Can someone please explain this

celtictiger

I just moved into a new house. My mothers house is literally less than 100 feet away. I had a phone line put in recently and applied for broadband and was told I can't get it. There must be some mistake I thought seeing as my mother can receive broadband and I explained this about the 7 different people I've talked to about the matter. What kills me is that WE SHARE THE SAME POLE!!! Can anyone explain to me how this is? I am extremely frustrated by the whole thing.

Mountjoy Mugger

It may be that the line to you and your mother has been split - pairgain. This could result in you not being able to get broadband.

If it's not shared, and the line has only been recently given to you (within the last month), the information may not be accurate, try again in a few weeks.

celtictiger

Hmmm....is there anyway around this?

jor el

The waiting a few weeks, or the split line?

eircom aren't supposed to share lines any more, but there seems to be plenty of comments to suggest they do. If your mother doesn't have, and doesn't want, broadband, you could ask eircom to swap the lines, giving you the broadband capable portion. Getting them to do this could be a problem, you'd really need to speak to an engineer. I have no idea how you'd go about doing that though, bar camping outside the exchange till you see one.

hashey

i really like that idea- have the same problem myself- hopefully eircom has an engineer that doesnt mind the hassle involved

jimmycrackcorm

I understood that eircom only run the broadband tests once a month and until then they basically say it is not available to you.

In your situation though I'd simply share it wirelessly. In fact I wouldn't even have gotten a phone line but gone the voip route instead.

dougal

Mountjoy Mugger wrote: »

It may be that the line to you and your mother has been split - pairgain. This could result in you not being able to get broadband.

Do you have to pay more to get this resolved if it is the case?

tom-d

celtictiger wrote: »

I just moved into a new house. My mothers house is literally less than 100 feet away.

Congrats you finally made the move

A whole 100 feet..................................:D:D:D:D:D

dub45

Before we get into all sorts of speculation and suggestions could the op confirm how long it is since the phone was installed?

celtictiger

Phone line has been in for the past 6 or 7 weeks now.

daveharnett

If you can't get any satisfaction from eircom, I'd suggest that you find somebody tech-savvy enough to set up a wireless bridge to your mother's. This would allow you to share her connection. Consumer level wifi routers will do the job if there are 2 windows facing each other. If not, then cheap outdoor antennae will easily do the job (something like this).

dub45

celtictiger wrote: »

Phone line has been in for the past 6 or 7 weeks now.

And when did you last inquire as to your line's suitability for bb? Apparently it can take up to a month for the first test to appear in the Eircom database.

jor el

daveharnett wrote: »

If you can't get any satisfaction from eircom, I'd suggest that you find somebody tech-savvy enough to set up a wireless bridge to your mother's.

Running an Ethernet cable, from one house to the other, would be a lot cheaper, and more reliable. Wifi and concrete walls do not mix together so well.

Keep checking the line test result for another week or two first. If you get nowhere, I'd suggest the Ethernet cable route. Make sure it's a weather proof cable, as you'll be running it outside.

dil999

IF you are going to run ethernet cable outside (even underground) get lightning protectors for both ends. None of the 8 cores are earthed so if lighting hits it it will fry what ever is at either end.

External spec'd cat5/6 is horrendously expensive. Another option is to run it in a pipe and seal up both ends.

link ot lightning arrestors

lucernarian

No need to talk about wifi links or uber-long cat5 cables just yet. There's lots of stuff that can be ruled out first, before ruling out broadband on the line too!

3 questions for celtictiger:

Have you checked the status of the line a full 6 weeks since it was installed? (Dub45's question)

How many boxes are there on the pole in question, and what do they look like? Uploading a picture would be best, if it's not too much trouble!

When you order the phone line, did you explicitly ask for broadband on it? Or just a plain phone line and then tried to order broadband later?

hashey

its actually my problem- celtictiger was kind enough to post for me as it is hard to get to internet cafe for me- the phone line is about 3 weeks in and yes i did specifically tell them that i wanted bb- unfortunately since ive had eircom bb at two different adresses in the same town previous to moving into new house i didnt expect a problem- i was told that my new connection would be automatically upgraded to 3mb in the new house- i will get those pics tomorrow and try to get them up

dub45

hashey wrote: »

its actually my problem- celtictiger was kind enough to post for me as it is hard to get to internet cafe for me- the phone line is about 3 weeks in and yes i did specifically tell them that i wanted bb- unfortunately since ive had eircom bb at two different adresses in the same town previous to moving into new house i didnt expect a problem- i was told that my new connection would be automatically upgraded to 3mb in the new house- i will get those pics tomorrow and try to get them up

If it is only in 3 weeks then your line is probably not in the test database yet.

hashey

thanks for all the help, i dont mind waiting for a few weeks but ive been told on several occasions by eircom that i mightnt ever get broadband which frankly scared me

Aseth

from what I know about it it may be also the case of you being connected to different exchange that doesn't have bb capability(or sth along that line-sorry don't know that much about exchanges myself). Unfortunately I don't know the solution and again from what I know they won't be able to confirm it in tech support(except telling you line is not suitable for bb etc). There's small chance that compalints dept if pressured could get an engineer to check if that's the problem.

dub45

hashey wrote: »

thanks for all the help, i dont mind waiting for a few weeks but ive been told on several occasions by eircom that i mightnt ever get broadband which frankly scared me

In what circumstances did Eircom tell you that you might not be able to get it? Was it when you placed the order for the line?

hashey

they told me when before i switched to new house that i would be upgraded to 3mb- but when line was put in they have been telling me the line is unsuitable- which is fair enough if i knew for sure i couldnt get it id look for something else- BT has also said my line is unsuitable as did perlico- imagine broadband has offered me 2mb but im not sure if i believe that they can provide it if the others cant- vodafone and o2 mobile bb modems cant get a signal either (im in a hole i guess) but what i want to know is whether or not eircom will get me bb or not- their reasons why i cant dont make no sense

bealtine

hashey wrote: »

they told me when before i switched to new house that i would be upgraded to 3mb- but when line was put in they have been telling me the line is unsuitable- which is fair enough if i knew for sure i couldnt get it id look for something else- BT has also said my line is unsuitable as did perlico- imagine broadband has offered me 2mb but im not sure if i believe that they can provide it if the others cant- vodafone and o2 mobile bb modems cant get a signal either (im in a hole i guess) but what i want to know is whether or not eircom will get me bb or not- their reasons why i cant dont make no sense

Cancel the line and ask them to remove it, tell them it was supposed to be for broadband as hopefully was specified in the order...

hashey

and then what?

bealtine

hashey wrote: »

and then what?

use it for voice calls only. The choice is stark. wait until the database is updated and hope your line passes, if it doesn't cancel or make lots of voice calls...

dub45

bealtine wrote: »

use it for voice calls only. The choice is stark. wait until the database is updated and hope your line passes, if it doesn't cancel or make lots of voice calls...

If it turns out that your line does not pass a well written old fashioned letter to the Eircom Chief Executive detailing all the circumstances has been known on here several times to work wonders.

lucernarian

Lads, if he's served by the same flipping pole as his mother's line, then they're on the SAME EXCHANGE. Bealtine, he doesn't have to cancel his line just yet.

And to double check this, Hashey, put your number and then your mum's number into http://www.btireland.ie/check_exchange/ and tell us if the two lines are on the same exchange or on a different exchange. Gizza the name of the exchange(s) too, someone with local knowledge might know why it hasn't passed.

Anyway, the line's been put in 3 weeks. It's the run up to christmas. I think it's more likely they haven't checked the line yet.

Also, those pics I mentioned would almost fully confirm or deny the presence of a Pairgain, which would stop broadband. So start uploading if you can please!:D

Donald-Duck

Never trust imagnie.

hashey

they are both on the same exchange

ArseBurger

dil999 wrote: »

IF you are going to run ethernet cable outside (even underground) get lightning protectors for both ends. None of the 8 cores are earthed so if lighting hits it it will fry what ever is at either end.

External spec'd cat5/6 is horrendously expensive. Another option is to run it in a pipe and seal up both ends.

link ot lightning arrestors

If they're running cable across a property boundary they'll also need a telecommunications license...

Nehaxak

Dublin Building Providers (look them up in the golden pages or something) provide high quality Cat5/6 cable for external uses at a very good price, they buy in bulk so their prices are low.
They will deliver at a small courier expense cost but if you get their number then just grab a bus out and pop into them. I'm sure other general buildings providers do the same, I've just bought from DBP in the past for networking needs and found them spot on for quality and prices.

You could also just try a wireless link to your mothers house, 100 feet really isn't that much of a distance. Just make sure you secure it well and you understand it all beforehand.

EDIT: Actually just noticed you're in Galway...Hmm, try a local builder providers for the cable ? Laws/restrictions on running the cable itself would probably be a little more relaxed in Galway than they are in Dublin but I'd still consider the wireless option.

That or just pestering Eircon to sort you out.

lucernarian

hashey wrote: »

they are both on the same exchange

Thanks for that. Now that means that the problem is almost certainly on that pole or the wiring between it and your phone.

So the best thing at this stage is to check the line again sometime over the next few days to make sure it still fails. Or call eircom, they might get the line re-checked at the exchange.

Assuming it still fails, the photographs would be very handy. If you connect to the internet with dialup, tell us the connection speed if you can find it.

Tell me, what reasons did they give you for the line failing the test for broadband? Thanks for the info you've given us so far! I think it's possible to get you broadband and it won't take a huge amount of effort either. The other posters have good advice on sharing the broadband from your mother's house.