Which broadband package is best?

colin74

My recently installed eircom line has just passed for dsl/broadband duties & I'm currently doing my research into which supplier I'd like to go with to get my broadband supply from.

I need the biggest download limit & fastest speeds possible as I use the internet for work & alwas send/dl huge files daily so a 10 or 20gb package is almost out of the question 30 or 40gb monthly limit would be ok (unlimited downloads limit would just be lurvely but that ain't happening anytime soon)

I'd prefer not to get my broadband from eircom as they gave me so much grief getting my line installed & cancelling my online orders 4 times due to their complete inept abilities at dealing with new business (or caring)

Now I live in Castledermot,Co.Kildare & the only real options I have besides Eircom, is


Digiweb
Imagine
BT

Basically I wanted to know if anyone here had any experience with these companies & how is their reputation & service record?

who's got good customer service skils?

value for money?

etc...

I don't wat to go for the cheapest package & then find my net service breaking down every 2-3 days

Any help would be much appreciated guys.

bk

If money isn't a problem then Eircom is probably the best. They don't seem to actually enforce their cap (no guarantee however) and they generally have a reputation for stability and fixing things quickly.

BT are probably the cheapest, with the best options. It generally works fine and is stable, but their sales department and cs are awful.

You should also check if Smart Telecom and Magnet are available from your exchange.

uncle_sam_ie

I went with eircom basically because I didn't want to be dicked around. Eircom have the monopoly in Ireland with control of the exchanges. If anything goes wrong you'll more likely get it sorted quicker if your with them. Although, If my exchange was unbundled then I'd go with another carrier, but it's not. We can thank Noel for that.

Liam Byrne

Personal experience with Smart lets me say the following:

Great package (based on speed, zero-contention and lack of any limits whatsoever)
Good support (the 2 or 3 times that I've needed it over the past year)
Great value for money

No contest in my book.

colin74

unfortunately smart is not in my area,which is why I didn't mention them in my initial post.

watty

Anyone other than eircom for your DSL is eircom + reseller.

There are alternatives to DSL, but since you have it, then just go for the best bundle, it's all the same eircom package, roughly.

Competition on DSL is largely an illusion.

colin74

finally decided 2 go for the digiweb 3mb/384kps-42 euros-40gb d/l cap per month package. Installation is 30 euros & it should arrive any day now.

I'll let you know it responds and fairs in speed tests once I'm up & running.

I'm on that one with digiweb.
It tests fast most of the time but it has a terrible annoying problem with surfing.
Basically it takes a few seconds with the message "looking up" each time you go to a new website.
That never happened when I was with BT.

The help line said this was normal with broad band :rolleyes:

They thought I came down in the last shower.
Basically it's so annoying that I'm moving back to BT when the contract is up.

watty

Is your Router / PC setup configured correctly? I'm getting fairly instant DNS on IE6, IE7, Firefox on W2K and XP , both ethernet and WiFi, though I'm seeing what you describe on Mozilla running on Debian

Urban Weigl

Tristrame, that sounds like an issue with your DNS configuration, rather than a problem with Digiweb. Try manually configuring a different DNS server, for example BT Ireland's: 194.145.128.1

I tried that-infact I'm using open dns on the pc and digiwebs on the lappy and the hang is in both

For a while I had BT and Digiweb available on the one BB line (typical BT) and I switched modems so as to compare and there was no hang on the BT one using BT broadband but there was and is on the digiweb one.
Digiweb sent me a new zyxel and that didnt solve it either

OfflerCrocGod

Tristrame wrote:

I tried that-infact I'm using open dns on the pc and digiwebs on the lappy and the hang is in both

Doesn't OpenDNS resolve somewhere on the continent? Might explain the delay.

is_that_so

colin74 wrote:

finally decided 2 go for the digiweb 3mb/384kps-42 euros-40gb d/l cap per month package. Installation is 30 euros & it should arrive any day now.

I'll let you know it responds and fairs in speed tests once I'm up & running.

That's what I have. Generally find it matches up the speed. Support are OK once you get through, long queue sometimes. The "current announcements" option(1) is not always up to date but all in all, no major complaints. I also like the rolling 30 day cap they use.

As for Eircom, yes their network tends to be pretty stable. I also find their Business support very good and in general it is the easiest option for someone who doesn't have any special speed/download needs. For Home BB their bundles are also attractive, plus there is no messing around setting up with a new ISP.

Urban Weigl

Try visiting web sites by their IP address, and see if the delay is gone. For example, try going to http://64.236.16.20/ instead of cnn.com. Does that come up more quickly? If it does, it's a DNS issue for sure. If it doesn't, more testing is required.

crawler

Tristrame wrote:

I tried that-infact I'm using open dns on the pc and digiwebs on the lappy and the hang is in both

For a while I had BT and Digiweb available on the one BB line (typical BT) and I switched modems so as to compare and there was no hang on the BT one using BT broadband but there was and is on the digiweb one.
Digiweb sent me a new zyxel and that didnt solve it either

No, that does not sound right...

will you pm me your details please?

Liam Byrne

colin74 wrote:

unfortunately smart is not in my area,which is why I didn't mention them in my initial post.

Sorry colin - I posted based on the thread title question....as you say, it's unfortunate that you can't get it.

Best of luck with the new provider - hope all goes well.

colin74

have finally got digiweb installed & up & running.

it took around 2 weeks to be delivered & there's a cockup on my initial order but after a phone call it was sorted. Anyway,got the delivery this morning & it took no more than half hour from opening of box to being up & running online & initial tests done this morning indicated speeds of around 2.7mbs ps which was pleasing.

However,around 4.30 pm today the slowdown began & it hasn't abated since. So a problem that I've witnessed on every eircom connection I've been on, via frien ds & family, still exists with digiweb.

Hopefully I can get this problem sorted somehow although it's somewhat inevitable with all the contention traffic there's going to be between 4-9 each evening with schoolkids,parents,workers returning home & clogging up their net lines.

Other than that everything is a-ok & I'm still much happier giving my money to digiweb rather to eircom (although they still take a chunk of the money I pay)

btw-is there a way to deal with the slowdown & contention clog up we experience in the evenings????

any help would b much appreciated.

cheers