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

ShooterSF

Rant incoming!

Never had so much effort in my life trying to give a business my money! My flat is not listed on UPC's site but most of the blocks around me have it so I've rang and been told I'll be called back in a day or two three times over the last two weeks, never getting a call back. To add insult there was a UPC fan parked in my lane last week and I naively thought they were checking. What makes it even worse again is TV is covered in the apartment's rent and we get channels in through cable which is chorus (i.e UPC). Uck.

roast

spitonmedickie wrote: »

I am moving into a place that may or may not have an eircom phone line but UPC cannot provide broadband in the building because the buillding contract is with another provider (presumably eircom) - Is that normal?

I'd check with UPC again if I were you, or contact a local UPC account manager - you'll see adds in your local newspaper with contact numbers.

spitonmedickie wrote: »

If there is a phone line, do I have to pay that line cost to Eircom? I see there's broadband for 25 (excl. line rental)

If you sign up for BB with an Eircom reseller, such as vodafone/Magnet etc. you pay the fees, including line rental, to that company in one bill.

spitonmedickie wrote: »

If there is no phone line, is there any way around renting an eircom phone line - Vodafone only provides broadband through eircom lines and again, UPC can't in the building.

You can get a line installed if you contact eircom.

spitonmedickie wrote: »

I looked at 02 but apparently the 3g reception isn't great! I only need it for 4 months!

Any ideas?!

You won't get a broadband contract for four months, most are 12months. PrePay Mobile Midband dongles will allow you to use them on a month-by-month basis. Magnet also offer a contract-free option too, I believe, called Swift, which is through the phone line.

LockeTribal

Possibly stupid question incoming but any help or advice would be appreciated.

Recently moved to rented accommodation in Letterkenny which as far as I can tell has been wired by eircom (phone point in the hallway). I'm also informed that the line there has never been activated. So first of all, how do I go about getting it activated for broadband?

Secondly, once I get it activated, will I be stuck in a 12 month contract with eircom (ie not able to change my broadband provider, without buying out the contract) or is it just a contract for the line rental?

Cheers for any help and advice folks.

PS - can I suggest an update to the OP? New residential phone lines with eircom now have a 12 month minimum contract rather than the 6 months.

CongoPowers

Okay, I know nothing about broadband etc so this question is probably stupid.

I'm with O2 and it's rubbish. I'm changing in the next week or so because my contract is running out with the current crowd.

I reckon I'll go for UPC (is available where I live), but what's the story with having to get connected by a third party? Their website says they're not responsible for having your house enabled or whatever. And that it costs €40?

I read the first post and I know about the €7-something charge if I don't have the TV connection etc.

For anyone here who got UPC, how do I go about getting it and is it worthwhile?

Cheers!

Johnmb

CongoPowers wrote: »

Okay, I know nothing about broadband etc so this question is probably stupid.

I'm with O2 and it's rubbish. I'm changing in the next week or so because my contract is running out with the current crowd.

I reckon I'll go for UPC (is available where I live), but what's the story with having to get connected by a third party? Their website says they're not responsible for having your house enabled or whatever. And that it costs €40?

I read the first post and I know about the €7-something charge if I don't have the TV connection etc.

For anyone here who got UPC, how do I go about getting it and is it worthwhile?

Cheers!

3rd party connection? Haven't heard that before. UPC do their own connections, unless all the wiring is already in place, then they'll just send you the stuff to do a self install. Phone them on 1908, select sales, and take it from there.

Theimprover

I just got a new line into my house by eircom, now i want to get broadband but eircom are telling me that i am on a 12 month contract with the line rental, i have been onto vodafone about getting broadband and they have told me that my line can take up to 17mb, i want to go with vodafone as they are the cheaper of the two and also eircom are saying that my line will only take 1mb, by the sounds of it i have to stay with eircom for 12 months, joke, anyone have any suggestions on how i can get away from eircom with out having to give them €250 as they have requested in order for me to go with a different provider? Btw the line is only contected since the 9th

Johnmb

Theimprover wrote: »

I just got a new line into my house by eircom, now i want to get broadband but eircom are telling me that i am on a 12 month contract with the line rental, i have been onto vodafone about getting broadband and they have told me that my line can take up to 17mb, i want to go with vodafone as they are the cheaper of the two and also eircom are saying that my line will only take 1mb, by the sounds of it i have to stay with eircom for 12 months, joke, anyone have any suggestions on how i can get away from eircom with out having to give them €250 as they have requested in order for me to go with a different provider? Btw the line is only contected since the 9th

They can't lock you into a 12 month contract (or one of any length) just for installing a line. There must be a package that you signed up for. There is usually a cooling off period where you can cancel without penalty, check the small print for the package you signed up for.

Theimprover

Johnmb wrote: »

They can't lock you into a 12 month contract (or one of any length) just for installing a line. There must be a package that you signed up for. There is usually a cooling off period where you can cancel without penalty, check the small print for the package you signed up for.

I have not signed up for any package only had the line installed. I received a welcome letter from them today and in the T&C it reads as follows.

A minimum term contract of six months, from the completion of your order, applies to all PSTN Residental lines provided on or after the 1st October 2009. A minimum term contract of 12 months, from the completion of your order, applies to all PSTN Residental lines provided on or after 22nd August 2011. Customers subject to a minimum contract will be liable for, and agree to pay eircom, a termination charge if the Agreement is terminated during the relevant minimum period. The maximum applicable termination charge is the Residental PSTN rental due for the unexpired portion of the minimum term.

They have also attached an agreement form for me to sign which i have not done yet, i was told over the phone by eircom when i placed the order for the line that it would be a 12 month contract and it will cost me €25 p/m or i could pay €250 for the line with out been in contract.
Very frustrating that i have to be tied to them for 12months:mad:

Johnmb

Theimprover wrote: »

I have not signed up for any package only had the line installed. I received a welcome letter from them today and in the T&C it reads as follows.

A minimum term contract of six months, from the completion of your order, applies to all PSTN Residental lines provided on or after the 1st October 2009. A minimum term contract of 12 months, from the completion of your order, applies to all PSTN Residental lines provided on or after 22nd August 2011. Customers subject to a minimum contract will be liable for, and agree to pay eircom, a termination charge if the Agreement is terminated during the relevant minimum period. The maximum applicable termination charge is the Residental PSTN rental due for the unexpired portion of the minimum term.

They have also attached an agreement form for me to sign which i have not done yet, i was told over the phone by eircom when i placed the order for the line that it would be a 12 month contract and it will cost me €25 p/m or i could pay €250 for the line with out been in contract.
Very frustrating that i have to be tied to them for 12months:mad:

They can't legally do that. I think the contract must be relating to canceling the line, something that you won't be doing if you switch to another provider who will be using the line. Phone the other provider that you want, and tell them the story, they'll be able to send the proper forms to sign the number etc over to them. Or, if Eircom can suddenly start locking people to them just for installing the line, then the other providers must be able to initiate the line installation process, so they'll do that and you just return the forms to Eircom unsigned and tell them you changed your mind as you hadn't realized you could get a line installed by another provider.

Johnmb

Having checked Eircom's website, they can charge a maximum of €122 for a standard line installation. No contracts, no more money. So that would be your worst case scenario, they'll charge you that much if you won't sign up to a contract with them.

Opics

I need help with a person with more knowledge of this stuff than me please

Just been informed that UPC don't have cables going to the area of my rented accomodation in Cork (In the middle of the City, no less). Also, there is no phone that I am aware of.

What would be my best choice to go for now in terms of broadband? I am hoping for something reasonably fast (I understand something as quick as 25mb+ is likely out of the question due to the lack of cables etc) and at a decent price.

I was hoping for UPCs broadband and tv package but the tv is of secondary importance. I'm only going to be at the house for 9 months so a short term contract would also be a preference but not a necessity. Help please

ps200306

Anyone know how to rattle UPCs cage effectively? They were doing cabling in my area (Dalkey) last March (I think). I contacted them on their website and asked about broadband availability. I got a phone call back nearly immediately from a sales person, thanking me for my interest and saying they would take a few weeks to test the new lines, then it would be available and I'd be notified. Now it's mid September and I haven't heard anything. Their coverage map shows the area still "due to be upgraded". And when I tried to contact them again via their website I didn't hear a dickybird back. Anyone have any idea what the story is?

(Meanwhile Eircom have told me my "Home Office" package is being rebranded as "Business Starter", and that I could actually get 24 Mb cheaper than I'm paying them now. Yippee... except I'm already supposed to get 8 Mb and their poxy copper wire won't support more than 2 Mb. Twats!)

jkforde

had an eircom boyo around yesterday offering 8mb uncongested for 34euros pm, unlimited (250GB fair usage), connection, line rental and wifi box included. has anyone fallen for this or is it a good offer?

there's a UPC cable in the house and their regular offer is 25mb for 32.75 (no TV, no wifi box). what're the contention ratios like on UPC?.. the eircom fella is claiming it's 1:17

jkforde

anyone? on the face of it UPC's 25Mb line appears a no-brainer in comparison to eircom's 8Mb line but no point paying for 25Mb if the contention is high. but then how to make sure eircom's offer of an uncongested line is genuine (i know, i know, is any word genuine from Babcock & Brown's cakehole?!).

jkforde wrote: »

had an eircom boyo around yesterday offering 8mb uncongested for 34euros pm, unlimited (250GB fair usage), connection, line rental and wifi box included. has anyone fallen for this or is it a good offer?

there's a UPC cable in the house and their regular offer is 25mb for 32.75 (no TV, no wifi box). what're the contention ratios like on UPC?.. the eircom fella is claiming it's 1:17

BulliteShot

Go for it. If it's not what was advertised, cancel your direct debit. If you're promised that speed when you signed up and don't get it, their contract means nada.

Tenger

ShooterSF wrote: »

Never had so much effort in my life trying to give a business my money! My flat is not listed on UPC's site .....

We keep getting UPC flyers in out apartment block, but whenever anyone phones to sign up they get told they do not have connectivity in our area......muppets!

Would love to have a decent alternative to Eircom.


The problem with the Eircom offer is that it states "up to 8mb uncongested broadband" We have been having less than stellar performance from our Eircom line over the last 12 months.

However we don't have an alternative.
Vodafone are crap, we tried Irish Broadband, UPC don't serve our area....

AstonMartin

I want to get one of the dongles to be used mainly in the dublin 2 area.

which provider offers the best speeds for this area?

Renn

Tenger wrote: »

We keep getting UPC flyers in out apartment block, but whenever anyone phones to sign up they get told they do not have connectivity in our area......muppets!

Would love to have a decent alternative to Eircom.


The problem with the Eircom offer is that it states "up to 8mb uncongested broadband" We have been having less than stellar performance from our Eircom line over the last 12 months.

However we don't have an alternative.
Vodafone are crap, we tried Irish Broadband, UPC don't serve our area....

Experiencing the exact same. Living in the city centre but UPC say there's no network coverage

Don't know who to go with now...

Renn

Looking for something other than UPC in the Merrion Square area - suggestions?

BulliteShot

I wish there was a low latency satellite service.

joseph brand

BulliteShot wrote: »

Go for it. If it's not what was advertised, cancel your direct debit. If you're promised that speed when you signed up and don't get it, their contract means nada.

I was told that I could pay in the Post office (with eircom). Probably easier to cancel that way. Just don't pay.

BulliteShot

joseph brand wrote: »

I was told that I could pay in the Post office (with eircom). Probably easier to cancel that way. Just don't pay.

You need to make a point to them that their service was not up to spec. Phone them up and tell them why you no longer want their service. Write them a letter.
They shouldn't hassle you if you tell them.

briancol

Hi Renn,
I have used an o2 dongle in Dublin 2, it costs €10 per month with a 30 day contract and 2GB per month download. I'm sure the other mobile providers have similar packages as well, I don't know anything about the terrestrial providers in that area.

B

MMiskella

Hi all,

I'm currently on 8mb Vodafone and located in Bray but thinking of switching provider.
If I could get some suggestions it would help a lot as I have no idea what the current broadband climate is like but I do know UPC put in lines recently and Eircom have been calling about higher speeds.

My priorities are first of all and most importantly to be consistent, so the speed I'm promised is the speed I get and as I do a bit of online gaming I also want a low ping which has been getting worse with Vodafone lately.
A higher upload speed (over 0.8mbps) would be a bonus but not as interested in going too mad with download speeds.
I have a modem and router tucked away some where so the quality of the one they supply could be side stepped.

Educate me please

DoubleBogey

Tenger wrote: »

Would love to have a decent alternative to Eircom.

Trust me, the grass is no greener on the other side. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually looking to go back to Eircom. I've been with UTV, BT and Magnet. My advice is to look for good customer service. BT were the absolute kings, such a shame they fled the country but who can blame them really. They are probably the main reason why my expectations are so high. UTV are crooks. I had to go down the legal route to get away from them. Magnet are hit and miss. They reply to some issues and completely ignore others. Unfortunately its the easy issues they reply to and for the serious issues you get the cold shoulder.

Remember, whatever line issues you are having its going to be the same with all Eircom resellers. What you need is the provider who is going to give you the best customer support when things go wrong. you may think Eircom are bad (I know I did) but they're the best I've seen with the exception of BT.

Tenger

I went for the easy option......renewed with Eircom. UPC not in my area, Irish Broadband not reliable, never had good dealings with 3, that new satellite based deal doesn't offer unlimited GB per month.

Closov

I'm getting very frustrated with my current provider: service is very intermittent lately and support / customer service is useless, I switched from Eircom with great relief about 5 years ago and I haven't studied deeply into this subject since then...

Can anyone answer the following questions for me?

1) I currently have a fixed IP which is very convenient for remote access to my home server and security cameras, would this be a pain with Eircom (I expect they don't provide fixed IP). This is my most important concern, even before price.
2) Can I download torrents?
3) What does it mean for me if I live in an area marked as NGB enabled, but not migrated - how long would the wait be?
4) Must I pay telephone line rental?
5) Will my VOIP phone still work?
6) Can I continue to use my existing router?

ps200306

Closov wrote: »

I'm getting very frustrated with my current provider: service is very intermittent lately and support / customer service is useless, I switched from Eircom with great relief about 5 years ago and I haven't studied deeply into this subject since then...

Can anyone answer the following questions for me?

1) I currently have a fixed IP which is very convenient for remote access to my home server and security cameras, would this be a pain with Eircom (I expect they don't provide fixed IP). This is my most important concern, even before price.
2) Can I download torrents?
3) What does it mean for me if I live in an area marked as NGB enabled, but not migrated - how long would the wait be?
4) Must I pay telephone line rental?
5) Will my VOIP phone still work?

1) You won't get a fixed IP from Eircom, but you can use a dynamic DNS approach, such as dyndns.org, supported by many routers (and maybe yours).

2) Don't know. I never do it. Eircom have some sort of snooping for illegal downloads installed, for sure.

3) NGB doesn't mean anything. It still depends on the copper wire to your house. I'm in an NGB area, and pay for 8 Mb/s, but get 2 Mb/s and Eircom refuse to do anything about it. (Which is why I'm on my way to UPC as we speak -- 20 times the speed PLUS television for less than Eircom's line rental and broadband).

4) Yes

5) Probably. Mine does. The low jitter on Eircom ADSL is its one saving grace for me -- the only thing that makes me nervous about moving away from them, seeing as VoIP saves me €80/month.

Closov

ps200306 wrote: »

1) You won't get a fixed IP from Eircom, but you can use a dynamic DNS approach, such as dyndns.org, supported by many routers (and maybe yours).

2) Don't know. I never do it. Eircom have some sort of snooping for illegal downloads installed, for sure.

3) NGB doesn't mean anything. It still depends on the copper wire to your house. I'm in an NGB area, and pay for 8 Mb/s, but get 2 Mb/s and Eircom refuse to do anything about it. (Which is why I'm on my way to UPC as we speak -- 20 times the speed PLUS television for less than Eircom's line rental and broadband).

4) Yes

5) Probably. Mine does. The low jitter on Eircom ADSL is its one saving grace for me -- the only thing that makes me nervous about moving away from them, seeing as VoIP saves me €80/month.

Cheers for the quick reply ps200306, wrt torrents, It's doesn't have to be illegal! I'm paying for a software subscription and updates and training videos are distributed via torrent.

Edit: And your reply regarding NGB is very interesting :-/ I wasn't expecting that

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Hi all ,

Thinking about getting UPC 50mb package but I am worried about some horror stories of people with the lack of dedicated bandwidth getting download speeds of less than 1mb !

I also work from home as part of my job so the connection would need to be reliable , has anyone experience with the internet going down regularly ?

Any advice would be great
Thanks ,
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