Imagine launch Midband Ripwave Replacement - WiMAX

jellies

cormie wrote: »

Hmm, I'm a bit confused, as I said earlier, I have IBB Ripwave, paying 18.95 per month for 1mb and o2 add on for 7.50 per month, a total of lets say E25 a month.

Now their "wimax broadband" seems pretty bad compared to the deal I'm on and I can't see any advantage to it. However, am I right in thinking I can get the "mobile wimax" for just E10 a month for 3mb? As in, that's 3 times faster than what I'm on at the moment, for half the price and I can cancel my o2 data package as well since I can take this with me?

If you're an existing Ripwave customer then you'll be given the option to keep your existing package or migrate to a new WiMax package.

The only thing that will change is that the Ripwave modem will be swapped out for a new WiMax modem.

At that point you will have the option to take one of the new WiMax broadband packs or a mobile dongle if you wish. All the WiMax broadband packs include a phone line and number.

So...no need to do anything until the Ripwave network is upgraded in your area and you'll be automatically swapped over.

Hope this helps...

copacetic

inertia99 wrote: »

It would look to me that you have to subscribe for one of the packages of Wimax and you can only get the mobile broadband as an add on to your subscription.

No, it clearly has an add on price for it of €5 a month for 5 free days. This is seperate from the stand alone prices of 10 or 15 a month.

cormie

Thanks for the replies everyone!

copacetic wrote: »

it would seem so, but the coverage would be very poor so the 'mobile' aspect of it might be pretty limited. thats actually not a bad deal for people to try out the service itself to see how it actually works..

Although possibly not if you have to sign up for 12 months as it says.

Yeah if I can get 3mb for 10 a month that would be pretty good alright, would be nice if there was a trial period to see what it's like before committing.

jellies wrote: »

If you're an existing Ripwave customer then you'll be given the option to keep your existing package or migrate to a new WiMax package.

The only thing that will change is that the Ripwave modem will be swapped out for a new WiMax modem.

At that point you will have the option to take one of the new WiMax broadband packs or a mobile dongle if you wish. All the WiMax broadband packs include a phone line and number.

So...no need to do anything until the Ripwave network is upgraded in your area and you'll be automatically swapped over.

Hope this helps...

Might be tempted to go for the mobile option alright. A phone number will have no benefit for me. I just want reliable broadband that wont cut off or crawl to a standstill for a good price. As I said, 18.95 for what I have now is fine. I wouldn't like to pay more if I don't have to, but if I can get 3x the speed for €10 using the mobile dongle, than that's pretty good.

Sponge Bob

It is not worth getting a mobile add on with that number of live masts .

Does 'mobile' apply to data or to voice and data ??

Marlow

thebman wrote: »

prices aren't that bad really. They are offering fixed and mobile solutions.

Where do you see a fixed wimax solution there ?

Those home broadband packages are still indoor units. Not an antenna mounted on your roof. It's a mobile unit, that you place in your window and connect your PC/Phone to and that has a build-in wireless router.

/M

thebman

Marlow wrote: »

Where do you see a fixed wimax solution there ?

Those home broadband packages are still indoor units. Not an antenna mounted on your roof. It's a mobile unit, that you place in your window and connect your PC/Phone to and that has a build-in wireless router.

/M

Oh thought that was fixed

Can't see getting 7Mb from the home WiMAX box.

jellies

thebman wrote: »

Oh thought that was fixed

Can't see getting 7Mb from the home WiMAX box.

Each customer is prequalified, depending on their address and proximity to the mast. Those that are closest to the mast can get either an indoor unit or an external antenna . Those further away (but still within coveage) just get the external antenna option. So, if you wanted 7Mb and an external antenna you can get it. At the moment there is no difference in set-up charge. Not sure if this will change in the future tho.

Marlow

jellies wrote: »

Each customer is prequalified, depending on their address and proximity to the mast. Those that are closest to the mast can get either an indoor unit or an external antenna . Those further away (but still within coveage) just get the external antenna option. So, if you wanted 7Mb and an external antenna you can get it. At the moment there is no difference in set-up charge. Not sure if this will change in the future tho.

Where is that information outlined ?

If that's the case, it's not too bad, the only problem then is the uncontrolled contention factor from moving customers.

Also, I can see an issue arising from bad signal customers dragging things down, as even customers with the wimax hub can move / take it with them to other areas.

/M

Sponge Bob

jellies wrote: »

Each customer is prequalified, depending on their address and proximity to the mast. Those that are closest to the mast can get either an indoor unit or an external antenna .

Funny how that never got mentioned till now , it changes everything . This goes to show that real communication triumphs over ****ing Twittering all the time

Those further away (but still within coverage) just get the external antenna option. So, if you wanted 7Mb and an external antenna you can get it. At the moment there is no difference in set-up charge. Not sure if this will change in the future tho.

If someone has a 3.5Ghz Breeze Antenna correctly pointed at a mast today today can they simply swap Alvarion for Motorola CPE Jellies or can it be done after a simple connector change downstairs by an engineer or must the whole lot be swapped as in cable antenna and cpe ??

Will the cpe thus enabled be mobile ( as in portable and battery operated ) to a different sector with a better signal ??

Thats out of interest seeing as Athlone is being done soon and it would be a pain to take the lot on the train to Dublin with me

jellies

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Funny how that never got mentioned till now , it changes everything . This goes to show that real communication triumphs over ****ing Twittering all the time



If someone has a 3.5Ghz Breeze Antenna correctly pointed at a mast today today can they simply swap Alvarion for Motorola CPE Jellies or can it be done after a simple connector change downstairs by an engineer or must the whole lot be swapped as in cable antenna and cpe ??

Will the cpe thus enabled be mobile ( as in portable and battery operated ) to a different sector with a better signal ??

Thats out of interest seeing as Athlone is being done soon and it would be a pain to take the lot on the train to Dublin with me

Please don't start me on engineers vs marketeers...;)

BreezeMax to WiMax is a full swap out of the IDU and ODU or migration to the indoor unit (CPEi 775). The BreezeMax stuff is rev d WiMax so not compatible with the Moto gear.

The indoor unit can be taken from sector to sector, but the fixed antenna is just that...fixed. Although there was one IBB customer who manually moved their Breeze install from one side of Moore Street to the other when they moved shop. Confused the hell out of the lads doing the call out !!

Sponge Bob

That makes things a whole lot clearer and other than an egregious insult to the laws of physics . Thanks very much Jellies .

Hammer of Thor

yep, this is the ****e I'm talking about, if they decide they're not making enuff money from you they screw with your service! For example when I had Ripwave I bought all the add-ons i could to get as much out of it as possible, extra allowance, faster speed. More money for them. But when I started going over their "acceptable usage" limits they'd restrict my speeds. Many angry phone calls came from this, I fleeced their staff. The crap I got back was that the majority of their users only used around 5gigs up and down in total per month. When I replied "Thats fine, I'll use the rest of their allowance", I was met each time with scorn.

My point is that this company don't like getting the piss taken outta them, but they're only too happy to take the piss outta us. Please excuse the language, but these muppets aren't gonna change, and it makes me sick that they're still in business. God damn it, I hope this is a failure and they go broke, I'd feel sorry for the staff, but as far as the top guys go; feck them.

copacetic wrote: »

Check out their terms, talk about taking the piss!

Quote:
Use of Network bandwidth is expected to be reasonable and moderate. You must ensure that your activity does not improperly degrade any other user's use of the imagine service, nor represent an unusually large burden on the network. In addition, you must ensure that your activities do not improperly restrict imagine's ability to deliver the service and monitor the service and/or network.

Fair Use Policy – Broadband
A fair use policy applies to all WiMax Broadband Packages. The WiMax Broadband Service is a shared service and imagine reserves the right to manage the Network to ensure that all users get fair access to the Network. If users make excessive use of their WiMax Broadband Service their service may be restricted or they may be asked to subscribe to an alternative WiMax Broadband Package(s) more suitable to their usage. imagine at it’s sole discretion will define from time to time what constitutes excessive use of the WiMax Service(s) Once Customers exceed this level they will have the option to upgrade their WiMax Broadband Package(s) or their service speed may be restricted by imagine. In the event of the Customer refusing or neglecting to select an alternative WiMax Broadband Package(s), imagine may, upon due notice, terminate the provision of the WiMax Broadband Service to the Customer

PogMoThoin

Nothing out of the ordinary there. You'll be hard pressed to find any ISP that doesn't protect themselves with a statement like that in their contract.

Hammer of Thor

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Nothing out of the ordinary there. You'll be hard pressed to find any ISP that doesn't protect themselves with a statement like that in their contract.

Yeah but there's not that many ISP's who use it to their advantage like IBB/Imagine. Most are very fair with their customers, Eircom are very generous, 3, Vodafone, and O2 are all pretty strict but at least a cap figure is given. This crowd tho, they seem to do what they want, when they want, and there's hardly anything in their contracts that is good for the customer, its all set up so they can change whatever they want whenever they want.

zod

md of imagine on today fm sunday business show NOW

thebman

Hammer of Thor wrote: »

Yeah but there's not that many ISP's who use it to their advantage like IBB/Imagine. Most are very fair with their customers, Eircom are very generous, 3, Vodafone, and O2 are all pretty strict but at least a cap figure is given. This crowd tho, they seem to do what they want, when they want, and there's hardly anything in their contracts that is good for the customer, its all set up so they can change whatever they want whenever they want.

In fairness all the mobile providers charge if you go over the cap so they have to make it known. They know they just can't afford to let it happen on their services and need to keep heavy downloaders away. Even then their services can't handle the number of users in many areas.

Imagine's unlimited usage is very misleading though as you know if it is not a fixed solution and is just some mobile solution that they will also put in the home then they are attracting heavy users to their network and locking them into 12 month contracts only to contact them and tell them to get off their network or reduce usage.

Its kind of unfair on everyone who is a heavy downloader and also to regular users who just want to get a service who will see service crippled by heavy users.

Its a recipe for a disaster of a launch as this will all happen during initial period of sign ups as service goes to hell.

_Kooli_

Why would anyone want to lock themselves into this for 12 months?

You dont know what the minimum QOS speed will be.
You dont know what the cap really is, so you have no way to know if its suitable for you.

I had high hopes before all the messing with their launch, but im avoiding this one totally.

For those who think they can ditch their landline and use this - Read the Ice Broadband thread.

PogMoThoin

_Kooli_ wrote: »

Why would anyone want to lock themselves into this for 12 months?

You dont know what the minimum QOS speed will be.
You dont know what the cap really is, so you have no way to know if its suitable for you.

I had high hopes before all the messing with their launch, but im avoiding this one totally.

For those who think they can ditch their landline and use this - Read the Ice Broadband thread.

Truth is, From my experience of working for an ISP, people don't want faster better broadband, they just want cheaper. I've seen people disconnect a good fixed wireless connection trhey were happy with, in favour of mobile dongles they knew could be iffy.

thebman

_Kooli_ wrote: »

Why would anyone want to lock themselves into this for 12 months?

You dont know what the minimum QOS speed will be.
You dont know what the cap really is, so you have no way to know if its suitable for you.

I had high hopes before all the messing with their launch, but im avoiding this one totally.

For those who think they can ditch their landline and use this - Read the Ice Broadband thread.

Do you work for eircom or something?

There are good fixed wireless alternatives that don't require a landline and UPC in many areas.

I agree its impossible to know what this service is going to end up like but there will be no shortage of people signing up given the unavailability of broadband in many areas due to poor investment in landline infrastructure not capable of carrying broadband to many people.

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Truth is, From my experience of working for an ISP, people don't want faster better broadband, they just want cheaper. I've seen people disconnect a good fixed wireless connection trhey were happy with, in favour of mobile dongles they knew could be iffy.

Some people are like that. Some people need a reliable connection, everyone has their own priorities. Personally I wouldn't give up a quality connection for a cheaper connection.

Currently with Digiweb Metro which is more expensive than other services because I get what I pay for. Could easily get mobile bb if I wanted to in this area but I rate quality of service over cost.

If someone only uses the Internet to check email once a day and don't really care when they do it then mobile BB is probably going to be an acceptable solution as when it is usable they can do that.

cormie

That would be me really. I just want a reliable always on broadband that's cheap. I think the less time spent online/at the pc the better so if a faster connection increases the likelihood I'll be wasting time watching drivel on youtube, then I'm fine with just a 1mb connection that if I really wanted to watch something I can afford to wait for it to load. As long as I can check information on boards, get emails do online purchasing and research with loading times faster than my reading speed and a reliable connection then I'm happy

If the 3mb mobile option at €10 per month is any way reliable, and any way mobile. I think it's a very good option for people like me.

_Kooli_

thebman wrote: »

Do you work for eircom or something?

There are good fixed wireless alternatives that don't require a landline and UPC in many areas.

I agree its impossible to know what this service is going to end up like but there will be no shortage of people signing up given the unavailability of broadband in many areas due to poor investment in landline infrastructure not capable of carrying broadband to many people.



Some people are like that. Some people need a reliable connection, everyone has their own priorities. Personally I wouldn't give up a quality connection for a cheaper connection.

Currently with Digiweb Metro which is more expensive than other services because I get what I pay for. Could easily get mobile bb if I wanted to in this area but I rate quality of service over cost.

If someone only uses the Internet to check email once a day and don't really care when they do it then mobile BB is probably going to be an acceptable solution as when it is usable they can do that.

Hardly.
I speak as one of those people who got rid of their extortionate landline on the promise of phone over VOIP from a wireless provider, only to have to get rid of it and pay to get the Eircom line back because the wireless service, which promised so much was so crap.

If i could get digiweb i would, but i cant, so its Eircom or nothing.
Imagine are marketing their product on providing you with a phone. Do dont offer any guarantee that if its no good for phone, or slow/latent broadband that you can get out of your contract. If they offered this, then it would go some way to proving that they have confidence in their product.

thebman

_Kooli_ wrote: »

Hardly.
I speak as one of those people who got rid of their extortionate landline on the promise of phone over VOIP from a wireless provider, only to have to get rid of it and pay to get the Eircom line back because the wireless service, which promised so much was so crap.

If i could get digiweb i would, but i cant, so its Eircom or nothing.
Imagine are marketing their product on providing you with a phone. Do dont offer any guarantee that if its no good for phone, or slow/latent broadband that you can get out of your contract. If they offered this, then it would go some way to proving that they have confidence in their product.

Just wanted to point out you don't need a landline to get good BB TBH.

I had IBB for a year with Breeze fixed wireless in another house and it was fine. If they are ditching that and moving everyone to a worse service, it will be a shame to lose a good service and one of the few alternatives to landlines

_Kooli_

thebman wrote: »

Just wanted to point out you don't need a landline to get good BB TBH.

I had IBB for a year with Breeze fixed wireless in another house and it was fine. If they are ditching that and moving everyone to a worse service, it will be a shame to lose a good service and one of the few alternatives to landlines

If only we had the choice

Kev.

_Kooli_ wrote: »

If only we had the choice

who says we havent a choice bud?

Ill ring them tomorrow to see...

_Kooli_

Kev. wrote: »

who says we havent a choice bud?

Ill ring them tomorrow to see...

I dont have the choice. Its 3, Vodafone, O2 or metoer dongles where i am if you dont want eircom.
Imagine are not convincing me. If they had an option to return and get out of the contract if it sucks then i would try them out. Not getting stuck in a contract on a crap service again.

Matt Bauer

_Kooli_ wrote: »

I dont have the choice. Its 3, Vodafone, O2 or metoer dongles where i am if you dont want eircom.
Imagine are not convincing me. If they had an option to return and get out of the contract if it sucks then i would try them out. Not getting stuck in a contract on a crap service again.

Eircom own Meteor.

MagicMarker

Matt Bauer wrote: »

Eircom own Meteor.

Since when?

copacetic

MagicMarker wrote: »

Since when?

2005.

Cabaal

copacetic wrote: »

2005.

Just to add to this

In early 2005 several Irish newspapers reported that Western Wireless had been approached with a view to selling Meteor. On 9 July 2005 it was reported by The Irish Times that there had been three bidders for Meteor: eircom, Smart Telecom, and a consortium led by Denis O'Brien. It was considered that the probability of eircom winning, was looking increasingly unlikely due to their heavy debt of approximately €1.9 billion. It seemed unlikely they could afford it, should the price have topped €400 million. However, on 14 July 2005, RTÉ News reported on their business website[3] that Denis O'Brien had withdrawn from bidding, and that it was understood that eircom was the top bidder at €410m. On 21 July it was announced that Smart Telecom had also withdrawn, leaving eircom as the sole bidder. On 25 July eircom announced that it had agreed to purchase the company for €420m. On 18 November 2005 the Competition Authority approved, subject to conditions (primarily, that separate accounts continue to be published for Meteor). The purchase was completed on 23 November 2005.

Ironic they bought a mobile company after getting rid of Eircell....oh the irony

Kev.

Prices and plans have been removed from website this morning:rolleyes: