Smithfield Market D7 Broadband

arsenal

Hi Folks,

Looking for some up to date info please.

Can anyone tell me the best provider for broadband in Smithfield market apartments?
Who are you with, what speeds are you getting, is it consistent and how much are you paying?

As far as I know Magnet, smart and maybe sky (?) are operating in the blocks? Have seen pretty poor reviews of sky on here.

Anyways, any first hand advice would be greatly appreciated!

Steve

arsenal

Anyone?!

(Apologies for bumping this, just hoping someone can offer some advice)

ade90036

Hi arsenal,

The broadband choices in the Smithfield Market are vErY grim.

1) Wired Broadband. UPC is no go as the building has not being wired to support it. UPC said that rewiring the entire complex to support 400+ apartments and 20+offices is too much of investment not being sure if there is enough people switching over to UPC. SmartTelecom are the owner of all the infrastructure in Smithfield Market, so they are not going to let anyone temper with their system. In addition any other provider such as Digiweb, eircom, Magnet, Sky (yes they use wired connection) will connect you but you will be using SmartTelecom infrastructure, which at today standard is totally not adequate. I'm currently using SmartTelecom 24Mb line (theoretical), but I can only achieve a realistic 5-8MB download. The problem is that the wiring in the building needs to be upgrades, CAT5 cables significantly decrease the speed once it stretches over 100m. So fibre backbone need to be put in place to connect each floors, something which is not going to happen as smart telecom only recently entered the market after being a long time in receivership (bankrupt).

2) Mobile devices such as 02, 3, Vodafone (dongles) are only as good as the signal that you receive. Hence if you facing away from a land mass / signal receiver you are in trouble. Plus if you are looking for reliable broadband I would strongly discourage it. Do you know when you call someone and you cannot hear anything. That is when a device switch from a 3G to EDGE (or vice-versa) and your connection is typically dropped / reconnected. The same happens when you are downloading or browsing. So if you only checking email and use Facebook you will be ok. If you use it for streaming watching on-line tv or Skype video calls then I guarantee you will have issues at some point of time.

3) Fixed Wireless, I have not experience with any of these. WiFiMax, WiMAX or equivalent, so someone else should fill in the gap. I friend of mine had one of these boxes installed in his home about 5-6 years ago. He was very happy with it. I think back then it offered 4Mb/4Mb upload and download so it was excellent back then. Im not aware of a similar service.


If the building had a good infrastructure I would advise you to get a Wired Broadband, any will do, unlimited, Fibre if all possible and not the ASDLv2 like it is moment. I'm stuck with Smart at the moment as they offer the best deal. I don't torrent, I don't work from home, I use skype sometimes and I do a lot of browsing, so for the general purpose it is sufficient.

I'm eagerly waiting for the eFibre to come around to see if Digiweb (which bailed out SmartTelecom in their soaring times) or Eircom are going to spend some money on the complex.

I think the power sits with the peoples in the Smithfield Markter complex. If they all signed a petition and it was sent to the Broadband regulator or whatever government body which is in place to govern "fair competition", then it is be possible that SmartTelecom could be thrown out.

I'm not a lawyer, I'm a IT Engineer, so some should seek if this road is possible.

Regards and good luck.

Salvacam

Let's make a petition on line and count us...

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/broadband-in-smithfield-market/

willycat

Hi, is there someone who could make a quick update of the situation of Broadband providers in Smithflield Market?

Is the wired SmartTelecom original infraestructure still the same? Did Eircom, Magnet, Digiweb (which took over SmartTelecom) or anyone else spent some money on these buildings to upgrade equipment or put fibre? I would appreciate any update about the current situation. I contacted UPC and they're still out of Smithfield Market, and they have no plans to be there in a while.

I don't want to be stuck for 12/18 months with a monthly ~50€ connection to get only 6MB on my line, so any advice would help

ade90036

SmartTelecom was overtaken by digiweb. They have done some work on the lines. But this was just to stabilize some speed issues. I have been billed by digiweb now.

Originally their technical team thought that the connection speed was verified by checking the router synching speed to their exchange. This is the same was that you connect your computer to a wired network. You synching speed with could be 10/100/1000 AND this is not your actual speed.

So, theoretically, there is 24 mb, however it all depens on how lucky you are. I've annoyed the b jesus out of customer service because I was not getting the full speed. I was only getting 15 mb at best an this was during off peak hours. Eventually they moved my ip address to a different subnet and I was I get 22mb.

Be aware, IF they can't provide with the service they have advertise then you are entitled to refund. This is what I had done before, when my speeds where 3-5Mb. They said that they could not fix the issue so I've said I want to be refunded. So they did for a whone year untill they fixed the line.

To be honest, the speed is ok, but it is burst speed and it is not maintained. There are a lot 0 dropped packets and random ping going above and beyond 800 ms. 480 ms, is you average ping from satellite which is 23000 miles away. Digiweb have said that their exchange is withing the building so the lines are really bad. No hope for fibre in the foreseeable future. They could install it but the spend that the tenants would get would be no near to the acclaimed speeds.

Much better that used to be... no where near to service we should be entitled in metropolitan area in the capital and being so close to city center and the national / international exchange which I believe is near blanchardstown.

colm_mcm

If they advertise up to 24mb and you get 5, then you don't usually have any comeback. If they're advertising 24mb then that's different.

ade90036

colm_mcm wrote: »

If they advertise up to 24mb and you get 5, then you don't usually have any comeback. If they're advertising 24mb then that's different.

You are correct, although if can prove that the broadband the service is always under-performing and nowhere near at what they claim then you really have a figating chanse.

colm_mcm

That's not the same as what you said though.

arturmartins

Called UPC today and they said that they are not able to provide service in Smithfield Market (they do not have any clients there).

Magnet Networks (my current ISP) is physically unable to provide better speeds than 2Mbps/1Mbps: url:(bit ly/19ITvuI)


Unfortunately, it seems that Eircom is the one of the few that you can use in Smithfield Market. Their current plan "eircom Broadband Advanced Unlimited" is 24Mb, costs 58 euros (with 18 months contract), but they warn that max speed possible is up to 12Mb (50% loss).

Which ISP to choose:
IRELAND ISP SPEED INDEX: url (ispspeedindex netflix com/ireland)

arturmartins

Since previous post says that SmartTelecom (now Digiweb) owns the infrastructure, I went to them to ask for plans. I got the following offers (none are available on the website):


"- For only €39.95 p/m we can give you our Super Fast broadband up to 24mb download speed, you also get a massive traffic allowance of 350gb[...]. We will also give you free Anytime calls to landlines in Ireland and the UK and 30 mins anytime to mobiles in Ireland and the UK@

"- For only €34.95 p/m we can give you our Super Fast broadband up to 24mb download speed, you also get a massive traffic allowance of 350gb[...]. We will also give you free off peak calls to landlines in Ireland and the UK and 30 mins off peak to mobiles in Ireland and the UK"

- For only €29.95 p/m we can give your our Super Fast broadband up to 24mb download speed, you also get a massive traffic allowance of 350gb[...]."

"There is no contract".
"The set up of the service is free."

the fact that digiweb website is outdated (prices 2012, updated on 2013, etc), no terms and conditions document, poor ratings (url: ratemyisp ie/ratings/digiweb/), gives me high concerns.

willycat

Allowance of 350 GB = ridiculous

SKY gives the same connection and no allowance for 30e/6 months, 40e afterwards. Vodafone will be 38e/month and no allowance too, soon.

I wouldn't go with Digiweb.

I am currently switching from Eircom to Sky, due to terrible broadband performance on peak times, we'll see. Anyway I wouldn't go to any capped connection.

arturmartins

willycat wrote: »

Allowance of 350 GB = ridiculous

SKY gives the same connection and no allowance for 30e/6 months, 40e afterwards. Vodafone will be 38e/month and no allowance too, soon.

I wouldn't go with Digiweb.

I am currently switching from Eircom to Sky, due to terrible broadband performance on peak times, we'll see. Anyway I wouldn't go to any capped connection.

Thanks for sharing that info, willycat.

I have 2 questions for you, if you don't mind:
1. - Are you currently based in Smithfield Market?
2. - Which are the upstream/downstream speeds you usually get?


Unsure if Digiweb is a good choise (nothing sounds like a good deal, to be honest).

arturmartins

BTW, I just called Sky and they are not able to offer me any service, since I don't have a phone number (Magnet Broadband FAT PIPE 24 plan do not offer phone)

willycat

arturmartins: If you live in Smithfield Market, you can get a phone line for sure. Or you can try Vodafone Simply Broadband (currently 35€/month, will be 38€/month from April). It's a good price and they will install everything for you.

For now, it's capped at 300 GB / month but from April this limitation will go away. Confirm it with them.

About speeds: you'll get between 6 and 10 MB on your regular Broadband line in Smithfield Market, no matter what provider you pick. It's unsure when Fibre will be available here. If you check Fibre coverage in Eircom's website, apparently all Dublin city center has Fibre coverage except this spot. Yeah, pretty weird, you can thank the useless guys from Wyse management (company who manages the building) as they are the ones who got Smithfield Market isolated from all good Broadband deals available. They even blocked UPC from providing their services here, thanks Wyse, hope you get broke soon.

So, this lets anyone on Smithfield Market with only regular Broadband options: Eircom, SKY, Vodafone and others (Magnet, Digiweb...).

I would stay the hell away of Eircom at all costs. TERRIBLE broadband performance on peak times, the most ultracongested broadband I've ever seen, a problem that has been there for more than a year and they are not solving. They throttle and reroute their customers over the busiest and most congested international nodes, resulting in dramatic loss of speed and performance. And don't you consider ever calling their atrocious Customer Service, it would make you want to jump out of the window. No one takes notes of anything, 10 calls will get you 10 different answers (most of them totally opposed as the other ones), you could be even insulted or treated like an idiot just for complaining, or they will tell you it's your fault for using WiFi (yeah), or send you an engineer to "fix your faulty line". Have fun with the engineer when he shows up and tells you line is okay and Eircom's network is a mess. Or even better, have fun yourself after taking a day off your work and engineer doesn't show up. Eircom's forums are full of desperate people who are tied to a contract with Eircom, people left without internet for months, people being triple-charged ... lots of crap there, avoid at all costs.

Sky: can't really tell, I am just switching to them, so far they seem extremly competent and ready to answer or attend you. They were superfast sending the router (was at home 36h after order was placed). Will see. Probably SKY seems heaven to me, coming from Eircom. But a couple of monkeys trying to interact after 10 pints of Guinness would seem more competent to me than Eircom, so ...

I don't expect a superhugefast broadband in SKY, like the 120MB/240MB lines in UPC would perform, but I would be happy to have my 7-10 MB line performing as a 7-10MB line 24h a day, not just at 6am as it happens with Eircom. I know a couple of guys who happen to have Sky broadband and they say it's stable and CS reacted fast every time they had a problem. 12 month contract, 30€/month for 6 months, then 40. If you are in a Fibre enabled area, you can upgrade but will be required to pay +10€ per month.

Vodafone: have a couple of friends using, more or less same opinions as in SKY. 18 months contract (oh), but 38€/month forever is a good price. Also, if you are in a Fibre enabled zone, you can upgrade for free.

Side note: I don't expect Fibre being available in Smithfield Market soon, again THANKS WYSE MANAGEMENT!

arturmartins

I signed up to Digiweb, since my neighbour is using it for 2 years now and speed test results were (yesterday at 21:00): downstream: 12Mbps upstream: 0.8 Mbps

I decided for "Home Broadband & Phone", 30 euros per month:
http:// www. digiweb. ie/home/bundles/smart-broadband-phone

pros:
- based on my neighbour speedtest, is 6x faster than what Magnet is able to provide
- is also less 6 euros that I am paying to Magnet
- includes a phone (but no minutes)
- refer a friend program (get 1 month free)

cons:
- 350 GB allowance - 350GB is more than enough for me (I doubt that I use more than 100GB a month).

They have a refer program, which means that I will not pay for the 2nd month:
https:// twitter. com/Digiweb_Ireland/status/559738486543380480

I will post my Digiweb speedtest results, after I have it installed next week.

willycat

12MB down and near 1 up is probably the maximum speed you can get at this time in Smithfield Market, lucky you! If you don't really mind the 350GB cap, then you're good to go!

errlloyd

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but thinking of renting in the area.

Is Smithfield market the new development on the West Side of the square (opposite side to Generator and Jameson) and if so, is the broadband situation terrible? Also is there any option for digital TV or does the lack of Fibre prevent that?

Bad broadband would not be a deal breaker for me, but it would suck.

willycat

There's no Fibre option, as the incompetent WYSE management company blocked everything they could over the last years. UPC is not here, neither is regular eFibre (Eircom, SKY, Vodafone), so you will be stuck with a regular Broadband connection "UP" to 10MB, but most probably you will have a line of about 6-8 MB.

When UPC was expanding his optic Fibre network they were deined to enter the premises, so Smithfield Market ended up isolated. Also, as I said, there is not regular eFibre either, due to WYSE incompetency.

Take a look at the current eFibre coverage in Dublin City Center in the image attached. See the greyed/blacked area in the middle? That's Smithfield.

Actually, the guys at the other side of the square (Jameson's Distillery side) don't have eFibre either, BUT THEY HAVE UPC Fibre, which is in fact much better.

Don't expect the situation to improve anytime soon. If you want to live in Smithfield Market, you will have a 6MB Broadband line, period. You will be paying an expensive Broadband connection to have only 6MB, yes, and your neighbours will have 120MB or 250MB for even less money. Yes. That's Smithfield Market.

Oh, and stay away from Eircom and their terrible peak times!

Dandelion6

Just been told by management, the fibre has now been installed by UPC, it's still to be distributed but "won't be long".

willycat

Wow that's surprising news Dandelion, but I won't believe it until it's here. Management company here is always claiming lots of good things will happen and they never end up happening.

ade90036

Dandelion6 wrote: »

Just been told by management, the fibre has now been installed by UPC, it's still to be distributed but "won't be long".

Hi Dandelion6,

that's a great news..
Would you be able to share whom shared this information with you? (Gerry, WYSE)?
Also do you know if works have begun on a specific block? I know that certain blocks already have UPC, as TV service only, just wondering if those will be prioritised first.

For those leaving in Smithfield Market, you should try to find out where the end of year Management Company review is held... At the end, there is usually space for Q&A.
That would a good place to raise those questions and actually get them actioned.

Dandelion6

Got this in the postbox today

DjTaz

I rang them yesterday and they seemed quite positive that it was all good to go there , so i asked to get the broadband installed.

€45 for the 240MB unlimited so they took my details (Block A) and im told ill have someone in contact with me very shortly.
Ill update as i go.

DjTaz

DjTaz wrote: »

I rang them yesterday and they seemed quite positive that it was all good to go there , so i asked to get the broadband installed.

€45 for the 240MB unlimited so they took my details (Block A) and im told ill have someone in contact with me very shortly.
Ill update as i go.

Just to keep everyone up to date , i got a call from them to say there were some issues they were trying to resolve but they hope to have it resolved this week sometime. fingers crossed.

DjTaz

Another quick update on this (as i asked today again about it) and i have to say they do seem to be very confident about it all.

Hi ******,

Sorry for the late reply!
Just to update you Virgin Media have assured us that the issue should be resolved within the next 2 weeks.
Sorry I know it’s a pain but there will 100% be Virgin Media in your building. They are just trying to get it up and running properly.
If you have any other queries do not hesitate to contact me here or call us on 019696091.

Kind Regards,

errlloyd

Thanks man, this does make a difference.

willycat

Quick question: what has Property Button to do with UPC/Virgin Media? I mean, can't we just order a package from Virgin Media website as usual when it becames available? Why do we have to go through Property Button? What's the deal there? Because probably we can't use the Boards.ie deal with them.

khurtham

DjTaz wrote: »

Another quick update on this (as i asked today again about it) and i have to say they do seem to be very confident about it all.

Hi there. I just moved to the Block A and found these problem. I called VirginMedia this morning and they took my phone number to call me when it will be possible to install their 120/240Mbps broadband in there. Any other news about it?

Thanks

mccannio88

khurtham wrote: »

Hi there. I just moved to the Block A and found these problem. I called VirginMedia this morning and they took my phone number to call me when it will be possible to install their 120/240Mbps broadband in there. Any other news about it?

Thanks

I rang property button last week and was told I would receive my router either last week or early this week, got an email confirmation of my order from Virgin Media as well at the time.
No word as of yet, rang this evening asking was there any update and they said there was a snag installing the line but it should be ready within next 2 weeks. (Block C) You can still place your order with them now.

One question I do have for anyone else who ordered it, Property Button told me that virgin will post the router out to me and I can self-install, given the aging current Digiweb/Smart Telecom infrastructure I'm suprised that an engineer doesn't have to come out to upgrade the telephone point to take a fibre connection or at least the wired connection box in the hall of each apartment?

bk

mccannio88 wrote: »

One question I do have for anyone else who ordered it, Property Button told me that virgin will post the router out to me and I can self-install, given the aging current Digiweb/Smart Telecom infrastructure I'm suprised that an engineer doesn't have to come out to upgrade the telephone point to take a fibre connection or at least the wired connection box in the hall of each apartment?

Virgin Media's service is delivered over TV coax cable, NOT via the telephone connection.

Are your apartments already wired for some sort of UPC/Virgin TV service? Or perhaps a TV aerial or Sky satellite?

If it is, then it is possible that this TV coax cable runs back to a central room in the building and therefore Virgin can just put their gear in this room connected to these cables and you in turn just connect the supplied router to the output of the TV connection in the wall in your apartment.

Assuming this is the setup, then there is no need for a Virgin engineer to visit your apartment, it is pretty easy plug and play.

mccannio88

bk wrote: »

Virgin Media's service is delivered over TV coax cable, NOT via the telephone connection.

Are your apartments already wired for some sort of UPC/Virgin TV service? Or perhaps a TV aerial or Sky satellite?

If it is, then it is possible that this TV coax cable runs back to a central room in the building and therefore Virgin can just put their gear in this room connected to these cables and you in turn just connect the supplied router to the output of the TV connection in the wall in your apartment.

Assuming this is the setup, then there is no need for a Virgin engineer to visit your apartment, it is pretty easy plug and play.

Ah This makes sense, there is a Sky satellite in the building and a coax socket in the apartments. If I have sky TV in I presume I'll have to get a splitter in to be able to run both the virgin broadband and have Sky TV, or would this interfere with the service?

bk

mccannio88 wrote: »

Ah This makes sense, there is a Sky satellite in the building and a coax socket in the apartments. If I have sky TV in I presume I'll have to get a splitter in to be able to run both the virgin broadband and have Sky TV, or would this interfere with the service?

A good quality coax cable should be able to carry both Sky and Virgin TV and Broadband on the same cable, as they use very different frequency ranges.

However various issues can stop that from working properly, including bad quality coax, various splitters/filters/multiplexers causing interference, etc. and even who owns the cable (purely political issue).

So it is technically possible, but unfortunately no guarantee.

colm_mcm

usually unless there's an actual upc socket in the apartment they need to send a technician. no point in ordering self instal unless you have one. a quick look at the upc talk to forum will show you how much hassle it is when this happens.

willycat

After checking with a Virgin Media rep, they've assured that if an Engineer needs to go to these apartments to set up a Virgin Media box for the broadband, they will charge an extra 80€ for that.

I don't know about you guys, but I am not willing to pay this nonsense fee.

colm_mcm

Virgin Media box is a TV box.

There is normally a €60 modem fee, and €20 if you choose not to self install, or if you live in an address (like I do) where self install isn't available.

On the website, they're not charging for the modem, so you'd pay €20.

willycat

I know about the box, I had UPC before in other apartments. There's a box and then the splitter so you have 1 for the Digital TV and 1 for the Broadband. But still an engineer has to come to install it, doesn't matter if you have not purchased a Digital TV package, as it's needed for the Broadband too.

20€ would not be a big deal. I can cope with that.

Update: a Virgin Media rep just confirmed me the 80€ (60€ for the box and 20€ for the visit) is a standard charge when an outlet box is not available, so aparently this charge is not related to the router.

colm_mcm

Call them up, tell them the last person you talked to said they would do the install for €20.
Repeat till you get it.

willycat

I'll give it a try. I know (by some friends) they're offering a 50% discount 6 / 12 months to customers who just ended the contract, to sign again another 12 months contract. Then why the hell wouldn't they do that for new customers? Why penalise people who just wants to contract your services with an upfront fee of 80€ + other penalisations?

DjTaz

I just rang asking for an update there as i still don't have anything. He said he believes one of his colleagues told me that there was a 2 week delay , to which i agreed and mentioned that it was now 3 weeks.
He said he was onto Virgin earlier as someone else had rang about it and is waiting for them to get back to him about it all and will give me a ring later as soon as he has any more updates.

I know Property Button as stuck in the middle so its awkward for them , but its frustrating for us too when we are told its there and then it isnt - we need solid information . I may ring Virgin myself directly later !

willycat

Hey DjTaz, one Virgin Media rep told me he checked with the Engineers deploying the Fibre line and apparently they expected to have it completed by the end of this week, so orders could start to come over early next week.

Of course being Ireland and being UPC you can just multiply this values by 2 or 3, so I think we can aim at 1st / 2nd week of December as a reasonable date for Virgin Media being actually available there.

To be fair, Property Button shouldn't have sent these ads claiming UPC was available, as they sent them 1 month ago and UPC is still not available now. It's their fault for sending them before UPC being actually available.

DjTaz

willycat wrote: »

Hey DjTaz, one Virgin Media rep told me he checked with the Engineers deploying the Fibre line and apparently they expected to have it completed by the end of this week, so orders could start to come over early next week.

Of course being Ireland and being UPC you can just multiply this values by 2 or 3, so I think we can aim at 1st / 2nd week of December as a reasonable date for Virgin Media being actually available there.

To be fair, Property Button shouldn't have sent these ads claiming UPC was available, as they sent them 1 month ago and UPC is still not available now. It's their fault for sending them before UPC being actually available.

I have to agree , and every time i ring them they say One more week (i signed up on the 28th of last month and still nothing). Last time i rang i was told everything is now in place and they are beginning the installs but i have a feeling that was a delay tactic as ive heard nothing and rang monday and tuesday.

willycat

Hey DjTaz,

Looks like VirginMedia is finally available there (since Monday, if you enter your apartment details, it shows as available). I have already placed my order, and an engineer is coming over the next few days to install it.

Just to confirm: Installation cost is 20€, as self-installation is not available. But not 60+20, just 20.

notonlyhuman

Just as an update, I called Property Button today to ask if my order is still on the way. They called Virgin Media and I received an email from Virgin Media stating the engineer is coming tomorrow. Fingers crossed...

willycat

I already got it since last friday I ordered the Boards Offer (50€ voucher) last Wednesday, and Friday got it installed. They're using the optical fibre connection available in the apartments, so the installation is really quick and no extra wires are needed, they just install the box where the optical fibre is, and that's it. 242MB line

df3n5

willycat wrote: »

I already got it since last friday I ordered the Boards Offer (50€ voucher) last Wednesday, and Friday got it installed. They're using the optical fibre connection available in the apartments, so the installation is really quick and no extra wires are needed, they just install the box where the optical fibre is, and that's it. 242MB line

Could you post speedtest results? Very excited about this.

willycat

Here

I was getting "only" 135 MB at first (lol ONLY, I am coming from a 6MB line) when my router was on IPV6.

As I need port forwarding (which does not work with IPV4) I contacted Virgin Media reps and asked them to activate IPV4 for me. After it was done, my line was at 243

This is of course using a wired connection. If you use Wi-Fi, you would get between 80MB (using 5GHz wifi mode) or around 35 (using 2.4GHz wifi mode).

df3n5

Thanks. I am ordering now. Getting 3Mb at the moment, this will change my life.

bk

willycat wrote: »

I already got it since last friday I ordered the Boards Offer (50€ voucher) last Wednesday, and Friday got it installed. They're using the optical fibre connection available in the apartments, so the installation is really quick and no extra wires are needed, they just install the box where the optical fibre is, and that's it. 242MB line

That is new and interesting.

The first FTTH install I've heard of from Virgin!

Can you take pictures of the setup?

Is it a fiber connection going into one box and a coax cable coming out of that and then into the router?

Or is the fiber connection going directly into the router?

willycat

It's the same as all UPC boxes out there have (like the one I had before in my former apartment), just now it says Virgin Media instead of UPC.

Not sure if it's FFTH or not, but I'd bet it's exactly the same type of connection they've been installing for years.

bk

willycat wrote: »

It's the same as all UPC boxes out there have (like the one I had before in my former apartment), just now it says Virgin Media instead of UPC.

Not sure if it's FFTH or not, but I'd bet it's exactly the same type of connection they've been installing for years.

So not FTTH so, probably Fiber to The Basement and then coax up to each apartment.