Eircom eFibre VDSL/FTTC rollout – plans to reach 1.6m premises by mid 2016

Hogzy

BorneTobyWilde wrote: »

Only three years,
awesome , they can rip up the new roads just after completion,

Is this an answer to my question?

arctan

Sponge Bob wrote: »

UPC will go and fibre an entire estate if the ducting is there an they are in that town on co ax. eircom simply won't tell you what they will do. Amazingly some of the guys planning and laying UPC fibre are also laying eircom fibre but they are subcontractors.

Nobody outside a small team in Dublin is authorised to do or plan anything and the local engineers are completely out of the loop on this FTTx project save that technicians are being trained on installation issues.

eircom have stashed a group of around 30 Chinese engineers somewhere (in HQ or Citywest...they were in HQ before christmas) , these Chinese guys know a lot more than the eircom Area Engineers do.

I presume the Chinese dudes are Huawei network rollout support, with a mixture of product reps when the fight between them and Alcatel Lucent was still on

who are the subcontractors you are on about ? only people I've seen blowing and splicing fibre is Eircom and KN ... have seen numerous different contractors pulling in the subducts though. UPC had Integrated Communications and KN as their main contractors.

Re: people not in the know, it's Eircom, it's the norm, but there are infact a good few who are who've been told to keep quiet. They have provisional timelines, but if fibre uptake is more in a rollout area (particularly FTTH) they will be told to stay put before moving onto the next area.

NGA techs are not only on rollout (network wise), they are on Service delivery and covering faults on any NGA installs, people are still being trained up, but there are a lot of people covering many areas and could use a few more bodies.

Sponge Bob

arctan wrote: »

I presume the Chinese dudes are Huawei network rollout support, with a mixture of product reps when the fight between them and Alcatel Lucent was still on

Not much of a fight, there was apparently only one Alcatel product rep present in Heuston Square late last year when 25 Huawei chappies walked in once they were informed they were the 'preferred bidder' and find us some desks.

Now up to 30 chappies and stashed discreetly somewhere

who are the subcontractors you are on about ? only people I've seen blowing and splicing fibre is Eircom and KN ... have seen numerous different contractors pulling in the subducts though. UPC had Integrated Communications and KN as their main contractors.

KN. UPC give them a lot more authority and wiggle room for planning as they do with another lot of subbies from the South East. With eircom they are only subbies with (very dodgy) plant diagrams. Mind you I saw KN lads on an eircom job near Galway last month...musta been 5 of them...and them all wearing UPC high vis jackets. UPC supply better cold weather gear it seems.

NGA techs are not only on rollout (network wise), they are on Service delivery and covering faults on any NGA installs, people are still being trained up, but there are a lot of people covering many areas and could use a few more bodies.

Some are being pulled off even that much to do schools over the summer.

Alun

Have just done some digging and found that Eircom are supplying a Thomson (now called Technicolor! ) TG799vn all-singing-and-dancing "Home Gateway" for their fibre broadband connections. It has both a DSL port and a GB WAN port so suitable for both FTTC and FTTH setups. Also has a built-in DECT base station which is handy.

http://support.eircom.net/download/ngn/thomson/SetupAndUserGuide_eircom_799.pdf

arctan

they may be getting changed after the pilot phase ... useless for monitored alarms

Alun

arctan wrote: »

they may be getting changed after the pilot phase ... useless for monitored alarms

Why exactly? Most alarms can work with VOIP based phone services as far as I know, including UPC's offering, despite both UPC and Eircom Phonewatch claiming they can't. I seem to remember a recent discussion on the matter either here or on the Home Security Systems forum.

Doylers

Alun wrote: »

Why exactly? Most alarms can work with VOIP based phone services as far as I know, including UPC's offering, despite both UPC and Eircom Phonewatch claiming they can't. I seem to remember a recent discussion on the matter either here or on the Home Security Systems forum.

According to eircom their alarm sends an analog signal but we no upc use all digital for there services. If you no different do tell, I dont want to pay eircom €150 for a gsm unit

Alun

Doylers wrote: »

According to eircom their alarm sends an analog signal but we no upc use all digital for there services. If you no different do tell, I dont want to pay eircom €150 for a gsm unit

The interface presented to your telephone from the phone socket on the UPC router is analogue, just like it would be if connected to an Eircom POTS line. The fact that the signal is then transported in digital form over UPC's network is irrelevant. The same happens in Eircom's network once it reaches the exchange.

See http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056490337 for info on how to do it.

AdamD

There are Eircom people doing work on this right now, in Churchtown (dundrum exchange area), is that a broadband box or something else?

PeadarB

Eircom now advertising 50mb fibre optic for my number in Letterkenny €50 per month with 250Gb limit. Net-talk €10 off-peak, Net-talk Anytime €15 for 6 months. July would be an optimistic rollout when you consider the amount of work to be completed at the cabinets.

stevenf17

Not sure myself adam, but just a note for future posts!
If you click on the link symbol beside the printer symbol in the left pane you can copy the direct link like this http://maps.google.ie/maps?q=Milltown+Drive,+Churchtown,+Dublin+14&hl=en&ll=53.300492,-6.261213&spn=0.000993,0.002922&sll=53.295034,-6.254667&sspn=0.001993,0.005845&oq=mil,+Churchtown,+Dublin+14&t=h&hnear=Milltown+Dr,+Churchtown,+Dublin+14&z=20&layer=c&cbll=53.300424,-6.261312&panoid=iY62hZSRAjLho8v6yH0TYw&cbp=12,272.64,,0,13.38
Just makes it easier for people to have a look around!

arctan

Alun wrote: »

Why exactly? Most alarms can work with VOIP based phone services as far as I know, including UPC's offering, despite both UPC and Eircom Phonewatch claiming they can't. I seem to remember a recent discussion on the matter either here or on the Home Security Systems forum.

probably should have rephrased it .... yes it'll work fine (bar one or two digital systems that seem to go nuts on the router because they can't be reset remotely, although I think it's being ironed out)

but it's a comreg agreement, and a reason for Eircom not to be liable, that they have to leave a monitored alarm system intact, even if the line is faulty (or whatever else) inside etc...

so,

you could get an install, alarm works fine etc... but it is still routed through the router then over VoIP ...

say your house gets a power cut ..

your router (which has no battery back up) is now dead, no phone, no broadband, and no alarm ...

UPC get away with it because it's a Comreg clause, and theres supposidly something in their T&C's too ...

but yeah, Eircom will ask have you got a monitored alarm before an install, if you have, you have to sign a waiver for them to install, or else it's cancelled

jimmad

My number still not showing for fibre on the eircom website, but a few other numbers in the town are, will have to ring and find out I guess.

D'Peoples Voice

Liamario wrote: »

Well, I think you'll be surprised. There assets will go out to different companies etc... UPC 3 mobile will be more than happy to take up some of the lines and hang their cables from them.

D'Peoples Voice wrote: »

fixed that for you!
Think Vodafone mobile and their landline business...
Think emobile(Meteor) and their landline business...
you never know:p

as predicted

Hutchison Whampoa Said to Bid EU2 Billion for Eircom
By Joe Brennan - May 4, 2012 4:21 AM GMT

Billionaire Li Ka-shing’s Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (13) made a bid of about 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion) for Eircom Group, the Irish phone company in supervised credit protection, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The cash offer by Hutchison’s Three Ireland unit was rejected by Ireland’s court-appointed examiner because there were too many conditions attached, said two of the people, who declined to be identified because the discussions are private. Three Ireland will probably make another bid, they said.

Hutchison has said it’s looking to expand its wireless business in Europe.

Sponge Bob

That is rather high, someone else bid €1.7bn for it a few months back.

So with 3 buying O2 and Eirom/meteor they end up with 2/3 of the Mobile Market and eircom customer service will go to that diabolic call centre of theirs in India. Lovely.

Alun

arctan wrote: »

you could get an install, alarm works fine etc... but it is still routed through the router then over VoIP ...

say your house gets a power cut ..

your router (which has no battery back up) is now dead, no phone, no broadband, and no alarm ...

The manual for the router in question mentions that there's an optional PSTN port (only on certain models) and when VOIP is not available it will fall back to this. It's not obvious whether this version will be delivered, or whether POTS is always available with VDSL2 (I'm not really au fait with the standard), or even if this option requires the router to have power or not.

I'm fairly sure I've seen mention of other similar devices like the AVM Fritz!Box that will handle POTS calls even when unpowered.

Mickalus

PeadarB wrote: »

Eircom now advertising 50mb fibre optic for my number in Letterkenny €50 per month with 250Gb limit. Net-talk €10 off-peak, Net-talk Anytime €15 for 6 months. July would be an optimistic rollout when you consider the amount of work to be completed at the cabinets.

Same here - Website says I can get upto 50mb fibre. I called them last night and the system they use on the other end of the phone isn't the same as what the website checks, as their system says Letterkenny still isn't enabled.

Apparently once the engineers give the green light that all is good and ready to go, the system they check up will get updated and then the sales team will be able to sell the fibre.

It's a good sign though that the lines are showing as capable on the website. One of the approximate dates I got from the engineers laying the cable was end of May.

Hogzy

Mickalus wrote: »

Same here - Website says I can get upto 50mb fibre. I called them last night and the system they use on the other end of the phone isn't the same as what the website checks, as their system says Letterkenny still isn't enabled.

Apparently once the engineers give the green light that all is good and ready to go, the system they check up will get updated and then the sales team will be able to sell the fibre.

It's a good sign though that the lines are showing as capable on the website. One of the approximate dates I got from the engineers laying the cable was end of May.

Eircom were working on my local cabinet today. They have been laying cable from the exchange for the passed few weeks. Yet a phone number check still only says that i can get the standard DSL packages. Has Eircom got around to your cabinet yet?

Another Question: In relation to this "Up To 50mb". Im around 300m (direct line of sight), 500m (following the road) from my nearest cabinet. What speeds should i be getting does anyone know?

arctan

Alun wrote: »

The manual for the router in question mentions that there's an optional PSTN port (only on certain models) and when VOIP is not available it will fall back to this. It's not obvious whether this version will be delivered, or whether POTS is always available with VDSL2 (I'm not really au fait with the standard), or even if this option requires the router to have power or not.

I'm fairly sure I've seen mention of other similar devices like the AVM Fritz!Box that will handle POTS calls even when unpowered.

yes there is an option alright to keep your POTS, but then you're paying line rental on top of your Broadband bundle (voip is included on the broadband bundle)

as you'd guess, most migrate over because it'll cost them more to keep the POTS aswell as have the VDSL

there are devices out there (I believe the box you mention is one of them) but they are only on field trial, so they are not expected to get the "Eircom seal of approval" for another 2 or 3 months ...

but as it's still only a pilot phase, snags like this are just accepted (instead of planning for them beforehand)

iMuse

There are new cabinets installed near me but my I can't get service according to the site, Im sure they only update it when its ready to go.

Hogzy wrote: »

Eircom were working on my local cabinet today. They have been laying cable from the exchange for the passed few weeks. Yet a phone number check still only says that i can get the standard DSL packages. Has Eircom got around to your cabinet yet?

Another Question: In relation to this "Up To 50mb". Im around 300m (direct line of sight), 500m (following the road) from my nearest cabinet. What speeds should i be getting does anyone know?

This is from the Handbook someone else posted in the last page or two.

Hogzy

iMuse wrote: »

There are new cabinets installed near me but my I can't get service according to the site, Im sure they only update it when its ready to go.



This is from the Handbook someone else posted in the last page or two.

Thanks. I would love if they put a new cabinet in closer to our house. We live in the middle of a large housing estate, The people further back from me would be a good 800m away from the cabinet. Ill keep my fingers crossed that a new cabinet will be installed closer. Unfortunately for us we cannot get UPC because or neighbours are absolute pricks and wont let them on their property to install cabling.

iMuse

Hogzy wrote: »

Thanks. I would love if they put a new cabinet in closer to our house. We live in the middle of a large housing estate, The people further back from me would be a good 800m away from the cabinet. Ill keep my fingers crossed that a new cabinet will be installed closer. Unfortunately for us we cannot get UPC because or neighbours are absolute pricks and wont let them on their property to install cabling.

Yeah the annoying thing for me is that im 850m by road to a cabinet but less 150m by line of sight, its a pity it didnt come down to line of sight

lucernarian

Those performance stats in the table seem a little conservative, I was able to get 18 mbps on a line 1200 metres long with ADSL2+. It wouldn't be the first time eircom had excessively low expectations for performance over a distance...:rolleyes:

Hogzy

To_be_confirmed wrote: »

Those performance stats in the table seem a little conservative, I was able to get 18 mbps on a line 1200 metres long with ADSL2+. It wouldn't be the first time eircom had excessively low expectations for performance over a distance...:rolleyes:

Thats 1.2km from the exchange. Which isnt really that far at all. Where as if you are 1.2km from your cabinet then you wont be getting good speed from FTTC

Mickalus

Hogzy wrote: »

Eircom were working on my local cabinet today. They have been laying cable from the exchange for the passed few weeks. Yet a phone number check still only says that i can get the standard DSL packages. Has Eircom got around to your cabinet yet?

Yeah, they were at the cabinet a good while ago, I got chatting to them for a bit and saw them installing the fibre. Then only this week they dug another bit around it, and now there's an additional box there, which I think is for power?.

After that was done, the website told me I can get the 25mb or 50 mb packages.
They've been laying cable around Letterkenny for a good while now.

lucernarian

Hogzy wrote: »

Thats 1.2km from the exchange. Which isnt really that far at all. Where as if you are 1.2km from your cabinet then you wont be getting good speed from FTTC

I don't understand what you mean. It would be the same 1200 metres of 0.5mm gauge copper pair whether it's from an exchange-based DSLAM or a DSLAM in a cabinet. These FTTC yokes are for all intents and purposes a phone exchange.

Hogzy

To_be_confirmed wrote: »

I don't understand what you mean. It would be the same 1200 metres of 0.5mm gauge copper pair whether it's from an exchange-based DSLAM or a DSLAM in a cabinet. These FTTC yokes are for all intents and purposes a phone exchange.

Correct me if I am wrong but doesnt the exchange feed the cabinets (with fiber), and the cabinets feed the end user (with double pair). So in relation to FTTC, it is more important being close to the cabinet than it is to be close to the exchange because the exchange doesnt feed cable into the end user.

Exchange

---

(fiber cable)

---

>Cabinet

---

(twisted pair)

---

>End User

lucernarian

That wasn't my point at all. Where I was in Dublin city centre, my line was directly fed from the exchange. Something like 30% or so of the lines in Dublin are directly fed from the exchange with no cabinets involved. I think eircom are going to install VDSL2+ equipment inside exchanges too. In effect, I was over a km from my nearest "cabinet", which happened to be inside the exchange itself. And I got better speeds than that table suggests.


You're right about the importance of being close to the exchange, but my point wasn't about being 1200 metres from the exchange itself. It was that my line was 1200m from the DSLAM and it still got 18mbps. Other people 1200m from the DSLAM (be it in a cabinet or an exchange) should expect slightly higher if anything, with VDSL2.

liamg67

Hi I noticed a numbe rof Eircom vans over the last few days in Dooradoyle - feeding cables through ducts etc - is this in preperation for FTTH. Anyone have details on their planned roll out and which estates will be able to avail of either FTTH or FTTB please?

Sponge Bob

iMuse wrote: »

Yeah the annoying thing for me is that im 850m by road to a cabinet but less 150m by line of sight, its a pity it didnt come down to line of sight

Run your own cable over to the cabinet so.