ICE Broadband coverage map?

Dr. Nick

Doesn't seem to work on their website. Does anyone know if the 'in-between' places are covered, i.e. the rural areas between the areas they claim to cover?

BigglesMcGee

But Ice dont even cover the areas they have paying customers. Read the Sticky thread about Ice Broadbands appauling service.

You're better off on Dialup.

Fear

I live in a rural area , and was delighted when ICE announced that they were putting a transmitter on a mast near me to service a town in the opposite direction to my house. I was hopeful that there would be a service. Sure enough on their web site that they were now in the area.
Execellent say I living less that a mile form the mast in question and in a direct line of sight (I can see the mast from my front door!!)

The engineer called out, did his site test and said there was NO service. I got a bit suspect and asked why they siad they covered the are on the website so?? :mad:

So of I trot and talk to a mate who installs broadband for another company and he and I went out to see if we could get coverage in any of the areas that ICE claimed to cover. We discover of three areas that ICE claimed to cover there was no service. However as ICE claimed there was a service, these areas were not covered in the National Brodaband Scheme (old Group Broadband Scheme). Also after having a chat with a guy who has his own company installing broadband in rural areas, he said that he and other small providers had no incentive to go into those areas as ICE had already blanketed the area with advertising , including the "ICE Broadband availabel here" signs that they plastered areound the country!!

Now a question after my tale of woe, is ther any recourse for what is esentially false avertising by ICE? Would this come under the auspicious of the COMREG??

Harry W

I live in Longwood and when Ice came to the area in late 2007 we were informed that we would recieve a good service. From early 2008 until the present the service recieved is just S**t.

I have made representations to my local TD and he is trying to get up included in the NBS ( National broadband scheme ) because Ice operate in the area it is percieved that we have Broadband and therefore we won't be included in the NBS.

I have learned that the residents association can register with theie local council and represent the residents in the area. I have sought legal advice with regards to my contract and the failure of Ice to provide a proper service.

I will keep you posted and let you know as they charge just 38.00 euro per month this is a premuim rate therefore it should be a premuim service 24/7.

I have spoken with their Service Manager and he assured me that Longwood would recieve a consistent service which has yet to materialise.

Minister Ryan who has responsibility for this area should get of his ass and take a good look at this company and role out the NBS to all rural areas after all we are only 38 kms outside dublin and have communications less than that of third world countries.

watty

The NBS is just 3's Mobile Phone Network. charged at normal 3 price with 3's "normal" overstated coverage. The TD would be wasting your and his time.

The So called NBS is not universal. It is only applying to electoral districts with 60% cut off on coverage. So if a district has 61% coverage already (which can as you know be fictional) then they don't "get" the NBS, which simply means 3 don't get money for it. It makes NO difference to users.

In the so called NBS areas Analysis Mason is paid 400 Eur an ED to "monitor" 3's compliance of "coverage". But this is ill-defined and at that money all they can do is review base station statistics furnished by 3. It won't pay for a survey.

So the Government is paying €39M of direct grant and €40M of EU grant for a 3 Mobile phone rollout that has to happen anyway for them to meet their licence requirements (which are outstanding for nearly 2 years if there were real coverage maps).

This is about Mobile Phone coverage. Even with the Government money you get almost 400 times the value per MByte on a Data package than a Voice package, without Government money over 450x. Thus the data is subsidised by voice. Over Cap costs 250 Euro per Gbyte. That shows value of the so called NBS.

It won't remotely meet spec of the original NBS tender. Even with 3x as many masts it would lack on capacity. It fails on VOIP & Gaming (Latency) and "Always On" aspects of tender no matter how many masts.

See http://www.radioway.info/comparewireless/CompareHSPAandFixed-v4.html to see why Mobile services can never provide a true Broadband solution.

By all means look for an alternative to ICE. But Mobile BroadbandInternet by 3 (The NBS) or others, even with LTE is not it. (3 have no LTE licence and no LTE spectrum so can't do better than they do now without tripling or quadruple the number of masts)