to hook it up to a pc to hook a console to it and i didn't want to run ics and have my pc on all the time. IF they had an ethernet modem, then i would probably have gone iol over the rat. (i really have trouble believing netsource's uncapped service won't slow down once they get in a few more customers and actually hit the contention ratios.)

UbahOne

lol "the rat" hehe

MrPinK

Originally posted by crowbar
ti really have trouble believing netsource's uncapped service won't slow down once they get in a few more customers and actually hit the contention ratios

The connections at the DSLAM's (where the contention is applied) don't differentiate between ISP's. Netsource, eircom, iol and utv customers are mixed in together, so when the conention kicks in we'll all be hit together.

Kulgan

hmmm so whats the point in the cap ??

UbahOne

ye...whats the point of it?

MrPinK

In theory, if everyone was uncapped they could d/l constantly. At 48:1 this would mean pretty crappy speeds for everyone. This just doesn't happen in practise tho. If you asked the ppl on netsource or a business package you'd find that only a tiny percentage are downloading all the time. But by sticking on a cap, the ISP's are covering their arses just in case.

Also, it's much harder to sell a more expensive uncapped service if you don't have a crappy capped service.

Töpher

just for if gaming comes into it - as it seems to...

i have ICS set up here (i use sygate - microsofts is horrible!), and while i was playing counterstrike earlier my lil bro logged onto socom on the ps2 to play, my ping went up to about 70 (which is still good i think! beats 250 on 56k!), and he had perfect fluid gameplay on the ps2. this was on 512 IOLBB, its great!

Hugh_C

Originally posted by crowbar
the modem for me was the killer - the iol modem doesn't support ethernet,

Why not just get the self-install and USB modem, buy a decent (wireless) modem / router and off you go... This is what I'm thinking anyway.

Has anybody tried running a server off IOL or Eircom yet? Have they blocked off port 80 or anything else nasty?

I also need to be able to ssh into my home machine... unix-speak for secure tunelling - sorry.

hc

crowbar

Originally posted by hughchal
Why not just get the self-install and USB modem, buy a decent (wireless) modem / router and off you go... This is what I'm thinking anyway.

at the time nobody had done that with iol, and info on what the vpi/vci/type settings for them were supposed to be was scarce. i-stream's settings were posted on boards so making your own dsl modem work with i-stream was relatively tried and trusted.

Hugh_C

Originally posted by crowbar
at the time nobody had done that with iol, and info on what the vpi/vci/type settings for them were supposed to be was scarce. i-stream's settings were posted on boards so making your own dsl modem work with i-stream was relatively tried and trusted.

Uhh, what do all those acronyms mean? vpi / vci / type settings. Can you elucidate?

Tvmh

crowbar

hughchal,

vpi = virtual path identifier
vci = virtual channel identifier

if they are the same as asynchronous mode transfer (atm), which is a protocol used over high speed network links. they are just numbers that uniquely identify the party at the other end of the line you want to talk to, much like how a phone number is used. type should have been encapsulation, which refers to whether the network is using pppoe (ppp over ethernet, used here) or pppoa (ppp over atm, used in the uk)

these, plus username/password, are all part of the configuration that a modem uses to determine which dsl service you want to connect to down the line, though most dsl services here use eircom's equipment so they all use the same vpi/vci/encapsulation.

have a look at this thread amongst others for the vpi/vci settings for iol.

hth ...

Hugh_C

Originally posted by crowbar


have a look at this thread amongst others for the vpi/vci settings for iol.

hth ...

Thanks crowbar, you're the most.

Stormfox1020

Its kinda Sad when i came from this http://www.shrewsbury-ma.gov/cable/internet.asp , All thoses cheap high speed packages like 1mb/256K for $50, u have to rent the modem but who cares it was a decent one. Another good thing was the whole town was wired so everyone could get it, and the fact that the cap is like 30GB. So u can imagine i got a bit of a shock when i wanted to get BB over here, the fact that its to damn expensive, ****e caps, and i cant frigin get it

Sir Random

What about UTV Clicksilver?

512kb/s downstream 128kb/s upstream.
€47.50 per month.
€99 installation (€199 engineer install required for ISDN).
€69 installation without the USB modem.
Broadband modem and two filters supplied.
5Gb cap (1.5c per Mb over cap).
All prices include VAT.

I have a choice of IOL, Netsource, UTV or the Rat and I'm thinking of going with UTV since I already have their XL service.

Any caveats I should be aware of with UTV Clicksilver?