Ripwave....Any good?

chabsey

I've already sent off the application to join Esat (but haven't actually got anything from them) and have just got a flyer on Ripwave.

Pros: Cheaper per month.

No cap.....this is a major plus, not that I'd DL like mad but given the freedom....

Cons: Not sure....Anyone?

I'm in the Foxrock, Dublin area if that makes any difference.

Are IBB like Netsource in that if I start downloading like mad will they throttle it?

Any comments?

EDIT: Should also mention that I don't play online games so ping doesn't really matter to me. I'd use it for surfing the net and dl'ing.

Mutant_Fruit

Firstly, pings will more than likely be bad i.e. about 500ms. (they can be less though).

Secondly its at 20-1 contention. IBB's current 8-1 contention product is SUCKINGLY slow. So i don't know if that will be fixed soon or not, but i can guarentee you it'll be worse on 20-1 contention

chabsey

Ok, I'm not that au fait with the terminology here but I can recognise the word 'slow'. However, contention ratio I'm not so sure about as the flyer I have advertises this wireless Ripwave as having a ratio of 40:1 and says Eircom's is 48:1.

If I'm to assume that lower is better then surely if Ripwave's 20:1 is suckingly slow then Eircom's 48:1 must be crucifingly awful?


I'm actually in a position now to get out of Esat without incurring a charge and move to Ripwave.

Again, does anyone out there use their wireless broadband product called Ripwave and if so how have you found it?

My interests lie in downloading and using the internet, not playing games.


Cheers for any advice.

Mutant_Fruit

Well, i suppose what you can always try is ringing them and asking them if you can test it out for a day or two, to see what the speeds are like. The worst that can happen is they say no.

Speaking of which, IBB gave me a new IP and gatway server address and now my speeds are much better (see the IBB low speeds anyone? thread).

Cal

Well, i suppose what you can always try is ringing them and asking them if you can test it out for a day or two, to see what the speeds are like. The worst that can happen is they say no.

I tried that line with them Mutant_Fruit and their stock answer is..

"There is a cooling off period of 7 days after your install, so we will not process your paperwork until after this stage. If you have any problems, or you change your mind in this period, we will de-install you, & no fees will have to be paid. "

A nice option but it tends to take a bit longer than 7 days to really get into BB and appreciate your overall package. Still it's better than a straight off 12 Month contract...........

Cal.

chabsey

Yeah that 7 day thing is handy enough. Actually I'm hoping it'll be long enough to see if the performance is awful or ok.

Obviously a longer trail period would be nice but as far as i know the other big guys (Esat, Eircom) don't even give you a grace period.

Ripwave

Originally posted by Mutant_Fruit
Firstly, pings will more than likely be bad i.e. about 500ms. (they can be less though).

Have you actually used RipWave? I typically get pings in the 90-120ms range. And I'm far enough away from the transmitter that I don't even get a green signal on the modem, just Orange (and sometimes Red). Even when the link is Red, I don't see 500ms pings.

Secondly its at 20-1 contention. IBB's current 8-1 contention product is SUCKINGLY slow. So i don't know if that will be fixed soon or not, but i can guarentee you it'll be worse on 20-1 contention

I typically get 20-35KBs downloads, though it's not unusual to get 45KBs downloads. For Web Browsing, I don't have any speed problems. (boards.ie is painfully slow on the 2MB leased line in work, I've no idea how anyone uses it over dialup, but it's usable with Ripwave).

Just on general principles, I'd prefer a wired connection to a wireless connection (I was involved with a company that was burnt by Formus), but at €30/month for RipWave, it more than meets my needs (primarily web browsing). I'm anticipating even better things if IBB get a 3Ghz license, though I expect that contention will begin to be an issue.

Ripwave

Originally posted by Cal67
I tried that line with them Mutant_Fruit and their stock answer is..

"There is a cooling off period of 7 days after your install, so we will not process your paperwork until after this stage. If you have any problems, or you change your mind in this period, we will de-install you, & no fees will have to be paid. "

I can confirm that my paperwork wasn't processed until the 8th day. They actually rang me on the morning of the 8th day and asked for information that I hadn't filled in properly. As there is absolutely no installation involved on their part, it is easy for them to do this, and it could be a very useful selling point.

chabsey

Excellent! It's sounding quite good then.

Couple that with the no download limit and I'm laughing.

Now....how to get rid of the fact that any Divx recordings I put on VHS have very low sound and high hiss factor.....that's a real problem!

RE*AC*TOR

"Now....how to get rid of the fact that any Divx recordings I put on VHS have very low sound and high hiss factor.....that's a real problem!"

the best answer is don't - either hook up your pc to your tv - or buy a divx compatible dvd player - one in peats for €389 - one on amazon.co.uk for about £90 (you do the math) - from reviews they are both good - i'd prefer the amazon one though.