Eircom will fix your line for free/remove pairgains. Special Offer in Nov and Dec.

spongebob

........well its not really meant to be that but it IS the annual October to Christmas free ISDN install or Upgrade offer .

The upgrade period lasts from 22/10/2004 to 21/01/2005 . They will give you a free ISDN modem as well . If you do not keep the ISDN installed for 3 months you must send that back within 14 days but it is yours to keep after 3 months.

If you did want BB and called out an engineer to fix the line and remove the sh1te he would probably do nothing and charge €45 . Spending €39 on cleaning up your line is not a bad idea in this country . ISDN does not work with most pairgains and splitters so Eircom have just Gotta remove them.

That €39 is comprised of .

1. 1 x Upgrade To ISDN €0
2. 1 x Months line rental at the higher rate (diff) = €14
3. 1 x downgrade to analogue for the line retest €25

Full details of the Pairgain Removal offer Here

M

cgarvey

Whats the bets they'll be using clause 8 of that PDF "Offer subject to availability" to exclude pairgained lines or, at the very least, PITA-to-get-rid-of pairgains.

.cg

spongebob

Well. The cost to you is €0.00 then .

M

OfflerCrocGod

Muck wrote:

Well. The cost to you is €0.00 then

You have to phone them

flamegrill

OfflerCrocGod wrote:

You have to phone them

Thats a free call, 1901.

Paul

seamus

flamegrill wrote:

Thats a free call, 1901.

Paul

Ah yes, but what about the valium you'll need to take before you make that call?

LoBo

Plus you have to talk to the automated voice of satan..

'You have said .. yes. Is this correct? Please answer yes or no.'

Anima

My isdn line failed the online test recently even though i'm less than a kilometre from the exchange, does this apply to me?

tuxy

Anima wrote:

My isdn line failed the online test recently even though i'm less than a kilometre from the exchange, does this apply to me?

back in december my isdn line was failingthe test i rang them up and they said they forgot to test my line
4 days later it passed

Anima

Did an engineer have to come out and test it?

Urban Weigl

Anima wrote:

My isdn line failed the online test recently even though i'm less than a kilometre from the exchange, does this apply to me?

As far as I am aware, it is essentially impossible for an ISDN line not to support RADSL. In the UK for example, they can even install broadband at 512kbps if you are out of range (!!!) of ISDN!

Good luck getting it sorted though, as Eircom appear to be using a random number generator to test lines.

Headshot

Muck wrote:

........well its not really meant to be that but it IS the annual October to Christmas free ISDN install or Upgrade offer .

The upgrade period lasts from 22/10/2004 to 21/01/2005 . They will give you a free ISDN modem as well . If you do not keep the ISDN installed for 3 months you must send that back within 14 days but it is yours to keep after 3 months.

If you did want BB and called out an engineer to fix the line and remove the sh1te he would probably do nothing and charge €45 . Spending €39 on cleaning up your line is not a bad idea in this country . ISDN does not work with most pairgains and splitters so Eircom have just Gotta remove them.

That €39 is comprised of .

1. 1 x Upgrade To ISDN €0
2. 1 x Months line rental at the higher rate (diff) = €14
3. 1 x downgrade to analogue for the line retest €25

Full details of the Pairgain Removal offer Here

M

hey muck can u say all that above in plain english [is it that when you get isdn off eircom its only 39 per month

RicardoSmith

I don't understand how you can get ISDN but not BB if your exchange is enabled.

Which modem is it. Draytek mini Vigor USB is rubbish. Worse than useless.

Why is this not 3 months free as per their competitors and BB offers?

Ripwave

RicardoSmith wrote:

I don't understand how you can get ISDN but not BB if your exchange is enabled.

The distance limits for ISN are considerably high than for RADSL.

Why is this not 3 months free as per their competitors and BB offers?

They're not competing with Broadband. Anyone who can get broadband (for as little as €30 a month) would be a bit silly to get ISN which would cost them at least an extra €15/month in line rental, and €25-30 in dialup charges per mnth.

The reason that this isn't 3 months free is because a) it requires an engineer install, and b) ISDN is more interesting to people who need 2 phonelines than to people who want to access the internet - because it's cheaper than getting 2 analog phone lines. And those people wouldn't necessarily be interested in 3 months free internet access.

The Muppet

Urban Weigl wrote:

As far as I am aware, it is essentially impossible for an ISDN line not to support RADSL. In the UK for example, they can even install broadband at 512kbps if you are out of range (!!!) of ISDN!

Good luck getting it sorted though, as Eircom appear to be using a random number generator to test lines.

very interestiing. Is this definitely true?

A friend of mine used to have ISDN but got rid of it abot 6 months ago. His exchange was recently updated to broadband but his line has failed the test whic does not make sense to me.
[edit]
Its not a distance issue as his next door neighbours line passes.
[/edit]

RicardoSmith

Does broadband not require an engineer?

I don't see why one product has dialup charges and the other doesn't. Other than if you are getting ISDN it means you can't get Broadband so Eircom can screw you for phone charges.

echomadman

As far as I am aware, it is essentially impossible for an ISDN line not to support RADSL. In the UK for example, they can even install broadband at 512kbps if you are out of range (!!!) of ISDN!

not true
one of my isdn lines passed, one didnt.

Optikus

The Muppet wrote:

very interestiing. Is this definitely true?

A friend of mine used to have ISDN but got rid of it abot 6 months ago. His exchange was recently updated to broadband but his line has failed the test whic does not make sense to me.
[edit]
Its not a distance issue as his next door neighbours line passes.
[/edit]

He was talking about in the UK.. this is ireland...of course they won't do it here, even if ya lived next door to the exchange.

RicardoSmith

Also the reason "too far from exchange" is their stock answer for all problems, they don't actually know what the problem is the majority of the time. So either you pass their test or you don't. If you don't, you've no idea why you've failed.

But I don't see why the ISDN product is priced differently from the BB one.

Other than that no one can stop them.

spongebob

It is a cheap way for someone within 4.5km of an exchange and who cannot get BB at present to clean up their line.....and maybe get BB then. Thats why I posted the thread and link.

M

cubix

IT sounds like a great idea but if you were to downgrade and asked them to test ur line again are'nt the biddys only reading off what they have in front of them. Another words how do you make sure the engineers have actually retested your line after you got all the crap taken off the line?

spongebob

This promotion started last Friday and runs till mid Jan. Get yeer lines checked .

M

spongebob

Bumppppity Bump !

M

Slutmonkey57b

Just to get this clear in my head - when I get them to install ISDN here, and clean up the line, am I then tied into a 12-month ISDN contract? Or are we free to say "well, thanks for the ISDN line, but after a week of heavy duty testing it's just not for me, thanks, please downgrade my line again."?

Also, what happens if you have CPS on the line already?

viking

Slutmonkey57b wrote:

Also, what happens if you have CPS on the line already?

If you have CPS and get ISDN installed, eircom will without notice dump your CPS and you will only find out when the next eircom bill arrives with call charges. If you do change to ISDN, make sure to get it in writing from eircom that your CPS will be maintained.

As an aside, your CPS will also be dropped if you make a change to your account details (ie. Address, Name Change, even spelling correction). Eircom will not inform you that this will happen and your next eircom bill will contain call charges.

Eircom are supposed to inform your carrier that the account has changed, your carrier then contacts you to see if you wish to maintain CPS. However, eircom are simply sending a "cease notice" to the carrier, breaching the CPS code of practice. My parents have currently been defrauded this way.

Viking

Ronan|Raven

And me I went through that battle last year when I got ISDN installed. Took many months to never be properly sorted out. I have now gotten rid of my ISDN and the same thing once again has happened, this time I got the names of people I dealt with. A nicely worded letter will make for good reading

Cormic

From what I gather from this thread, if you have ISDN then there should be no reason why your line should fail the BB test.

If this is the case then why are Eircom always failing me!

Blaster99

ISDN does not guarantee you ADSL. The point of the thread is that by ordering ISDN you can get Eircom to remove some crap off the line that might prevent you from getting ADSL but there's no guarantee that it will do the job.

RicardoSmith

Cormic wrote:

From what I gather from this thread, if you have ISDN then there should be no reason why your line should fail the BB test..

Theres your first mistake. Expecting logic and reason from Eircom.

rgfuller

Well my telephone line has constantly failed for Broadband, also there is no wireless where I am ((commuter town) because the local wireless providers think there would not enough interest as line based broadband was supposedly available - hah)!.
Today I've ordered ISDN to see if that will clean things up - will let you know if there is any joy with the new and original line.

SkepticOne

rgfuller wrote:

also there is no wireless where I am ((commuter town) because the local wireless providers think there would not enough interest as line based broadband was supposedly available - hah)!

Would seem to make sense for them to avoid your area if it already has DSL.

rgfuller

SkepticOne wrote:

Would seem to make sense for them to avoid your area if it already has DSL.

Yes - but if 30-40% of lines from that exchange can't support BB then wireless is the only option, easy to check this using the golden pages to see what business numbers are in the area and using the online checking programs. That means there could be a demand for local wireless.

I know of at least one other person who would ditch his land-line and use mobile for calls and wireless for internet if he could (like myself).

Satellite is of course available, but it's no good for interactive gaming-voice-video.

SkepticOne

rgfuller wrote:

Yes - but if 30-40% of lines from that exchange can't support BB then wireless is the only option, easy to check this using the golden pages to see what business numbers are in the area and using the online checking programs. That means there could be a demand for local wireless.

Yes, but they will naturally target towns that don't have any broadband first, of which there are plenty. Your problem is now convincing Eircom that it is worth their while investigating your line failure - this will be hard because you will be paying them good money for ISDN.

At least your town has broadband. This is a good thing for the community if not for you personally. Unfortunately for you, Eircom upgraded the exchange before alternative providers got established and consequently you have no options.

Also, don't you need the Eircom account number as well as the telephone number to check a line?

rgfuller

Update:
Having ordered the ISDN online (using my Eircom account) and receiving an e-mail receipt, I called them today to see when they were coming to set up the ISDN.

There was no record of any order on their system. Unreal.

I reordered with the telephone guy and have a reference number now.
7 Days to delivery - it would be nice to see them before christmas.

We'll see. Doesn't inspire confidence.

RicardoSmith

We wanted ISDN installed in one of Eircom's own offices, and they couldn't give us a date!

rgfuller

RicardoSmith wrote:

We wanted ISDN installed in one of Eircom's own offices, and they couldn't give us a date!

Well - I got a call yesterday to ask if I wanted it installed today which I agreed to. The engineer called this morning at 9 on the dot, proceeded to test the line which had issues on the cable running into the house from the outside wall box - he switched the line to a different pair, installed the Eircom ISDN plug and play box and lo-and behold ISDN, plus the cleanest analogue connection I have ever had (49k) - unfortunatly the free ISDN modem hasn't arrived yet so I can't test the ISDN, but he tested the ISDN line for 15 minutes without error.

Now that's speedy service. 2 days after the phone order to get ISDN.

Fingers crossed that all the work has cleaned up my line sufficiently for broadband early next year. The exchange is only 200m down the road.

SkepticOne

rgfuller wrote:

Fingers crossed that all the work has cleaned up my line sufficiently for broadband early next year. The exchange is only 200m down the road.

Don't forget the CPS advice from Viking above. Also make sure to check that FRIACO services such as those UTV are still in place.

Slutmonkey57b

Correct - in my case they actually changed the account number without telling me - although they didn't send a cease notice to the CPS operator, they just sent "incorrect account details" when they went to activate the CPS on the new house.

rgfuller

Update:
Today I checked my two ISDN numbers for Broadband compatibility and got a YES for both of them (NO replored earlier in the week so they must have been rechecked).

Investigating the cost of converting ISDN back to PSTN+Broadband.
UTV were charging €99 compared to Eircom charging €25 - due to engineer visit I presume.

I've ordered the 2 month (only!) free trail with Eircom costing €25 for the conversion, free broadband modem, etc (however I can't get the free wireless router as it's free only with an internet order - rather than phone order - and it wouldn't let me order online as no PSTN number was associated with my Eircom Account).
Not that I want it anyway as I have alternate equipment.

14 days to delivery of Broadband and I will be called by an Eircom Engineer to arrange the cutover. Watch this space.

stuckat28k

I've been informed by Eircom that they cannot give me ISDN because I am on a "carrier" to which my neighbour also has his line connected, and I have failed the test. My line stretches all of 300 metres from the local rural exchange! I think this must be one of the shortest line lengths to fail. They say there's no capacity even though there's a new housing estate being built right beside me. I just don't get these guys.

rgfuller

Update:
Broadband at last...
I got a call from Eircom on Monday to say they had an early slot (Tuesday) for the engineer to downgrade my isdn and install Broadband.

The engineer called me on Tuesday morning to say when he would disable ISDN and call into the house to remove the ISDN terminator. He called prior to disabling the ISDN and as I am 200m from the exchange he arrived at the house 5 minutes later.

He removed the ISDN terminator and installed a wall socket splitter/device to which he plugged in the DSL modem and my phone. All work completed in less than 30 minutes.
5 Minutes later he got a call from some central station to say my phone line was active again.

Impressed with the service. Even if I've had to go through the free ISDN upgrade and €25 downgrade for free Broadband.

Eircom should have a service product where you pay to get an engineer to investigate/correct/explain the reason why some people cannot get the BB service.

So 2 months free usage (asuming I stay below limits) then decision time.

Bandwidth tests report from 402-440kbps, and pings to UK servers which had been about 130 on dial-up, 80 on ISDN are now 50-60. Yay.