Which Provider? What Type Of Broadband? Broadband In My Area? !!POST HERE ONLY!!

FiOT

cunnijo wrote: »

If you are on the FTTH rollout map for Eir then Vodafone will not be part of it, as they are in FTTH partnership with the ESB (SIRO). However most of the other ISP's will.

Have you got an idea as to when FTTH will be available in your area?

It says on the Eir website that they say it should be rolled out by the second half of 2017... that's coming to an end fairly soon! Are they usually to schedule?

I have found Eir a bit difficult to deal with on the phone so far, they don't seem massively interested in my business!

cunnijo

FiOT wrote: »

It says on the Eir website that they say it should be rolled out by the second half of 2017... that's coming to an end fairly soon! Are they usually to schedule?

I have found Eir a bit difficult to deal with on the phone so far, they don't seem massively interested in my business!

You do not have to sign with Eir when FTTH becomes available. As I mentioned there are other ISP's like Digiweb, Pure Telecom and maybe Sky. They will I'm sure be interested in signing you up. So make some enquiries.

Also visit OpenEir's website. I may have more up to date information as to rollout dates.

tsue921i8wljb3

FiOT wrote: »

Thank you so much for this.

Just a question as we are on the map for the FTTH roll out. Will this new faster connection just be available to Eir customers or will it be available to say Vodafone as well seeing as they use Eir lines? Vodafone seems to be the best package but if we need to go with Eir to get the faster connection speed we will.

Vodafone are not currently selling the FTTH product though there is speculation that they soon will. The list of resellers is on this page:

http://fibrerollout.ie/rollout-map/where-to-buy/

Look for providers with a green circle with a house. These are the FTTH resellers.

Make sure when dealing with an ISP that you specify that it is FTTH that you want otherwise you will be sold an inferior service that will be much slower depending on your distance from the exchange.

FTTH cannot be ordered until the area is deemed live by Openeir. Tara is well advanced in construction, I don't know what stage Balrath is at. Look out for KN Networks doing work on poles and lines in your area and ask the workmen when they expect to be finished.

jasonb

Hi all...

My Sister lives near Ballynacarrigy in Westmeath. For years she's used ripplecom.net line of sight broadband from a mast in Bunbrosna. She actually doesn't have line of sight to her house, but to a house close by, and Wifi from that house just reaches her house. She gets approx. 3Mbs down, but it's very unreliable. I think the speed in the nearby house is around 7Mbs.

She doesn't have a landline, but as far as I know it would make no difference as she's too far from the exchange . She doesn't have 4G signal, only 3G (also approx. 3Mbs down inside her house).

So, what are her options, if any? According to Eir's website, and using her Eircode, Fibre will be available in the second half of 2018 (it says between 30Mbs and 1000Mbs, which is a very wide range, but still much better than 3Mbs!). How likely is it that they'll meet the date of the second half of 2018?

We though about getting a 3G Wifi Dongle, as that would at least remove the reliance on Ripplecom. We'd be looking at 3G, as there's no 4G signal. I've heard of antennae for 3G dongles, could they improve on the 3Mbs speed? It's more like 5Mbs outside the house. I've also heard of some people going from 3G to 4G due to using an antenna, would that be a possibility?

All advice appreciated, it would be great to give her a more stable, faster connection. Thanks...

Ultimanemo

I use Huawei HB525 UNLOCKED router I bought from amazon Uk and
3G/4G LTE Outdoor Antenna for D-Link DWR / DWR-118 / DWR-921 DWR-952 / DWR-953
I am using Three sim card.
Three coverage map says my house has outdoor 4G and indoor 3G
I get a speed of 5 to 40 Mbps depending on the time of the day.
The other options is to put the router in the attic
But if there is no 4G outside, the antenna is no good, the only purpose of the antenna is it acts as if the router is outside.
Your best chance is sign a contract with Three and see the reception by putting the router outside, if you get a good speed then either you go ahead with them or You buy the router and sign sim only contract which is one month contract.
If no good speed then cancel the contract within the cooling off period
Vodafone usually have better speed but they don't give roll over contract, but they give 150G for 45 Euro a month
With either vodafone or Three, if you have a good signal outside then buy the antenna.
If you have your own router, you can also try eir, they give pay as you go 50G for 30 Euro.

Ultimanemo

Forgot to say:
Don't count on a mobile phone to measure the signal, A good router is much more powerful than a mobile phone.

jasonb

Thanks for your answers! My phone only shows H inside the house and H+ outside, so no 4G, but like you say, a router might improve on that. Vodafone's map does say there's 4G there.

If there isn't 4G, would a 3G router/antenna help just like a 4G one would if there was 4G there? Am I basically looking for a 3G/4G router and possibly a 3G/4G Antenna?

Thanks...

Ultimanemo

The router and antenna I mentioned above they work on 3G and 4G, by default the router will capture whatever available 3G or 4G.
What about Imagine ?. They put antenna outside for 4G

jasonb

Cool, thanks. Looks like the first step is an unlocked 3G/4G Router, so I can see what the signal is like in the house, and outside the house, using a router. Then, possibly, an Antenna as will if I think it'll improve things more. I assume I can just use my own SIM when doing these tests, before signing up to a package/pay as you go?

Finally, where could a get the router/antenna and how much are we talking about?

Thanks...

Ultimanemo

To save yourself money, you can sign a contract with Three-Vodafone-eir
Try the router outside in all corners of the house and the attic and see what you get, you can cancel the contract at no cost if you have no signal, you can tell them that and they will give a router to try.
Then you can make your mind to buy a router or to keep going with a contract.
Remember, the antenna will only work if there signal outside the house


https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06ZZL966Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3G-4G-LTE-Outdoor-Antenna-for-D-Link-DWR-DWR-118-DWR-921-DWR-952-DWR-953/232293337936?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

jasonb

Very helpful, thanks a lot! Router/Antenna is a little bit more expensive than I would have liked!

I like the idea of going with a contract and then cancelling if it doesn't work. Does that cancellation depend on there being a signal issue, or can I cancel for no reason at all within a certain time frame, do you know?

Thanks again...

Ultimanemo

jasonb wrote: »

Very helpful, thanks a lot! Router/Antenna is a little bit more expensive than I would have liked!

I like the idea of going with a contract and then cancelling if it doesn't work. Does that cancellation depend on there being a signal issue, or can I cancel for no reason at all within a certain time frame, do you know?

Thanks again...

The cooling off period is 2 weeks you can cancel within two weeks, no questions asked, ask them before you sign, I am sure of that. you have a good reason, you aren't sure of coverage.

If at the end you want to buy a router, don't go for anything cheaper, this router supports high speed, I put a vodafone sim card and I got a speed of 110 Mbps, but vodafone will tie you to 24 months contract with a cap of 150G. It is like putting Ferrari engine in a Micra
Good luck

jasonb

Excellent advice, thanks a lot, I appreciate it!

jasonb

Actually, looking at Vodafone’s and 3’s offers, it looks like I can get the HB525 router with 3 and test with a good router, and still give it back within two weeks if I’m not happy. Will have to suss out what the 3 signal is like there.

Another question. If I have a router and I’m testing, will it be obvious from the router itself what signal I’m getting (4G or 3G) and the strength of that signal, or will I have to connect a device to it via WiFi and do speed tests to see how good the signal is? Just wondering how easy it will be to try the router in different parts of the house for signal strength.

Thanks...

Ultimanemo

Yes you can
Log into the router

http://192.168.8.1/html/home.html

and straight in front of you you will see 3G or 4G below the green bars, you get from 1 to 5 bars.

jasonb

Great, thanks a lot! I reckon I'll sign up for both 3 and Vodafone, and use the 2 weeks to test both of them onsite and decide on the best one then...

Ultimanemo

Good luck

Johnny Derpp

Looking for a recommendation for provider.
We were with upc when we we're renting last but I'm reading terrible things about them since virgin took over.

Are Eir or Sky as good?

We're in Dublin btw.

Ultimanemo

Johnny Derpp wrote: »

Looking for a recommendation for provider.
We were with upc when we we're renting last but I'm reading terrible things about them since virgin took over.

Are Eir or Sky as good?

We're in Dublin btw.

I tried both in Galway, same speed, Sky better price as they can add TV for virtually nothing, but for one year, then they increase, but still cheaper than eir

Johnny Derpp

Ultimanemo wrote: »

I tried both in Galway, same speed, Sky better price as they can add TV for virtually nothing, but for one year, then they increase, but still cheaper than eir

We do alot of streaming, but I just read here that virgin are still the fastest.
I'm confused 😖

Sky and eir should be able too?

Shivers!

Hi there, newbie, hope you can help. Living in carrigaline, co cork. Currently have broadband with Vodafone, no issues (left eir last yr)
Getting Calls to door from Vodafone trying to get us to connect to Siro. Same price as plan we are on, 40 for first 6 month then 45 after. No installation fee. Have tv with sky and no landline so just looking at broadband.
Is there a catch with this? Currently use broadband for Netflix and the like, no major demands but with 3 growing kids demand /devices will increase no doubt.
No issues with current service, and wondering should I leave as is or jump at chance for Siro connection?
Thanks all

jozi

We have cable with Virgin (broadband only 240mb) in Dublin, are there alternatives? At 55 a month I don't find it cheap, I download the odd thing and mostly use it for Netflix, surely 240mb is overkill (for 4k)? I wouldn't mind dropping speed for a cheaper package.

jasonb

Ultimanemo wrote: »

Good luck

Hi again...

So, we got nowhere with 3, and are now running the 2 week trial with Vodafone, with the Huawei B528 Router.

I did some signal tests all around the house, in the attic and outside as well. I can get full 3G throughout the house (max speed around 5Mbps down and 3Mps up, but it varies).

If I put the Router beside the windows at the front or back, I can get 0 to 1 bar 4G but it's slower than the 3G and the light on the Router changes from Green (4G) to Red (No Signal).

If I put the Router out in the front garden, I can get 1 bar 4G, which was also giving me around 5Mps down, but once again it varies.

Finally, if I put the Router in the attic, I can get 0 bar 4G.

So, best case at the moment seems to be a strong 3G signal in the house. Is there any way to tell the router to 'ignore' 4G and only use 3G, so I could put the router near a window to get the strongest 3G signal, without a crap 4G signal taking over?

And secondly, based on the results above, like weak 4G in the front garden, would it be worthwhile to get one, or even two, external antennae, mounted on the front of the house, to increase the signal? Would I get a decent signal boost, or would it not be worth the money?

Thanks...

Ultimanemo

You can tell the router to get only 3G

Log into the router Setting>Dial-up >Network settings and set preferred mode to
3G only.
Put the router outside the window, if you get stable 4G signal then you can buy the antenna, if you get no or unstable 4G signal there is no point buying the antenna.
The only thing the antenna will do is to enable you to receive signal as if the router is outside.

jasonb

Ultimanemo wrote: »

You can tell the router to get only 3G

Log into the router Setting>Dial-up >Network settings and set preferred mode to
3G only.
Put the router outside the window, if you get stable 4G signal then you can buy the antenna, if you get no or unstable 4G signal there is no point buying the antenna.
The only thing the antenna will do is to enable you to receive signal as if the router is outside.

Thanks for your reply! So, basically, an antenna doesn't improve the signal, it just enables to you get one from a location that the router can't be in (like outside)?

Thanks...

adocholiday

Looking at buying a house in the Rathdrum area of Wicklow and the eir fibre map is telling me that there are no plans to roll out fibre to the particular area the house is in so would have to wait for the National Broadband Plan. As I'm pretty sure that's never going to happen, I'm wondering what the available options are in the area? The only other provider I can see with a coverage map is Imagine and they don't cover the east side of Wicklow yet.

This would be an absolute deal breaker for me if we can't get decent broadband at the house. Any suggestions would be really appreciated.

Ultimanemo

adocholiday wrote: »

Looking at buying a house in the Rathdrum area of Wicklow and the eir fibre map is telling me that there are no plans to roll out fibre to the particular area the house is in so would have to wait for the National Broadband Plan. As I'm pretty sure that's never going to happen, I'm wondering what the available options are in the area? The only other provider I can see with a coverage map is Imagine and they don't cover the east side of Wicklow yet.

This would be an absolute deal breaker for me if we can't get decent broadband at the house. Any suggestions would be really appreciated.

Get the eircode of the house and send to eir and see what broadband you get, also enter the code in the map below and see what wireless ISPs available
Good luck

http://irelandoffline.org/map/#/home

adocholiday

Thanks @Ultimanemo. eir are just telling me that 'fibre isn't available' but not telling me any speed at the house otherwise. I'm pretty sure then that there's no actual landline at the property. I've sent eir an email to see what they can do for me.

I checked that ireland offline site which is very useful. Unfortunately only 3 providers listed for the area and 2 have said that they don't provide coverage for that particular property. It would be very sad to give up on a property due to lack of broadband but here we are!

Ultimanemo

Putting Rathdrum on the map, Three wireless ISPs came up; Wicklow Broadband, Permanet Broadband and Regional Broadband, there is no harm looking at their websites and contacting them

adocholiday

Ultimanemo wrote: »

Putting Rathdrum on the map, Three wireless ISPs came up; Wicklow Broadband, Permanet Broadband and Regional Broadband, there is no harm looking at their websites and contacting them

Yeah have done and both Regional and Permanet said they don't cover the house so only Wicklow to come back. An alternative might be some 3G or 4G options with Vodafone/Three so I've asked them too.

Currently on a 230mb connection with Virgin so it'll be some change no matter what!