Don't laugh at me!

cards

I'm moving to a very rural location soon and these were from my last broadband bill.

Time spent online:104 hours, 59 minutes
Data downloaded:5.92 GB
Data uploaded:1.69 GB
Total data used:7.61 GB

There is no broadband available on the phone line but was wondering would dial up be any good or is there something you can get from eircom where you get 2 phone lines installed and is there any way they would accomodate this kind of use.I also use a trading application that is similar to streaming youtube videos. Or have I any other alternatives?Satellite?I talked to a neighbour up there today that has vodafone with the dongle thing and she said it is painfully slow.Often a half hour to read an email.:eek:
Any advice appreciated.

The Internet Explorer

Dial Up - LAUGH OUT LOUD

cookie1977

O2 trial out their dongle for a week from their stores. Well worth a try if they still offer this. Also Three as national broadband scheme could also offer something.

TouchingVirus

You can avail of a few things like Satellite (poor latency, expensive outlay, long minimum contract), 3G/4G midband services (Vodafone, Meteor to go, O2 broadband etc) which will cover your usage anyways. The quality of the connection though varies significantly, as your neighbour said. Trial it out with a provider, my parents live rurally and have been on O2 for a few years now, we put an antenna on the roof to improve the signal and it does them just fine, they're even getting into the whole youtube thing so need to watch their cap a little closer

bealtine

cards wrote: »

I'm moving to a very rural location soon

Check if there any fixed wireless providers where you will live, that will at least give you a better connection than a dongle or satellite.

ScouseMouse

Is there a 3g signal around?

I had the same problem with someone living in the dublin mountains. Luckily, there was a vodafone base station nearby and a 20 euro dongle gets her 4ish meg download.

cards

Thanks for the reply's. There is a mast not too far away and assumed it was the vodafone one where the neighbour is getting internet from but just got up a website with phone masts and there is 2 in the area.Vodafone and 3g both have them there so maybe its the 3g one that's closer.On the 3g website its says broadband is available via one of their modem products after doing a search at that address.Not sure how accurate that is but any tips on what product I should go for.Don't mind spending whatever,just want to get the fastest possible.

Check if there any fixed wireless providers where you will live, that will at least give you a better connection than a dongle or satellite.

Is there any websites or map I can check this from?
Thanks.

jor el

Moved to Midband forum.

cards wrote: »

so maybe its the 3g one that's closer

Three, not 3G. 3G is a technology used by all mobile operators. Three is an operator.

bealtine

cards wrote: »

Is there any websites or map I can check this from?
Thanks.

No sadly the only real one was run by the DECNR but they closed it down.
Tell us roughly where you are?

cards

The address is

Killalane
Ballinahinch
Co. Tipperary

but I think Ballinahinch is a pretty spread out place with possibly some good options in places.This house is very remote compared to the rest but any further advice or info would be much appreciated.

jay93

cards wrote: »

The address is

Killalane
Ballinahinch
Co. Tipperary

but I think Ballinahinch is a pretty spread out place with possibly some good options in places.This house is very remote compared to the rest but any further advice or info would be much appreciated.

Vodafone 3G is a no go in that area they have no 3G installed on any of their masts so the internet would be terribly slow.

3 have a mast in the area so you could try them maybe?

I would recommend trying to find a fixed wireless service in your area before trying internet from the mobile networks.

Meteor also have a mast close in that area that is 3G this could also be an option.

Also sattelite should be your last resort try to get internet in other forms before attempting to get sattelite it can be very very expensive to install.

Gadgetman496

Would QSAT be an option?

bealtine

whatever you do avoid satellite like the plague

cards

Many thanks.really appreciate the responses.Probably saved me a couple of months muddling through the wrong options.

pat13wx

cards wrote: »

Many thanks.really appreciate the responses.Probably saved me a couple of months muddling through the wrong options.

Despite some telling you to "avoid Satellite like the plague" it might prove a viable option if you don't download or upload a lot of data. I do not have Satellite BB myself because the monthly data allowance closest to my usage would set me back nearly €130 per month, which is way too expensive for me. That price would give me a 25 Gig allowance a month. However, there are packages from about €30 per month that will give you a monthly allowance of 4 Gig. There are other, higher priced packages available too that have .

In the above scenario I am referring to providers of Tooway Satellite and not Niall Quinn’s Q-Sat. Q-Sat use a different system than Tooway and their monthly data allowance is the least generous of any Satellite BB provider I have come across so far, but in fairness they seem the most reasonably priced if data allowance isn’t a concern. If they were more giving in their data I’d be looking at them as a possibility. They do however offer a “Nightsaver” option for an extra €10.00 a month which allows you to download data unrestricted between the hours of 11pm and 6am. If going for this option you’d need a download manager or else you’d have to make sure you’re up by 6am to turn off any downloading.

Bear in mind that if opting for Satellite BB the initial set up costs can be very pricy.

jbkenn

cards wrote: »

The address is

Killalane
Ballinahinch
Co. Tipperary

but I think Ballinahinch is a pretty spread out place with possibly some good options in places.This house is very remote compared to the rest but any further advice or info would be much appreciated.

Give Arra Comms (FWI) http://www.arra.ie/ a call before you get lumbered with a ballash1t satellite

bealtine

jbkenn wrote: »

Give Arra Comms (FWI) http://www.arra.ie/ a call before you get lumbered with a ballash1t satellite

I'm not sure where Ballinahinch is but Munster Broadband are active in parts of Tipperary too.
http://www.munsterbroadband.ie/

Furthermore don't listen to those who have never seen or tried satellite midband as they don't have a clue how pathetic it is.

Will I Amnt

gadgetman496 wrote: »

Would QSAT be an option?

Can he see the sky??

pat13wx

bealtine wrote: »

I'm not sure where Ballinahinch is but Munster Broadband are active in parts of Tipperary too.
http://www.munsterbroadband.ie/

Furthermore don't listen to those who have never seen or tried satellite midband as they don't have a clue how pathetic it is.

If you have personal experience of Satellite BB please share it. Or is it the case you are going by what you've read?

bealtine

pat13wx wrote: »

If you have personal experience of Satellite BB please share it. Or is it the case you are going by what you've read?

Why yes I do I've been invited to demonstrations of sat broadband and know exactly what the hapless consumers should expect. It's nowhere like the marketing bs you see for it, just because it's called broadband in the marketing material simply doesn't make it so

jbkenn

pat13wx wrote: »

If you have personal experience of Satellite BB please share it. Or is it the case you are going by what you've read?

pat13wx, on this and other threads two Boards regulars Sponge Bob and Watty have outlined in detail, as politely they can, the issues with satellite, both are experts in their field, you would do well to heed what they are saying.

pat13wx

bealtine wrote: »

Why yes I do I've been invited to demonstrations of sat broadband and know exactly what the hapless consumers should expect. It's nowhere like the marketing bs you see for it, just because it's called broadband in the marketing material simply doesn't make it so

So, you were interested enough to attend a demonstration

I have no personal experience and can only go by what I have learned from researching the Internet. From what I have learned I would take a chance if the data allowances were more accommodating and less expensive, which may very well happen down the road.

Tooway seems the better option if opting for Satellite but there are cheaper Satellite versions out there such as Q-Sat, but as stated already their monthly data allowance is probably the lowest and most measly available.

I suppose for those without any other option, no land-line, no Wireless, no 3G, etc, then Satellite remains the only way to get on line and surf the internet. Sure, it is hopeless for the gamers out there, but for many others it would certainly do the job.

The fact you hate it so much is really an irrelevance to those who have it installed and are happy with the service.

pat13wx

jbkenn wrote: »

pat13wx, on this and other threads two Boards regulars Sponge Bob and Watty have outlined in detail, as politely they can, the issues with satellite, both are experts in their field, you would do well to heed what they are saying.

Absolutely I do! They write respectfully and with great knowledge, and unlike some they are respectful of others even if they don't agree with them.

The issues aside with Satellite it is nonetheless an option for those without any other option.

bealtine

pat13wx wrote: »

So, you were interested enough to attend a demonstration

No I did it in my role and in the interest of actually finding out was the marketing bs true or not. You'd be well advised to do the same before you pimp something you know nothing about

The fact you hate it so much is really an irrelevance to those who have it installed and are happy with the service.

I don't hate it as you imply I just do not think it is a technology worthy of pimping. It's only suitable for the sahara desert and other hard to reach places and is NOT a solution for a small country like Ireland. Nowhere is hard to reach on a tiny island like Ireland it just takes will, both political and regulatory to achieve a decent bb coverage across the nation. Neither of these are in any way obvious at this time.
Finland a country some of which is north of the Arctic circle can mandate broadband for all its citizens, if they an do it we certainly can.
Our regulator is useless and faced with the same EU directives as Finland deems it correct to mandate 28k dialup as a minimum.
Is it any wonder eircom can get away with murder and do nothing to fix up crap lines all around the country (even in the cities).

I've been asked to pimp sat midband on a few occasions in the past and in all good conscience I couldn't do it.

pat13wx

bealtine wrote: »

It's only suitable for the sahara desert and other hard to reach places

I agree. Very handy in this regard. Sadly it seems there are still places here in Ireland that have no reliable broadband.

pat13wx

bealtine wrote: »

Finland a country some of which is north of the Arctic circle can mandate broadband for all its citizens, if they an do it we certainly can.
Our regulator is useless and faced with the same EU directives as Finland deems it correct to mandate 28k dialup as a minimum.
Is it any wonder eircom can get away with murder and do nothing to fix up crap lines all around the country (even in the cities).

I've been asked to pimp sat midband on a few occasions in the past and in all good conscience I couldn't do it.

Well said. Couldn't agree more. Eircom is getting away with murder in this sense. They seem only interested in making BB better in areas where it is already good and forgetting about rural Ireland.

watty

jbkenn wrote: »

pat13wx, on this and other threads two Boards regulars Sponge Bob and Watty have outlined in detail, as politely they can, the issues with satellite, both are experts in their field, you would do well to heed what they are saying.

I have used Satellite "So called broadband" (fast sort of Internet) at work and home. Tooway, Astra2connect and others.

Parts of the Desert in Arabia and North Sahara have actually got Fixed Wireless real Broadband. Sort of flat so a big base mast gives good LOS.

bealtine

watty wrote: »

Parts of the Desert in Arabia and North Sahara have actually got Fixed Wireless real Broadband. Sort of flat so a big base mast gives good LOS.

That's because it's a far better solution.

watty

pat13wx wrote: »

Well said. Couldn't agree more. Eircom is getting away with murder in this sense. They seem only interested in making BB better in areas where it is already good and forgetting about rural Ireland.

Nothing to do with Eircom. They are the main DSL operator, but pure DSL is now obsolete. They have never had any net investment since privatisation, but just asset and revenue stripping.

No ISP is going to concentrate on sparse rural areas with out a Government & Business Private/Public partnership. The way forward for Ireland as a small country with too many ISPs yet one dominant DSL supplier is to bypass the DSL with a National Fibre & Fixed Wireless wholesale network reselling to all the ISPs.

pat13wx

watty wrote: »

Nothing to do with Eircom. They are the main DSL operator, but pure DSL is now obsolete. They have never had any net investment since privatisation, but just asset and revenue stripping.

No ISP is going to concentrate on sparse rural areas with out a Government & Business Private/Public partnership. The way forward for Ireland as a small country with too many ISPs yet one dominant DSL supplier is to bypass the DSL with a National Fibre & Fixed Wireless wholesale network reselling to all the ISPs.

So, essentially Eircom's hands are tied?

This is an interesting perspective as I thought it would have been in their own best interest to improve their service and make it more readily available and accessible to as many as possible in the country, but instead they and others (UPC for example) seem only keen to improve those areas where there is already decent BB. At least this s how it comes across to me.

But I agree totally, the Government should by now have set up the necessary infrastructure so the likes of Eircom can deliver to areas still without respectable BB speeds. It is done elsewhere, and in countries apparently less well off than us.

Thanks for your insight, by the way. I am learning more about BB from this forum than anywhere else.

ralphie

cards wrote: »

The address is

Killalane
Ballinahinch
Co. Tipperary

but I think Ballinahinch is a pretty spread out place with possibly some good options in places.This house is very remote compared to the rest but any further advice or info would be much appreciated.

There is a Vodafone and Three mast close to here.The vodafone mast is not 3G enabled.There is also an O2 mast on the opposite hills but I dont know if its 3G.
A friend of mine nearby is getting wireless broadband from the Clare hills behind Killaloe.The name of the company is fwi.ie or Arra Communications.He says they restrict some sites you can download from and speed not always good.He is paying €40 a month and thinking of changing to Three.
If you can get good wireless Broadband it will always be better than Mobile Broadband.

bijou

TouchingVirus wrote: »

my parents live rurally and have been on O2 for a few years now, we put an antenna on the roof to improve the signal and it does them just fine

Sorry to go slightly off topic OP but just wondered if TouchingVirus can tell me more about the antenna - we're also on o2 and would love to improve the signal here.

pat13wx

bijou wrote: »

Sorry to go slightly off topic OP but just wondered if TouchingVirus can tell me more about the antenna - we're also on o2 and would love to improve the signal here.

I'd like to know more on this too.:)

Dazza

bijou wrote: »

Sorry to go slightly off topic OP but just wondered if TouchingVirus can tell me more about the antenna - we're also on o2 and would love to improve the signal here.

Here is one I saw a while back.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=71812704&postcount=39

Dazza

Also
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=71430104&postcount=202