ADSL2+ at 11.3km?

shayser

Was just on the phone to DigiWeb, going to order the DSL Home broadband, 7mb. They put my number into their wonderful machine and told me I am on a Smart enabled exchange and can get the Smart 10mb connection.

I am living in a village that is 11.3KM from the Smart enabled town.

Is possible?

yuloni

This post has been deleted.

jor el

Everything depends on line stats, which you won't know until you have an active DSL connection. If the line is 11km long though, I can't see you ever getting any broadband on it. If you do get something, it'll likely be terrible. The line isn't necessarily the distance you are from the town, it could be shorter.

roast

If the line is 11.3, you're going to get nothing. Maybe the speeds equivalent to a (bad) ISDN connection, but you sure as hell aren't going to get 10/7mb...

Mobile midband might be a better option for you, but then again, it depends on how long the line itself is...

shayser

Thanks for the replies. Bitstream is available and I called Digiweb to order. The tried to sell me the full fat Smart 10mb ADSL2+ product. According to them I would get it. I told them about the distance but they insisted. I don't know a whole lot about this but it sounded iffy.

I could try it out, but if it is no good as I suspect it won't be, I'd be afraid of hassles cancelling and getting something else, plus the line rental issues - it's a new line and I'd have to buy out the Eircom contract if I moved to Smart.

I am thinking it is just a mistake but then I heard of somebody else who was told the same but ended up with 1mb.

Sponge Bob

First of all Smarts base package is 10mbits as in UP TO 10 mbits. They open a 10mbit port and let the line synch at its maximum speed. Relatively few 10mbit customers will get 10mbits.

Lets say it synchs at 1mbit. You get a 170gb cap where eircom 1mbit will cost €20 a month witha 10gb cap and if you burst that cap eircom will then charge you BY THE GB until they get €50 a month out of your wallet.

Therefore you are better off with Smart unless you are compliant with the 10Gb cap .

Finally it may be that DSL will work ( just about at 1mbit ) and at 11km. Are the lines overground ????

lucernarian

I sooner expect that the OP is 11 km from the nearest LLU-enabled exchange. Smart do operate from all exchanges using ordinary RADSL and ADSL2+ where eircom have enabled their exchanges for that. It's quite possible the OP can get ADSL2+ from Smart that's actually provided by eircom wholesale.

shayser

Thanks for the replies. I do need it spelt out for me!

I have a local exchange which is about 2-3kms away. I called digiweb (as per Smart's web site) to order a bitstream product but they said hey you can get our LLU product. I said but I'm 11km away from your nearest LLU exchange. They said, well your number is coming up here as compatible for Smart's LLU product. I said I'd check it out and get back to them.

As far as I know, the lines are over ground.

watty

A stable 1Mbps DSL in the long term is better than any Mobile package actually.

The fact it's LLU means it's using what ever equipment Smart installed rather than usually more antiquated eircom gear. Also usually means better latency.

Usually there is no choice over exchange. If there is a nearer exchange it's irrelevant if your line doesn't go to it (common in some new estates around Drogheda). In some cases people are only 1km from an exchange but their line goes to one 5km or 6km away, and this can't be changed. Unless you pay 1000s of Euro to run a cable.

shayser

Thanks. I didn't consider that I might be on an exchange that is 11km away rather than one that is 2km away.

shayser

Spoke to the Eircom engineer who installed the line. I'm not on the exchange that is 11km away. I wonder what gave Digiweb that idea.

Sponge Bob

The number was allocated to the exchanage 11km away and the nearby one is less than 5 years old ?? Happens a lot in Meath and Kildare or near large towns like Athlone or Portlaoise or Drogheda or Bray...even Balbriggan and Dunboyne.

shayser

Now I'm confused, well more confused than I already was! Are you saying that my line is connected to one exchange but in some way my number is "allocated" to another exchange. I suppose it doesn't alter anything, I can't, as I pretty much already knew, get adsl2+, and Digiweb are giving out wrong information? The two exchanges are Letterkenny (11km) and Kilmacrennan (2km).

lucernarian

I just had a look at eircom's latest exchange boundary data. The cause has nothing to do with any exchanges being recently opened or the likes. What I suspected and your post confirms is that you are not and never were served by Letterkenny.

The Kilmacrenan exchange would have existed since P&T days. Someone in Digiweb either was confused as to what they were talking about and/or the line checker system that Digiweb use simply look at the first 5 numbers to see what main exchange serves you.


Let me go into more detail. Most places now have 7-digit local phone numbers now and the extra 2 numbers indicate what main exchange serves you. For example, in the 041 area... 98xxxxx numbers mean that the proper switching exchange is Drogheda although someone could be connected to a small remote exchange like Clogherhead or Duleek and still have a 04198xxxxx number. Similarly, 04168xxxxx indicates that the main exchange is Ardee yet other exchanges could serve someone.

So, if Digiweb saw an 07491xxxxx number looking for broadband, they may have naively thought that meant you were served by Letterkenny or else that someone mixed up what products were available to you.

MunsterCycling

Can you point me in the direction of that exchange boundry data please?

lucernarian

It's the coverage map on this site: http://www.nextgenerationethernet.com/

Select the exchange boundaries option in the top right corner.