Moved house, no cable BB, wireless = €€€€€€! Help!

davenewt

What should I do?

I just moved from the outskirts of Dublin into a house in Glasnevin and have discovered that I can't get cable broadband from UPC. "Yet."

Besides their (ntl) customer service which is best ignored (as most fictional things are) I only had a couple of minor issues with broadband itself in the previous house so I was willing to drag myself back, albeit kicking and screaming, seeing as they offer such good speeds.

But BB isn't available from UPC on my road (still can't believe it as I type this)... and nobody, it seems, can give me an idea when it might arrive. So I looked into wireless options and I'm now even more depressed.

One year's broadband...

Cable
€440 for UPC 20Mb/1.5Mb (computer says 'no')

Wireless - comparable costs
€459 for Digiweb 3Mb/256kb
€480 for Clearwire 2Mb/128kb

Wireless - cheaper options
€360 for Imagine 3Mb
€120 for Imagine 1Mb (what's 1Mb?)
€300 for Clearwire 512k/128k (surely a typo? hahaha. no? oh *boomph*)

So... do I go for slow and cheap, or not-quite-as-slow and expensive, if I have to sign up for a whole 12 months, because knowing my luck UPC will have BB on my road the week after I sign with someone else for an "inferior" product.

Please someone give me some good advice before I do something silly like call eircom*

Thanks,
Dave.

*(joke)

Moriarty

I think you might have been looking at the wrong pricing/service with Digiweb as a heads up. It's ~€420/year for a 6meg/512k "metro home" connection. I would have thought upc would have served Glasnevin though.. their coverage seems much more hit and miss than you'd imagine

dub45

You could try o2 mobile now only 20 euros a month?

drunkmonkey

Are you going to be getting a phone line? BT are doing 8mb, if it's anything like there 3mb you might just about get 2mb...

If your not going the phone line way, best look at 3 or 02, hard to know which is better in your area without testing them both....

lmimmfn

i dont see that as expensive , this:

Costs me a mere €720 per year, lmao

davenewt

Moriarty wrote: »

I think you might have been looking at the wrong pricing/service with Digiweb as a heads up. It's ~€420/year for a 6meg/512k "metro home" connection. I would have thought upc would have served Glasnevin though.. their coverage seems much more hit and miss than you'd imagine

Thanks Moriarty, I think you're forgetting the installation, unless it's free now? Metro Home is 34.95 per month, + 99 installation which comes out at €518. Their "Value" package is €458 for the first year including the installation. That's from looking here.

I just can't believe there's no BB from UPC in D9...!

dub45 wrote: »

You could try o2 mobile now only 20 euros a month?

Thanks dub45. Looking here it seems that I could get their "top" modem for 49 and get speeds up to 7.2Mb/2Mb ??? - would be €289 for the year... seems like a good option on the face of it, if it's reliable. Thanks for the suggestion, will look into it.

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Are you going to be getting a phone line? BT are doing 8mb, if it's anything like there 3mb you might just about get 2mb...

If your not going the phone line way, best look at 3 or 02, hard to know which is better in your area without testing them both....

Thanks drunkmonkey, I won't be getting a phone line... maybe mobile BB rather than fixed wireless is the way to go then.

lmimmfn wrote: »

i dont see that as expensive , this:

Costs me a mere €720 per year, lmao

I feel your pain!

Thanks all. If anyone has experience with 3 / O2 mobile broadband (especially anywhere near D9) please let me know what you think! Off to do some more research...

Cabaal

624 euro a year for

bk

davenewt wrote: »

I just can't believe there's no BB from UPC in D9...!

There is, at least in some parts of D9, I use to have UPC 6m BB up until last year until I moved.

You might want to try again, I've heard lots of stories of one sales person saying you can't get it and anthoer then being able to get it for you.

davenewt

bk wrote: »

There is, at least in some parts of D9, I use to have UPC 6m BB up until last year until I moved.

You might want to try again, I've heard lots of stories of one sales person saying you can't get it and anthoer then being able to get it for you.

I tried that, phoned up a couple of times just to double check and spoke to different people. They told me the same thing. TV but not BB. One even told me that I would know before they did, thanks to their "over-zealous marketing department" who'd be sending out flyers as soon as it became available Doesn't help me now though!

Ourlad

davenewt wrote: »

Thanks all. If anyone has experience with 3 / O2 mobile broadband (especially anywhere near D9) please let me know what you think! Off to do some more research...

I would steer clear of it if i were you, it will only drive you nuts. I had it and cancelled it after 6 months and went for eircom. It never worked for me between 7pm and 10pm. Outside those times it was a bit hit and miss as well.

I lived in Drumcondra at one stage and could get UPC for broadband, just couldn't because it was a house share. I'd be surprised if Drumcondra can get it but Glasnevin can't.

davenewt

Quick question on 3 vs O2... O2 are quoting speeds "up to 7.2Mb", whereas 3 say "up to 3.6Mb" - does O2 really provide "up to" double the speed? How seriously should I take that statement? Otherwise both offerings look identical.

Any idea which of the two is best for Dublin 9 or is it a case of just "suck it and see"?

Either way I think I'll be going with mobile BB as we have a laptop as well so it'll be handiest.

davenewt

davenewt wrote: »

Quick question on 3 vs O2... O2 are quoting speeds "up to 7.2Mb", whereas 3 say "up to 3.6Mb" - does O2 really provide "up to" double the speed? How seriously should I take that statement? Otherwise both offerings look identical.

Any idea which of the two is best for Dublin 9 or is it a case of just "suck it and see"?

Either way I think I'll be going with mobile BB as we have a laptop as well so it'll be handiest.

Don't be fooled. Those speeds are shared among all the users on the mast so you'll never get anywhere near them except maybe at 3 or 4am.

davenewt

Ourlad wrote: »

I would steer clear of it if i were you, it will only drive you nuts. I had it and cancelled it after 6 months and went for eircom. It never worked for me between 7pm and 10pm. Outside those times it was a bit hit and miss as well.

Oh man, seriously?!?

Well, on the plus side, it looks like O2 are offering a 30-day trial period up to end of August, so if I get in before end of July I'll at least have a month to see if it works for me...?!

barnicles

Mobile bb has a small cap so if your going downloading mobile is a no no.

davenewt

I can do without downloading for a while I guess!

Skatedude

I'm in d9 glasnevin and i'm on a 9 meg smart line which is more then good enough till upc get sorted

Skatedude

I just checked upc's checker with my address/phone number and i can get upc bb,
i'm on botanic road , dont kow where in glasnevein you are though

DingDong

Skatedude wrote: »

I just checked upc's checker with my address/phone number and i can get bb,
i'm on botanic road , dont kow where in glasnevein you are though

Botanic area is being rebuilt very shortly they should be starting in a week or two usually take about 2-3 months to complete.

davenewt

DingDong wrote: »

Botanic area is being rebuilt very shortly they should be starting in a week or two usually take about 2-3 months to complete.

Mind if I ask how you know? Before I sign up to any 12-month contracts with another supplier!

DingDong

I'm work for UPC. davenewt not really knowing were you live I couldn't be sure your included in the Botanic rebuild

alb

hey DingDong any info about Claremont Court, I'll probably be moving there soon and would be interested in getting UPC.