Onspeed

DialUpMeArse

Hello All,

I live in Kilpedder, Co Wicklow [Supposedly part of the Pale but may now lie inside the fiefdom of Gaius Dempsey, Overlord of Dial-Up]

I have tried repeatedly to obtain broadband access and have failed. Eircom, Esat, DigiWeb have all demurred from providing BB in my area.

I had my fone line reconnected today, and the Gobsheen working for Eircom told me to dial 199000 tomorrow to get my new fone number. Once I have that I will try UTV BB. If they do not help I will try ONSPEED combined with a "flatrate" service from UTV or Eircom.

Does anybody here have any prior experience or practical knowledge of ONSPEED.? Is it a viable option, and is the start up fee of €40-00 worth paying.? Is combining so called flatrate packages with ONSPEED a viable [albeit short-term] alternative to Broadband.?

Does anybody know when BroadBand will be made available in my area? Is it a simple matter of economics in that the would-be suppliers of BB are not hurried to provide access in areas that are not "economically viable"

Many thanks for your time and help

TK AKA DialUpMeArse

aidan_walsh

DialUpMeArse wrote:

Is it a viable option

No, its a crock of ****e designed to prey on unsuspecting people.

DialUpMeArse

Seriously, whats the story then? How is it such a total rip off? Please elaborate, thanks.

netwhizkid

It doesn't deliver the speed it says and image quality is poor, It doesnt actually speed up the speed but rather compresses every thing you download so they download faster. Satellite Broadband would be more suitable I'm guessing. I have it myself and it's a dream, If i could have cheaper dial-up I'd be right but until then the whole thing works out fairly okay, except I've no upload speed only 44kbps that the dial-up delivers. The thing is useless for voip or p2p online gaming etc as it doesnt have the "ping" rate necessary.

DialUpMeArse

netwhizkid wrote:

It doesn't deliver the speed it says and image quality is poor, It doesnt actually speed up the speed but rather compresses every thing you download so they download faster. Satellite Broadband would be more suitable I'm guessing. I have it myself and it's a dream, If i could have cheaper dial-up I'd be right but until then the whole thing works out fairly okay, except I've no upload speed only 44kbps that the dial-up delivers. The thing is useless for voip or p2p online gaming etc as it doesnt have the "ping" rate necessary.

Alright then, thats something I guess, and thanks. So then...how much are you paying for your Satellite system. I've heard figures of up to €800 to install the satellite ALONE....not to mention startup and monthly fees.

Thanks.

TK

netwhizkid

I myself am paying €16.90 a month to Skydsl I am getting 1mbps download and I have a 1GB download allowance per month and if i go over this it is 1.5¢ per MB. You still have to dial-up though and your upload speeds are whatever you get via Dial-up 44kbps in my case. It cost me over €300 to install it as back then (last march) I had to pay for the equipment a PCI card and the set-up fees, I bought a 80cms dish off www.satellite.ie for a bit over a hundred €130 If I remember correctly. I couldn't get an installer nearer than Limerick City to Install the Dish to Telecom 2D at 8° West, the limerick crowd quoted me €100 just to travel down and Extra on top off that then to Install the thing. So I had to but a Satellite Meter off Ebay and I Installed it myself. There are a few other members here in boards who too have got the System installed. It is one option for you anyway. You should try to if ADSL or Wireless is available where you live first though.

Urban Weigl

If you can, get ISDN over satellite any day. It is significantly more responsive, and delivers up to 128kbps full duplex (many ISDN routers can be set up to bring up the second channel as required, for example when you're downloading a large file; automatically taking it down again when done to save money. Not to mention close down both channels if there has not been any activity for 120 seconds. It only takes about two or three seconds to reastblish an ISDN connection, so it's transparent).

The costs would be something like this:
ISDN line rental = €30
BT Ireland business "flat rate" (260 hours a month usage, or about 8-9 hours a day) = €35
VAT = €14
Grand Total = €79

No installation fee, though you may wish to purchase an ISDN router that lets you connect your network, which will cost you around €100.

So it isn't really much cheaper than two way satellite, especially if you're going to go over the 260 hours a lot (though you could get a second flat rate plan from a different provider), but it will give you a much more responsive internet connection. Average pings of 40ms compared to around 750ms with satellite.

If you do go with satellite, Aramiska is one of the best.

cgarvey

Urban Weigl wrote:

Grand Total = €79

For single channel ISDN/64Kbps though, right?

.cg

Sponge Bob

netwhizkid wrote:

It doesn't deliver the speed it says and image quality is poor, It doesnt actually speed up the speed but rather compresses every thing you download so they download faster.

All very correct but thats a feature not a bug. Onspeed pulls in 16bit images and re-renders them in 4 bit (16 colours) thereby saving bits to download and thereby 'speeding up' page loading.

Mr_Man

If your new line fails the Eircom test you may want to check out www.bb4ne-wicklow.info. This GBS is due to go live in January in the Kilpedder area.

HTH

M.

DialUpMeArse

Mr_Man wrote:

If your new line fails the Eircom test you may want to check out www.bb4ne-wicklow.info. This GBS is due to go live in January in the Kilpedder area.

HTH

M.

Yes, thats an interesting development. The last time the Gobsheen came around my address looking for grass cutting money I suggested he had his priorities all messed up- BB was where it was at...but from what I gathered interest in the estate in BB is low-low

As it happens I contacted Eircom and got them to reconnect the fone line one way or the other. The magnaminous ****s managed to do this for free as part of some special offer. As it happens I am still waiting to get my new fone line, but in a moment of brilliance I used the directory to determine the phone number of the guy next door....and according to Imagine [who contacted me JUST NOW] and UtV, HE [the neighbour] is BB enabled. Therfore I should be too. The only outstanding matter is to get the new phone number and run the relevant checks with the above ISP's

If that checks out then the last issue is choosing and ISP. The "IMAGINE!" website is offering up to 20% off line rental when you choose their 2MB 16 Gig BB offer with Imagines! telephony.

Anyways it happens to be the wrong time of year to be getting anything of this nature done. Thanks for your help y'all..glad I didn't go near ONSPEED in the end.

Thanks

TK

Sponge Bob

Imagine (I fear) are the hidden charge experts in the BB business. BT is the best deal around for BB but their bnilling system (if it fecks up) cannot be coerced into accuracy by humans it seems.

Digiweb may be best at present for heavyish users who want a bill every month .

Urban Weigl

cgarvey wrote:

For single channel ISDN/64Kbps though, right?

.cg

It does do 128Kbps, but your hours will be used up twice as fast while running at that speed. For that reason, I suggest getting an ISDN LAN router that automatically takes down the second (or indeed both) channels as needed.

cgarvey

Right, I'm with you .. but just wanted to point out that it's €79 for 64Kbps, not 128K (which costs more when you bring up the 2nd channel).. just in case that was misleading to some, is all.

.cg

watty

Note that since ISDN is virtually error free and has better compression, 64K ISDN is similar download speed to a 80k hypothetical analog dialup. Ping is good and in the past you used to get 1:1 contention.

Connect time is virtually instant. Two channel ISDN preforms much better than than most IBB ripwave. The killer is the dialup charges.

AN internal ISDN card on NT, Win200 or XP installs as a Network card and a Modem.

Automatic regocnition of Fax, voice or data incomming.

Capt'n Midnight

watty wrote:

The killer is the dialup charges.

If Eircom & Co. really wanted to provide a service they could use the 16Kb D channel to provide an always on connection ( though only about 9,600 baud ) so that things like email headers could trickle through. When you then download the email or go surfing then the bandwidth would cause it to dial out so Eircom would still get their 3.5c + 1c per minute while you were on line.

DialUpMeArse

Yes, well as luck or lack thereof would have it it now appears that only SOME of the numbers in my housing estate are broadband enabled. I am yet to get my new phone number as I still haven't wired up a jack for it. The original had been sitting there for so long that copper oxide was preventing the flow of any current. The guy across the street is good to go, as the guy next door is. It remains to be seen if I will be. Might as well be living in Hixville, Alabama.

DialUpMeArse

Well anyways as it happens my phone line is not BB enabled. So Eircom can go **** themselves. Cheap muther****ers seem to think that weak ass phone lines, old rotten copper and splitters are the way forward. Can't wait for XMAS to end so I can just verbally abuse some stupid skirt in their corporate services sector

DialUpMeArse

Urban Weigl wrote:

It does do 128Kbps, but your hours will be used up twice as fast while running at that speed. For that reason, I suggest getting an ISDN LAN router that automatically takes down the second (or indeed both) channels as needed.

Hi there, could you please explain the whole ISDN thing to me. As I see it, I am expected to pay €136-00 up-front for connection fees alone...then an additional €36 p/month on line rental. And that doesn't include the money spent on the per-minute price of using the actual line. Is that correct?

As I have been doing some reading, it has come to my attention that some of the copper lines are actually so poor as to be incapable of supporting ISDN activity? Is this true, or inaccurate, or true in some respects only?


**** EIRCOM. FIGHT THE MAN

DialUpMeArse

Urban Weigl wrote:

If you can, get ISDN over satellite any day. It is significantly more responsive, and delivers up to 128kbps full duplex (many ISDN routers can be set up to bring up the second channel as required, for example when you're downloading a large file; automatically taking it down again when done to save money. Not to mention close down both channels if there has not been any activity for 120 seconds. It only takes about two or three seconds to reastblish an ISDN connection, so it's transparent).

The costs would be something like this:
ISDN line rental = €30
BT Ireland business "flat rate" (260 hours a month usage, or about 8-9 hours a day) = €35
VAT = €14
Grand Total = €79

No installation fee, though you may wish to purchase an ISDN router that lets you connect your network, which will cost you around €100.

So it isn't really much cheaper than two way satellite, especially if you're going to go over the 260 hours a lot (though you could get a second flat rate plan from a different provider), but it will give you a much more responsive internet connection. Average pings of 40ms compared to around 750ms with satellite.

If you do go with satellite, Aramiska is one of the best.

Can I convert the ISDN into a wireless signal by pumping it through a router.? If so, do I lose any speed on this?

essentially what you're saying is that the ISDN [hi-speed line] must be leased at a monthly rate of €36 per month including vat. And then I can combine that with the flat-rate package from a different operator, giving me some sort of a half-arsed fast line, whilst paying a flat line rate to avoid costly "per minute" bills?

Thanks

TK

netwhizkid

Dud, Eircom are a private company thanks to Mary O'Rourke and aren't obliged to provide broadband to anyone. If you are going to blame anyone blame the Government as it was they privatised Eircom. I prefer to try and work with eircom and try and encourage them rather than roaring the head off some timid sales rep girl. I wouldn't like if it was done to myself. Happy XMAS

ISDN is a total crock of poo unless you utilise one of the ways around dial-up with the other companies and geographic numbers etc.

Sponge Bob

well if you upgrade to isdn for 130 and downgrade to normal analogue later for 25 you will have no splitter for sure and may pass

also who has sky and not, is there a relationship with passing ???

OfflerCrocGod

DialUpMeArse wrote:

Might as well be living in Hixville, Alabama.

That's an insult. To Hixville, Alabama. They probably have better BB then us in "modern" Ireland.

kaizersoze

Sponge Bob wrote:

well if you upgrade to isdn for 130 and downgrade to normal analogue later for 25 you will have no splitter for sure and may pass

Thats good to know Sponge Bob. It might help a few I know.
Netwhizkid is right. Tearing strips out of some poor pleb in customer service won't get you very far. They have no authority to make any decisions and can only tell you whats on the screen in front of them. Plus it's not very nice.
Chew on someone higher up.

Sponge Bob

start at the top then Kaizersoze , phil.nolan@eircom.ie .

DialUpMeArse

Relax fellas. I won't be bawling anybody out. Just momentary anger at the poor situation. I see that skydsl are offering unlimited download potential within certain "priority" classes. I'll see if I can make head or tail of that. Like I said, I won't be attacking some poor kid in Eircom, but thanks for expressing your concerns.

Capt'n Midnight

OfflerCrocGod wrote:

That's an insult. To Hixville, Alabama. They probably have better BB then us in "modern" Ireland.

even if they didn't have BB they would probably get local calls free or have some other way of avoiding per minute charges such that they would have fixed price internet access. .

DialUpMeArse

netwhizkid wrote:

It doesn't deliver the speed it says and image quality is poor, It doesnt actually speed up the speed but rather compresses every thing you download so they download faster. Satellite Broadband would be more suitable I'm guessing. I have it myself and it's a dream, If i could have cheaper dial-up I'd be right but until then the whole thing works out fairly okay, except I've no upload speed only 44kbps that the dial-up delivers. The thing is useless for voip or p2p online gaming etc as it doesnt have the "ping" rate necessary.

Hi again NetWhiz,

please have a look at this link....http://www.teles-skydsl.com/?tpl=page/prof_pack#

I am seriously considering signing up, but I am unsure as to how much I can expect to pay for the upload end of things, and what are the mechanics of the upload dimension of the deal, I know I need a phone line and active dial-up, but how exactly does that work?

Thanks

TK

netwhizkid

DialUpMeArse wrote:

Hi again NetWhiz,

please have a look at this link....http://www.teles-skydsl.com/?tpl=page/prof_pack#

I am seriously considering signing up, but I am unsure as to how much I can expect to pay for the upload end of things, and what are the mechanics of the upload dimension of the deal, I know I need a phone line and active dial-up, but how exactly does that work?

Thanks

TK

Hi DialUpMeArse,

The way Skydsl Works is the command is sent via the telephone line and returned via the satellite dish I come through at around 1mbps (which it claims) but the fastest I have ever got is 800kbps. I have read from another post of yours that ADSL (Eircom broadband) is available in your estate but just not on your line. If this is the case as you say, I’d strongly advise against getting skydsl or any other form of satellite broadband. The best thing you could do and I know from your posts you are well p*ssed from it by now, Ring Eircom and explain that the neighbours have Adsl via the copper and ask them to run a line check, I know it will probably come up a fail as you said you tried it yourself earlier. If it do fail ask them what are your options and see what they say. Your best bet will then probably be to cancel your Telephone Service and order a new line that will work with ADSL. If this still doesn’t work try sharing a wireless (wifi) connection from a neighbour with Broadband. You could also try an Eircom Technician if you know any and ask them to take your line off the carrier (aka splitter) that is causing your line to fail. Bit of a nod and a wink and price of a pint could save you having to order a new line which could cost up to €200. It would be madness to get Satellite broadband when Adsl is right under your nose. If you still think that Satellite broadband is the best for you. You uploads are unlimited to your dial-up ie. You upload via your telephone line at whatever slow speed you are already getting in my case I get 44kbps. And that is my upload speed; download is what mattered to me though. That might be different in your own case though. You could also use ISDN to increase your upload speed but that would be quite costly. The dialup side is a killer and my last bill including the skydsl side was over €100 for 2 months. If you Still want more info, do a search under “Skydsl” and by me “netwhizkid” as the poster and that will yield loads of info as I have posted truckloads of stuff. Narrow down the search to the Broadband forum and it will help too.

Well best of luck on your battle to get broadband I hope it works out productively for you.

DialUpMeArse

Greetings NetWhizKid et al

The latest news in this long running saga is that a gentleman called Mark McGuinness has informed me that the GBS for NE Wicklow is "due to go live in your area next month"

He kindly informed me of the following prices and rates, packages etc:-




Package Details



Package
Speeds
Contention
Install Fee
Monthly Subscription

Home Package Basic
1mb Download

512k Upload
30:1
€149
€34.99 Inc Vat

Home Package Plus
2mb Download

1mb Upload
30:1
€149
€49.99 Inc Vat

Business Package Plus
2mb Download

1mb Upload
24:1
€149
€49.99 Ex Vat





There is no download cap but Regional Broadband do operate a Fair Usage Policy which means if they feel someone is abusing the system and is negatively impacting the service of other users they will take action

The contract is for an initial 12 month period with a 1 month rolling contract after that.


So there it is....I got back to him promptly, I had questions as to the exact date of the rollout, my unease vis a vis "negatively impacting the service" [str8 out of the IOL no limits letter of May 2000] and I also queried just how the BB would be delivered into our homes. If anybody can shed some light on the last point I would be most grateful.

As of yet I have heard nothing back but it is the Xmas period so that is OK. My thanks to NetWhiz and Mark McGuinnes for their help on this matter.

cgarvey

DialUpMeArse wrote:

Can I convert the ISDN into a wireless signal by pumping it through a router.? If so, do I lose any speed on this?

Yes, and no. You can "convert" by using a wireless router. You'd need to get a wireless router that had an ISDN TA though, which isn't common. Or you could get a PCI ISDN TA for any old PC (pentium or higher, nothing fancy) and use it as a dedicated firewall/dialup machine. No, you don't lose speed because the wireless network (11Mbps+) is faster than your ISDN connection (64 or 128Kbps).

DialUpMeArse wrote:

essentially what you're saying is that the ISDN [hi-speed line] must be leased at a monthly rate of €36 per month including vat. And then I can combine that with the flat-rate package from a different operator, giving me some sort of a half-arsed fast line, whilst paying a flat line rate to avoid costly "per minute" bills?

Yes, but it does depend on your call provider. As I've said in the other thread, you'll need to use geographic dialup access (ISPs are now meant to use non-geographic 1892/1893 numbers), and confirm that your call provider treats these greographic numbers as regular voice calls / bundled minutes.

.cg

cgarvey

DialUpMeArse wrote:

As I have been doing some reading, it has come to my attention that some of the copper lines are actually so poor as to be incapable of supporting ISDN activity? Is this true, or inaccurate, or true in some respects only?

Correct, and is distance limited. You're a whole lot more likely to get ISDN than DSL, but that said, there are many rural lines (and some urban ones) that wont support ISDN.

.cg

morgana

I have ISDN (using one channel) going into a combined wireless ISDN/Boadband (one lives in eternal hope) router (includes ISDN TA) and it works a treat. WIreless internet in the entire house, haven't noticed any loss of performance on the wireless links, two people using the Internet connection for browsing is no problem, deterioation is only noticable if a lengthy download is in progress.
Of course I WANT BB but in the absence and, realistically speaking, little chance of getting it anytime soon, of BB this is the best I can get (together with UTV flat rate).

A bit OT: Does anybody know whether BT's business "flat" rate uses a dialler? Or would the actual phone nubers be available as I obviously cannot use a dialler with a router. Thanks.

jimmycrackcorm

netwhizkid wrote:

You uploads are unlimited to your dial-up ie. You upload via your telephone line at whatever slow speed you are already getting in my case I get 44kbps. And that is my upload speed;

Uploads on analogue modems are restricted to 33kbps - your 44kbps is only an indication of your top download speed.