UPC vs Eircom (Objectively!)

Sgt Pepper 64

UPC vs Eircom (Objectively!)
Currently with Eircom on the talktime talker plus 8mb BB = 58 euro
(Local\National calls free anytime + 30GB download limit
The equivalent package with UPC works out as 50.75 euro, which includes their 7.75 monthly charge for not taking any TV with them.
(Local\National calls free anytime + free off peak calls to UK, France etc.
10mb BB + 120GB download limit

Now, it doesnt seem much of a difference except that with Eircom, the bill never seems to come to 58 euro! I always seem to go over their download limit by 10GB and with a few calls to France and England, the bill is always around 80-90 euro

I'm hoping that by switching to UPC, the bill will actually stay the same!
There's no way I will ever get close to 120GB and no more charges for UK\France calls

So, would you recommend UPC? (And please answer objectively, i dont want this to turn into a bitch fest!)

The (only) downsides I can think of is that I will lose all the eircom email address's I have, and if we ever move (unlikely) then we have to pay to get a phoneline back????

Once you make the switch, is there a cooling off period, if you are unhappy?
Is the BB reliable? Thats critical as I work from home a lot.
If I dont buy the wireless router, is there a way to use an existing ADSL wireless router with the cable box?
The computer is upstairs, so I use the network plugs and they work just fine, but I need wireless for my phone and my laptop.
How good is the phone? Does it have plenty of space for contacts, is the reception clear etc?

any other "gotchas"?


thanks and respect

Gadgetman496

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

The (only) downsides I can think of is that I will lose all the eircom email address's I have

I'm thinking of moving to UPC also but for different reasons so your post interests me too. What I can tell though is that you will not lose your eircom email address by moving. It will still be available to you.

dermo1990

I had a similar problem to you, I was on eircom talker bundle (free local and national calls on and off peak with "up to" 8MB broadband with 10GB download). I've been with UPC for the past 6 or so months and have had no problems worth mentioning. Im on the UPC 20MB package, and this costs about 45ish euro per month. When i was with eircom, I was paying about 120-140 every two months for 8MB when i was barely getting 1MB and was constantly going over the limit. So going for UPC was really something of a no brainer. Over the past few months, I've had next to no trouble with them, only thing that happened was that broadband went down for a few hours, but that was it. Hope this helps....

Johnboy1951

Maybe compare the Broadband only offerings from both, and having your telephone service supplied by another company over the broadband connection?

Check out the VOIP section of Boards for info.

Ronan

I was on eircom Up to 24Mb broadband & eircom talktime chatter @ €69.99 a month. While the line was always stable all we got was 12mb and due to circumstances with wife working from home and some calls to UK we were paying more like €80 - €90 per month.

We switched to UPC and pay €59.75 per month for 20mb broadband (actually get 19.7mb which is close enough for me!) and get the anytime calls too - we pay the extra €7.75 for not having the TV.

So, by doing this and ensuring we only use mobiles to call mobiles our bill is a static €59.75 a month and we are getting quicker broadband (and it is noticeably quicker too).

3rd month with them now, and to be honest wish we had made the switch earlier. To sum up, nothing wrong with reliability from Eircom, just the price and fact you don't get the speeds you pay for. Also, imho, I don't think the future is ADSL.

To Answer your questions from my experience:

Once you make the switch, is there a cooling off period, if you are unhappy? - 2 weeks I think
Is the BB reliable? Thats critical as I work from home a lot. - Had an initial problem with the modem supplied, was replaced straight away not hand an issue since. Some people on here have had some though.
If I dont buy the wireless router, is there a way to use an existing ADSL wireless router with the cable box? - No, I believe you have to use theirs and only theirs.
The computer is upstairs, so I use the network plugs and they work just fine, but I need wireless for my phone and my laptop. - Not tried network plugs, but can't see a reason why they wouldn't. Wireless is just fine for me but I live in an apartment.
How good is the phone? Does it have plenty of space for contacts, is the reception clear etc? - I think the reception on the phone is much, much better, but perhaps I had a crappy phone line previously!

grizzly

My only regret in going to UPC from Eircom was not doing it two years previously.

Nody

UPC should be fine as long as you:
1) Don't expect unlimited bandwidth
2) Don't have any billing issues (harder to ensure obviously)

dak

I'm on 30mb package and so far so good. As regards the phone I think you can add any ordinary DECT phone. They supply a Siemens phone and its of reasonable but entry level features.

Dak

dub45

Why do you think that you will lose the email addresses that you have?

There is no problem retaining your email account when you move to another isp all that should be necessary is to change the smtp settings (outbound mail)
to the new isp's in whatever mail program that you use.

Solair

You can add your own WiFi router to *any* internet connection that is delivered over an ethernet cable (i.e. basically all of them, including UPC).

Just bare in mind that most ADSL/WiFi router/modem combo units, i.e. the typical WiFi router supplied by DSL internet providers like eircom etc, cannot be reconfigured to act as a stand-alone WiFi router.

You can easily buy your own WiFi router though, just get one that does not include a DSL modem. There are loads of options, including Apple's Airport etc

All that being said, it's probably a lot easier to just use the UPC supplied WiFi router and it's less messy than having to plug in two devices!

bealtine

Solair wrote: »

Y

All that being said, it's probably a lot easier to just use the UPC supplied WiFi router and it's less messy than having to plug in two devices!

If the supplied router works for you then fine...I found it useless and riddled with bugs.

Gadgetman496

bealtine wrote: »

If the supplied router works for you then fine...I found it useless and riddled with bugs.

What alternative did you use?

If one had access to the older UPC modem and Netgear router will it need to be provisioned by UPC in order to work & will they do it?

Ronan

Solair wrote: »

You can add your own WiFi router to *any* internet connection that is delivered over an ethernet cable (i.e. basically all of them, including UPC).

Just bare in mind that most ADSL/WiFi router/modem combo units, i.e. the typical WiFi router supplied by DSL internet providers like eircom etc, cannot be reconfigured to act as a stand-alone WiFi router.

You can easily buy your own WiFi router though, just get one that does not include a DSL modem. There are loads of options, including Apple's Airport etc

All that being said, it's probably a lot easier to just use the UPC supplied WiFi router and it's less messy than having to plug in two devices!

If you go down this route with the UPC supplied router (dsiabling the wifi and attaching your own wifi router) then afaik you can no longer use the phone.

bealtine

gadgetman496 wrote: »

What alternative did you use?

If one had access to the older UPC modem and Netgear router will it need to be provisioned by UPC in order to work & will they do it?

They may agree to provision an older modem, it has been done before, so you might be lucky.

You can always request the older modem when they set you up for bb, they'll hum and haw but be polite and persistent and they'll give in:)

Tea_Bag

I moaned for a while and got the old modem with my own router reinstalled, and its well worth it, but only if you dont use their phone service.

and as for a reason to move to UPC from eircon?

im on the 20mb option



need i say more?

Nothingbetter2d

to answer your questions

Eircom NGB = old antiquated copper network with poor distance vs speed ratios

UPC Fibre = fibre optic networks from exchange to street with a few metres of copper co-axial going from the street to your wall socket resulting in far superior distance vs speed ratios

go with UPC and you'll get pretty close to 30mb/s which is what they advertise

go with eircom ngb and you wont get anywhere near 24mb/s unless you live next door to the exchange

Sgt Pepper 64

Ronan wrote: »

If you go down this route with the UPC supplied router (dsiabling the wifi and attaching your own wifi router) then afaik you can no longer use the phone.

Thanks for all the replies, I've signed up and they are coming to install next week.
Speed isn't an issue as I don't download so 3mb would do, but reliability is.

I have an old but feature rich wifi router (Not eircom) and I can just turn the router part off and use it as a wireless bridge.
Why do you think I wont be able to use the phone?

And if I gets theirs or use my own, its still just one extra thing to plug into the mains