Possible to test line for data before signing up to contract?

tooth*grinder

Having being caught by Eircom before with a line that gave me at best 120kbps and yet still having to pay line rental for the line as it was still a viable phone line.
Is there a way for someone to see what quality the line is before signing on for a contract with Eircom?

eircom: Alan

tooth*grinder wrote: »

Having being caught by Eircom before with a line that gave me at best 120kbps and yet still having to pay line rental for the line as it was still a viable phone line.
Is there a way for someone to see what quality the line is before signing on for a contract with Eircom?

Hi tooth*grinder

Yes, please PM me the existing or old phone number and address. I'll look in to this for you

Thanks
Al

Falcon L

There is a way. Most technicians carry a device that they can plug into your socket at home and tell you what speed the line can handle. Eircom will not do this for you on any official level though.

As an aside: I'm with Vodafone for phone and broadband. When I asked Eircom sales people if they could provide broadband in my area the answer was that they would guarantee nothing and that I must sign a contract first and see if broadband was possible. Vodafone, who resell Eircom services, said "of course you can have broadband" sold me the service, then made Eircom provide broadband.

I understand the mechanics of the service, but Eircom are losing new customers because of their stance on this.

tooth*grinder

eircom: Alan wrote: »

tooth*grinder wrote: »

Having being caught by Eircom before with a line that gave me at best 120kbps and yet still having to pay line rental for the line as it was still a viable phone line.
Is there a way for someone to see what quality the line is before signing on for a contract with Eircom?

Hi tooth*grinder

Yes, please PM me the existing or old phone number and address. I'll look in to this for you

Thanks
Al

Sorry there's been no phone line there for the guts of a decade. The exchange which is no more than 70 meters from the property. According to your website the exchange is not fibre enabled but should be able to provide a standard "upto 24MB" connection. Given the distances involved, as long as the copper between the house and the exchange is ok, we should be able to get a decent connection. However I've no way of knowing and I am not paying a years worth of line rental to you to find out.
Sounds like if I enter a contract with another supplier Eircom will be forced to repair the line if the connection is bad enough? 

eircom: Alan

tooth*grinder wrote: »

eircom: Alan wrote: »

tooth*grinder wrote: »

Having being caught by Eircom before with a line that gave me at best 120kbps and yet still having to pay line rental for the line as it was still a viable phone line.
Is there a way for someone to see what quality the line is before signing on for a contract with Eircom?

Hi tooth*grinder

Yes, please PM me the existing or old phone number and address. I'll look in to this for you

Thanks
Al

Sorry there's been no phone line there for the guts of a decade. The exchange which is no more than 70 meters from the property. According to your website the exchange is not fibre enabled but should be able to provide a standard "upto 24MB" connection. Given the distances involved, as long as the copper between the house and the exchange is ok, we should be able to get a decent connection. However I've no way of knowing and I am not paying a years worth of line rental to you to find out.
Sounds like if I enter a contract with another supplier Eircom will be forced to repair the line if the connection is bad enough? 

Hi tooth*grinder

Ultimately a line will need to be installed but if the line cannot hold broadband I can confirm eircom will no be forced in to providing broadband by another provider as it's not a guaranteed service and hold no universal obligation of installation like a phone line holds.

If there was an old number in use within last 18 months I could check it to offer an indication of what speeds to expect.

Being at a distance of 70mtrs to the exchange is very encouraging though.

Cheers
Al

tooth*grinder

So in other words eircom's policy is to pay up front, and if the product or service doesn't perform to required standards - Tough.
Thanks for that, I can now consider my due diligence performed and yet again the results are anyone but eircom.

eircom: Alan

tooth*grinder wrote: »

So in other words eircom's policy is to pay up front, and if the product or service doesn't perform to required standards - Tough.
Thanks for that, I can now consider my due diligence performed and yet again the results are anyone but eircom.

Hi tooth*grinder



That wouldn't be the message I would like to convey but I understand your interpretation and I apologise that I can't offer better news.


Al

tooth*grinder

eircom: Alan wrote: »

tooth*grinder wrote: »

So in other words eircom's policy is to pay up front, and if the product or service doesn't perform to required standards - Tough.
Thanks for that, I can now consider my due diligence performed and yet again the results are anyone but eircom.

Hi tooth*grinder



That wouldn't be the message I would like to convey but I understand your interpretation and I apologise that I can't offer better news.


Al

I've no doubt its not the message Eircom would like to convey all right! 
For the consumer though its clearly the policy and message that should be read.

Zimmerframe

Also bear in mind, that if you are not in a next generation or fibre area, then your line speed tests may be irrelevant.
Eg. my phone line is pretty good rated at  > 6Mb.
Despite this I rarely ever get even 0.5 Mb.
Tried Eircom and Vodafone and one is as bad as the other for the simple reason, the exchange is crap and nobody is going to upgrade it.
Despite having "landline Dsl", I have to use my mobile if I want to download anything.




and before that :

rayfitzharris

eircom: Alan wrote: »

Ultimately a line will need to be installed but if the line cannot hold broadband I can confirm eircom will no be forced in to providing broadband by another provider as it's not a guaranteed service and hold no universal obligation of installation like a phone line holds.

If there was an old number in use within last 18 months I could check it to offer an indication of what speeds to expect.

Being at a distance of 70mtrs to the exchange is very encouraging though.

Cheers
Al

Hi Alan,
Can you confirm what this universal service obligation means in relation to phone lines?

eircom: Alan

rayfitzharris wrote: »

eircom: Alan wrote: »

Ultimately a line will need to be installed but if the line cannot hold broadband I can confirm eircom will no be forced in to providing broadband by another provider as it's not a guaranteed service and hold no universal obligation of installation like a phone line holds.

If there was an old number in use within last 18 months I could check it to offer an indication of what speeds to expect.

Being at a distance of 70mtrs to the exchange is very encouraging though.

Cheers
Al

Hi Alan,
Can you confirm what this universal service obligation means in relation to phone lines?

Hi rayfitzharris

Please follow here for more details:

http://www.askcomreg.ie/tell_us/universal_service_obligation___what_it_means_for_your_phone_service.264.LE.asp

Thanks
Al

tooth*grinder

eircom: Alan wrote: »

rayfitzharris wrote: »

eircom: Alan wrote: »

Ultimately a line will need to be installed but if the line cannot hold broadband I can confirm eircom will no be forced in to providing broadband by another provider as it's not a guaranteed service and hold no universal obligation of installation like a phone line holds.

If there was an old number in use within last 18 months I could check it to offer an indication of what speeds to expect.

Being at a distance of 70mtrs to the exchange is very encouraging though.

Cheers
Al

Hi Alan,
Can you confirm what this universal service obligation means in relation to phone lines?

Hi rayfitzharris

Please follow here for more details:

http://www.askcomreg.ie/tell_us/universal_service_obligation___what_it_means_for_your_phone_service.264.LE.asp

Thanks
Al

Eircom are looking to hook you for a 12 month minimum period to try and generate some revenue from a crumbling network that is no longer fit for purpose by any reasonable definition in the context of today's tech customer needs (who needs a phone line in this country anymore that isn't covered by a mobile operator?). The law is on Eircom's side on this, it is a really bad law in my opinion, but as it stands, Eircom don't care, they want you to pay them.

The take home here is: if you have access to any internet or telephone service that does not use the "copper wire network" (i.e fiber or mobile) use it. Sky, Vodafone, Imagine etc... all use Eircom's old network and crucially are not allowed to make improvements to it, they have to ask Eircom to do so. Eircom have neither the time, money or desire to repair/maintain/upgrade the network. 

If you want a decent internet connection, go with a optical fiber provider, if you don't have access to a fiber connection look for satellite or mobile solutions either will be far better than the "up to 24mb" connections which use the Eircom copper wire network.
From a personal point of view, based on Eircom's policies, history and service levels, I would say Eircom should be your service provider of last resort.

Couldnt agree more Tooth Grinder.

Im a few months Eircom broadband free now and kicking myself for not leaving them earlier. Im in a rural area so options are limited.

Went from Eircom's "up to 24mb" (in actual fact 0.78mb on a good day) to 15mb from a local satellite provider. Its also €5 cheaper per month. Havent had one problem with them compared to the nonsense which was Eircom.
 And as for their CS....I think a read of a few threads on here can sum that up better than I ever could.

rayfitzharris

tooth*grinder wrote: »

Eircom are looking to hook you for a 12 month minimum period to try and generate some revenue from a crumbling network that is no longer fit for purpose by any reasonable definition in the context of today's tech customer needs (who needs a phone line in this country anymore that isn't covered by a mobile operator?). The law is on Eircom's side on this, it is a really bad law in my opinion, but as it stands, Eircom don't care, they want you to pay them.

The take home here is: if you have access to any internet or telephone service that does not use the "copper wire network" (i.e fiber or mobile) use it. Sky, Vodafone, Imagine etc... all use Eircom's old network and crucially are not allowed to make improvements to it, they have to ask Eircom to do so. Eircom have neither the time, money or desire to repair/maintain/upgrade the network. 

If you want a decent internet connection, go with a optical fiber provider, if you don't have access to a fiber connection look for satellite or mobile solutions either will be far better than the "up to 24mb" connections which use the Eircom copper wire network.
From a personal point of view, based on Eircom's policies, history and service levels, I would say Eircom should be your service provider of last resort.

Thanks tooth grinder, but I've no other option I'm afraid. I'm in a rural area and am currently suffering with a wireless provider that is both crazy expensive and has a tiny download cap of 70Gigs pm.

My full story; is that I built a house last year. During construction I had an eircom engineer visit and advise me of where to run the ducting to.

I did exactly as was asked and later that month they came back to erect a pole and run the line across the road. Only now they realised there was a esb line within 6 meters of where they wanted to put the pole.

As their line was across the (rural, 2.5m wide) road and they informed me they would not bring it across the road for me. No way, sorry sonny you're fresh out of luck. Never mind that it criss crosses under the same esb line 3 times within 200m of my house.

I've just learned of the universal service obligation, from this thread, and armed with the comreg link I decided to give it another shot.

Had an eircom engineer out to the house again today who confirmed again that there was nothing they could do unless I applied for the permits and ran a duct under the road myself they couldn't supply me with a phone line! Universal service my a**.

I mentioned the €7000 cost of supply limit from the comreg link. He never heard of this and looked at me like I had 2 heads. He did say that they would normally cover the cost of erecting up to 6 poles. I asked if he thought it would cost more to erect 6 poles or to mole machine under the road and the reply was that it didn't matter as eircom would not cross the road for me.

My next stop is comreg, although I don't hold out much hope, I suspect they'll be fairly spineless and tootless (probably not from grinding though)

MarkAnthony

rayfitzharris wrote: »

tooth*grinder wrote: »

Eircom are looking to hook you for a 12 month minimum period to try and generate some revenue from a crumbling network that is no longer fit for purpose by any reasonable definition in the context of today's tech customer needs (who needs a phone line in this country anymore that isn't covered by a mobile operator?). The law is on Eircom's side on this, it is a really bad law in my opinion, but as it stands, Eircom don't care, they want you to pay them.

The take home here is: if you have access to any internet or telephone service that does not use the "copper wire network" (i.e fiber or mobile) use it. Sky, Vodafone, Imagine etc... all use Eircom's old network and crucially are not allowed to make improvements to it, they have to ask Eircom to do so. Eircom have neither the time, money or desire to repair/maintain/upgrade the network. 

If you want a decent internet connection, go with a optical fiber provider, if you don't have access to a fiber connection look for satellite or mobile solutions either will be far better than the "up to 24mb" connections which use the Eircom copper wire network.
From a personal point of view, based on Eircom's policies, history and service levels, I would say Eircom should be your service provider of last resort.

Thanks tooth grinder, but I've no other option I'm afraid. I'm in a rural area and am currently suffering with a wireless provider that is both crazy expensive and has a tiny download cap of 70Gigs pm.

My full story; is that I built a house last year. During construction I had an eircom engineer visit and advise me of where to run the ducting to.

I did exactly as was asked and later that month they came back to erect a pole and run the line across the road. Only now they realised there was a esb line within 6 meters of where they wanted to put the pole.

As their line was across the (rural, 2.5m wide) road and they informed me they would not bring it across the road for me. No way, sorry sonny you're fresh out of luck. Never mind that it criss crosses under the same esb line 3 times within 200m of my house.

I've just learned of the universal service obligation, from this thread, and armed with the comreg link I decided to give it another shot.

Had an eircom engineer out to the house again today who confirmed again that there was nothing they could do unless I applied for the permits and ran a duct under the road myself they couldn't supply me with a phone line! Universal service my a**.

I mentioned the €7000 cost of supply limit from the comreg link. He never heard of this and looked at me like I had 2 heads. He did say that they would normally cover the cost of erecting up to 6 poles. I asked if he thought it would cost more to erect 6 poles or to mole machine under the road and the reply was that it didn't matter as eircom would not cross the road for me.

My next stop is comreg, although I don't hold out much hope, I suspect they'll be fairly spineless and tootless (probably not from grinding though)

If you're rural why are you bothering with Eircom? You'd likely be on a crappy rural exchange if you can get broadband at all.

rayfitzharris

MarkAnthony wrote: »

If you're rural why are you bothering with Eircom? You'd likely be on a crappy rural exchange if you can get broadband at all.

Hi MarkAnthony,
I'd likely get the same speed as my next door neighbour which is the same as my wireless connection only with no cap. Also I see it as the only possible way to open the door to get fiber eventually. Not that I believe much in the new national broadband plan..

tooth*grinder

rayfitzharris wrote: »

tooth*grinder wrote: »

Eircom are looking to hook you for a 12 month minimum period to try and generate some revenue from a crumbling network that is no longer fit for purpose by any reasonable definition in the context of today's tech customer needs (who needs a phone line in this country anymore that isn't covered by a mobile operator?). The law is on Eircom's side on this, it is a really bad law in my opinion, but as it stands, Eircom don't care, they want you to pay them.

The take home here is: if you have access to any internet or telephone service that does not use the "copper wire network" (i.e fiber or mobile) use it. Sky, Vodafone, Imagine etc... all use Eircom's old network and crucially are not allowed to make improvements to it, they have to ask Eircom to do so. Eircom have neither the time, money or desire to repair/maintain/upgrade the network. 

If you want a decent internet connection, go with a optical fiber provider, if you don't have access to a fiber connection look for satellite or mobile solutions either will be far better than the "up to 24mb" connections which use the Eircom copper wire network.
From a personal point of view, based on Eircom's policies, history and service levels, I would say Eircom should be your service provider of last resort.

Thanks tooth grinder, but I've no other option I'm afraid. I'm in a rural area and am currently suffering with a wireless provider that is both crazy expensive and has a tiny download cap of 70Gigs pm.

My full story; is that I built a house last year. During construction I had an eircom engineer visit and advise me of where to run the ducting to.

I did exactly as was asked and later that month they came back to erect a pole and run the line across the road. Only now they realised there was a esb line within 6 meters of where they wanted to put the pole.

As their line was across the (rural, 2.5m wide) road and they informed me they would not bring it across the road for me. No way, sorry sonny you're fresh out of luck. Never mind that it criss crosses under the same esb line 3 times within 200m of my house.

I've just learned of the universal service obligation, from this thread, and armed with the comreg link I decided to give it another shot.

Had an eircom engineer out to the house again today who confirmed again that there was nothing they could do unless I applied for the permits and ran a duct under the road myself they couldn't supply me with a phone line! Universal service my a**.

I mentioned the €7000 cost of supply limit from the comreg link. He never heard of this and looked at me like I had 2 heads. He did say that they would normally cover the cost of erecting up to 6 poles. I asked if he thought it would cost more to erect 6 poles or to mole machine under the road and the reply was that it didn't matter as eircom would not cross the road for me.

My next stop is comreg, although I don't hold out much hope, I suspect they'll be fairly spineless and tootless (probably not from grinding though)

My sympathies rayfitzharris, what makes Eircom such a malicious company is that not only do they not resolve any customer issues, its that they actively prevent any other company from carrying out work on whats left of the infrastructure. In cases like yours a microwave transmitter would solve your issue cheaper than digging up a road (ignoring the very idea of sharing a duct with ESB of course). I have no idea if Eircom would go for that option or how much they would charge, but it might be worth looking into.