New line, failed line test :-/

campers

Just spoke to Eircom: 1901 -> Service Enquiry -> Broadband Sales

I live in a broadband enabled estate, within 3km of a city exchange, and my line is just over a month old. The line is fairly clear for voice calls, and dialup gets 49.2kbps.

So why have I failed the bb line test?

Eircom's sales agent mumbled something about "fast-track, ring back Tuesday". She didn't seem to be a font of information TBH.

Any ideas?

ps: my number fails the online test... but I assumed that's only cos the database hasn't been updated since I got my line in...

MunsterCycling

Test is only done once a month IIRC, can't remember site address but there is a site that will give you the date of the last test.

MC

campers

MunsterCycling wrote:

Test is only done once a month IIRC, can't remember site address but there is a site that will give you the date of the last test.

MC

Yeah I think netsource, like you said...:

miles teg

I've just ordered a line connection from eircom today because I basically have no other option for broadband. I'm dreading the new line failing the test.

It's hard to believe that a company can have a product on offer, but it order for you to get it, you have to buy another of their products first, which they won't guarantee beforehand. It's crazy

jor el

The Netsource line checker must be borked as I just checked my line which has broadband on it, and my parents which passes on Eircom's check and both of them have no data available.

campers, since the line is new it may not have been checked yet. I think the tests are done around the middle of the month. After I activated my line it changed from fail to pass around the 15th or 16th of the following month. You could also be really unlucky and be in the 25% line failure category, though with good dial-up speeds there's a good chance you're not. No guarantee though

miles teg wrote:

It's hard to believe that a company can have a product on offer, but it order for you to get it, you have to buy another of their products first, which they won't guarantee beforehand. It's crazy

Welcome to the Republic of Banana. Remember these things next May when the FF or PD guys come knocking at your door looking for your vote. Give them a good ear full and then shut the door.

campers

thanks jor el

jor el wrote:

I think the tests are done around the middle of the month. After I activated my line it changed from fail to pass around the 15th or 16th of the following month.

That would make sense actually, cos she asked me to call back on Tuesday... which will be the 15th...

jor el wrote:

Remember these things next May when the FF or PD guys come knocking at your door looking for your vote.

Definitely. Can't wait for the general election.

Off topic: but I really want to know why Limerick City Council were allowed to reduce the term of shared ownership home loans to 15 years. [ie, if you could afford repayments over a 15yr term, you could well-afford a commercial mortgage...]
Anyone who wants my vote is gonna have to answer that...

jor el

Limerick eh, Smart Telecom are in some if not all the exchanges here so even if you fail with Eircom they may well be able to provide broadband. Even if you do pass you'd be advised to go with Smart anyway. They have the Dooradoyle and Roche's St exchanges done I believe, plus maybe Castletroy too. A friend of mine out in Raheen had his line failing with Eircom (he's about 4km from Dooradoyle exchange) but Smart are now providing 3Mbps broadband with no problems to him.

HarcourtGreen

miles teg wrote:

It's hard to believe that a company can have a product on offer, but it order for you to get it, you have to buy another of their products first, which they won't guarantee beforehand. It's crazy

Yep, you have hit the nail on the head!. Also, in any discussion on radio/tv/newspaper or otherwise relating to eircom's incompatance. No one EVER points out this simple fact. It is insane that eircom get away with this. But it is not surprising that this is how they think becuase they still believe the primary and real requirement of their customers is a land line for voice. The same idiots who sold off the mobile devision of this company (and now want back in) are still in charge so why should we expect that they will come out of the dark ages any time soon.

On the netsource last-test-date thing, yea that was very handy for me before also when I had a new line. If they have access to that data, it must be becuase they are a wholeslale customer of Eircom's and access to line test data must be part of the package. Same therefore should also be accessable to anyone else that sells broadband through eircom's infrastructure so I dont know why more of them dont show it.

JohnnieM

campers wrote:

Just spoke to Eircom: 1901 -> Service Enquiry -> Broadband Sales

I live in a broadband enabled estate, within 3km of a city exchange, and my line is just over a month old. The line is fairly clear for voice calls, and dialup gets 49.2kbps.

So why have I failed the bb line test?

Eircom's sales agent mumbled something about "fast-track, ring back Tuesday". She didn't seem to be a font of information TBH.

Any ideas?

ps: my number fails the online test... but I assumed that's only cos the database hasn't been updated since I got my line in...

If you apply to Netsource (as a Business customer) they can get the line re tested overnight...In the meantime un plug any additional phones pc's or sockets. if possible have only one main socket (the one eircom fitted) connected.....if thats no use keep testing it your self every month as they are constantly upgrading lines etc etc

campers

So it's Tuesday already, and I called Eircom back...

...apparently my line failed their test, but they can't tell me when the test was done. Nor is it listed in the online database of bb enabled lines.

1. Is their any point calling Smart? Can they do anything for me when Eircom say the line failed? (dialup at 49.2kbps remember!)
2. Can I get Eircom out to physically replace anything? (ideally, for free...)

Tks.

TimTim

campers wrote:

So it's Tuesday already, and I called Eircom back...

...apparently my line failed their test, but they can't tell me when the test was done. Nor is it listed in the online database of bb enabled lines.

1. Is their any point calling Smart? Can they do anything for me when Eircom say the line failed? (dialup at 49.2kbps remember!)
2. Can I get Eircom out to physically replace anything? (ideally, for free...)

Tks.

1) Yes, they use ADSL2+ which is much better then the standard ADSL (which eircom use
2) If you lines is fine for voice calls, then eircom will do **** all for you. (You could try upgrade to ISDN and then downgrade, expensive and time consuming way with no guarantee of being able to get bb off eircom or resellers)

JohnnieM

only if your line is coming off a smart exchange...as I said netsource will do overnight test.. pm me yur number if you want...

MunsterCycling

Me thinks its time to do the crisp bag shuffle again.... :rolleyes:


Get a crisp bag and while talking to the bots in eircon start crumpling it in the background and then complain of hearing crackling on the line. Tell them you can barely make out what they are saying and the sound is dropping in and out. Should get you a line engineer callout.

Blaster99

campers wrote:

So it's Tuesday already, and I called Eircom back...

...apparently my line failed their test, but they can't tell me when the test was done. Nor is it listed in the online database of bb enabled lines.

1. Is their any point calling Smart? Can they do anything for me when Eircom say the line failed? (dialup at 49.2kbps remember!)
2. Can I get Eircom out to physically replace anything? (ideally, for free...)

Tks.

Apart from the points made already, the most important one is that Smart doesn't care what eircom's line test says and will give you service if they can. eircom's line test is not accurate. Another slight benefit with Smart is that they're about half the price.

donspeekinglesh

MunsterCycling wrote:

Me thinks its time to do the crisp bag shuffle again.... :rolleyes:


Get a crisp bag and while talking to the bots in eircon start crumpling it in the background and then complain of hearing crackling on the line. Tell them you can barely make out what they are saying and the sound is dropping in and out. Should get you a line engineer callout.

I just logged a fault on the eircom website saying line quality was bad for voice. An engineer called out no problem. Couldn't find anything wrong though, and he couldn't test the line properly for broadband, though the limited he could do didn't show up any problems. And he said we were so close to the exchange there shouldn't have been any problems
Was at least 8 months after we got the line installed before the line passed the test, although we'd given up hassling eircom a few months previously as NTL became available.

campers

Blaster99 wrote:

...Smart doesn't care what eircom's line test says and will give you service if they can. eircom's line test is not accurate.

Blaster99: when I called Smart sales, the guy said I'd have to wait till I passed Eircom's line test.... "check next month".....etc

[plus an Eircom operator just back from a "broadband training course" told me the lines are only tested every 3 to 6 month, and not monthly. Apparently!]

Teamhair

Is distance from the exchange still an issue for DSL? I have a figure of 2 miles in my head for some reason.

lucernarian

Due to the way eircom's testing system is set up, shorter lines may test as a distance longer than they are. Eircom don't know the length of lines. They measure the line's resistance to a high frequency, e.g. 400 kHz. They then divide this number by 12 to get the line distance in km.

Eircom's DSL limit is 60 dB which equals 5 km. It used to be 54 dB until this year.

EDIT: from what I have seen from Smart telecoms' website, any line data they have from exchanges is treated the same way as eircom treat it. Smart tell me that "Based on our data, your line is not suitable for smart telecom broadband" or suchlike. I've seen this for other lines too. Mabye someone from Smart could clarify this...

Blaster99

Actually, the wording implies (or used to imply) that if you fail eircom's test then you may not be able to get it but they will try regardless. They have certainly in the past tried their damndest to give people service, but perhaps it's proving too costly for them, who knows.

Buceph

So the limit is 5km, but how long can the lines actually go? Also, is there any way to get moved to a different exchange?

JohnnieM

Buceph wrote:

So the limit is 5km, but how long can the lines actually go? Also, is there any way to get moved to a different exchange?

ADSL2 and adsl 2+ is slowly rolling out in exchanges (bigger exchanges first) and this can travel up to 20 km .. Quality of copper doesnt have to be near as good as ADSL ...But comreg are regulating the distance.. afik they are only allowing another half km at the moment...(to do with equal competition between providers or some s***e)

Buceph

What a load of balls. I live 3km from the exchange as the crow flies, 4km by road, but according to the engineer about 18km because of the way the cable was laid. And someone 500yds down the road can get BB.

Blaster99

JohnnieM wrote:

ADSL2 and adsl 2+ is slowly rolling out in exchanges (bigger exchanges first) and this can travel up to 20 km .. Quality of copper doesnt have to be near as good as ADSL ...But comreg are regulating the distance.. afik they are only allowing another half km at the moment...(to do with equal competition between providers or some s***e)

I'll try to put this as gently as I can, but if I knew as little as you clearly do, I wouldn't be posting.

Sponge Bob

JohnnieM wrote:

.But comreg are regulating the distance.. afik they are only allowing another half km at the moment...(to do with equal competition between providers or some s***e)

horse ****e , we simply have the worst maintained copper in Europe and a severe lack of copper too .

campers

Gloves are off in here, aren't they!!

So... back to on topic: how do I get Smart to sign me up without passing Eircom's line test?

Sponge Bob

what happened over on their forum ???

A PM to Garfield used to help around here too.

campers

So a Smart sales rep calls to my door completely by coincidence, and I tell him my story... he plays with his palm pilot, rings someone, and returns to tell me my line is (probably) split, and that I'll (probably) never get DSL.

He's surprised since my address appeared on his marketing hit list.

So... *what is* a split line? And do I get Eircom to give me the same as everyone else gets for their €24 line rental?

I've already got two complaints open/pending with them.

Drapper

Buceph wrote:

What a load of balls. I live 3km from the exchange as the crow flies, 4km by road, but according to the engineer about 18km because of the way the cable was laid. And someone 500yds down the road can get BB.

I live 2 miles frmo BLanch Excange as the crow flies adn I can't get it ! same as you the copper runs allover the world be fore it get here luckly NTL saw this and acted on it!!! as my area is new, young population and HIGH BB demand ! who does market research for these people ? Eircom ebales an excnahge for 2.5k people in the middle of no-where ! there is 2 k living within about 500m of here!!! SAD

Blaster99

campers wrote:

So a Smart sales rep calls to my door completely by coincidence, and I tell him my story... he plays with his palm pilot, rings someone, and returns to tell me my line is (probably) split, and that I'll (probably) never get DSL.

He's surprised since my address appeared on his marketing hit list.

So... *what is* a split line? And do I get Eircom to give me the same as everyone else gets for their €24 line rental?

I've already got two complaints open/pending with them.

If you're getting 49kbps on dialup, your line is not split. They're talking ****e.

Sponge Bob

he is on a fibre cab or sub exchange with no DSL

JohnnieM

Ok I jus checked its a 600 mt increase..and sthe speeds improve.
Sorry I should have verified things before i posted but That was info I was told by a sales rep in netsource...and a mate in eircom..i'llbe more carefulin future

campers

JohnnieM wrote:

Ok I jus checked its a 600 ft increase and speeds go up...

What does that mean?

HarcourtGreen

Netsource.ie - their line check with the "last test date" feature is still not working it seems. Does anyone know what the story is? Or know an alternative source for same info. If you ring eircom, some of them actually think that they are doing a live line test everytime they look up your number. Try to explain to them that the tests are only done periodically - they dont know what you are talking about.