Imagine LTE Rural Broadband

ItHurtsWhenIP

marno21 wrote: »

That's in the middle of the Silvermines mountains?

Population around there is too disperesed for the blue lines. Maybe if your friend put a CPE on top of Keeper Hill he would have a choice of any ISP within a 100 mile radius.

Nope, not the Silvermines, but the Slieve Felims (close though).

It is extremely dispersed around here, which is kinda why I likes it!

We do have core fibre network to the exchange in the village (due for eVDSL in Spring/Summer 2016 ... Summer 2016 ... Summer/Autumn 2016 ... Autumn 2016) :mad:, but I'm living a gnat's gonad over 2KM from it, so I'm SOL. :rolleyes:

NinjaViking

Morgana, do you know that Imagine are linking to this thread in their emails? Do you think that they are purposefully increasing your speeds to make them seem more attractive?

Jack Killian

NinjaViking wrote: »

Morgana, do you know that Imagine are linking to this thread in their emails? Do you think that they are purposefully increasing your speeds to make them seem more attractive?

Where is your proof of this ? And did you sign up just to say that ?

morgana

NinjaViking wrote: »

Morgana, do you know that Imagine are linking to this thread in their emails? Do you think that they are purposefully increasing your speeds to make them seem more attractive?

No I did not know (and frankly, don't care, it's an open forum & I have no reason to contact them atm :P) and I seriously doubt they are increasing my speeds, lol. The biggest increase happened after the faulty antenna got replaced, and they are fairly consistent, but by no means exceptional from what I can tell from others also linking their speed tests. Also, there is some variance with sometimes is hard to fathom why it happens when it does (shrugs).

When I started the thread I had no idea it would become as lively as it has, a good thing in my book. The more people see & contribute the better (apparently it does that by prompting you to sign up to Boards :P)

TireeTerror

Well if Imagine are linking to this thread, perhaps they could get a rep on and provide some clarification regarding their download policy between midnight and 7am. Is it truly unlimited, or do they have a problem with people using it as often as they like between those hours?

morgana

TireeTerror wrote: »

Well if Imagine are linking to this thread, perhaps they could get a rep on and provide some clarification regarding their download policy between midnight and 7am. Is it truly unlimited, or do they have a problem with people using it as often as they like between those hours?

Been thinking that too, would be good to have proper clarification of this, as there are conflicting statements made by reps out there.

ED E

TireeTerror wrote: »

Well if Imagine are linking to this thread, perhaps they could get a rep on and provide some clarification regarding their download policy between midnight and 7am. Is it truly unlimited, or do they have a problem with people using it as often as they like between those hours?

Imagine must contact the boards office and presumably pay in order to have rep status here, purporting to be one without doing so is against the rules. Maybe not worth their while for 1-2 posts, they'd be better off just improving the detail on their own website.

TireeTerror

ED E wrote: »

Imagine must contact the boards office and presumably pay in order to have rep status here, purporting to be one without doing so is against the rules. Maybe not worth their while for 1-2 posts, they'd be better off just improving the detail on their own website.

or even better tell their sales team to stop the blagging on the phone!

rob808

TireeTerror wrote: »

Well if Imagine are linking to this thread, perhaps they could get a rep on and provide some clarification regarding their download policy between midnight and 7am. Is it truly unlimited, or do they have a problem with people using it as often as they like between those hours?

It not unlimited you would be using your monthly download allowance which I think is about 600GB.

jcd5971

TireeTerror wrote:

or even better tell their sales team to stop the blagging on the phone!

To be honest I hope it's actually not unlimited, you were coming out with stuff like torrents and hd movies every night 4k etc.

Nothing personal but thats the kind of thing that ruins everyone's speeds.

NinjaViking

Jack Killian wrote: »

Where is your proof of this ? And did you sign up just to say that ?

Here's the proof: imgur.com/yJvAeYp
And yeah, I signed up to ask this, why does that matter?

NinjaViking

TireeTerror wrote: »

Well if Imagine are linking to this thread, perhaps they could get a rep on and provide some clarification regarding their download policy between midnight and 7am. Is it truly unlimited, or do they have a problem with people using it as often as they like between those hours?

I've asked two different people on their live chat on their website about this and they both denied it being true. They siad that it happened with WiMaxx but not with this new service. Can't put up proof since I'm a new user but they're quick to reply if you ask.

polaris68

NinjaViking wrote: »

Here's the proof: imgur.com/yJvAeYp
And yeah, I signed up to ask this, why does that matter?

That email also states that the cooling off period starts on the date of placing the order and not the date of installation.

Just something to keep in mind if people are thinking of getting this to try it out. There appears to be quite a few weeks wait to get this installed.

TireeTerror

jcd5971 wrote: »

To be honest I hope it's actually not unlimited, you were coming out with stuff like torrents and hd movies every night 4k etc.

Nothing personal but thats the kind of thing that ruins everyone's speeds.

Really they should just provide more bandwidth, they are charging €59.99 for it, it is very expensive for what it is, they are only getting away with it because there is a serious lack of competition in the areas where they have deployed initially.

It will not ruin most people's speeds as most people are not using their internet between midnight and 7am. A few years back the vast majority of internet users used very little data, they didnt know how to torrent and would use the internet for emails and shopping and booking holidays. ISPs made a fortune charging these low users the same as everyone else.

Nowadays with the advent of streaming services, those low users suddenly become very heavy users and they often have no idea that they are using huge amounts of data, saying things like "Oh I don't use it much at all, I just watch a couple of shows on Netflix each night". Nevermind all the other users in the household who will also be consuming data by the bucket load.

We need to raise our expectations and demand more from ISP's rather than let them blame others heavier users for ruining the network for everyone else. They can and should provide more bandwidth, they just dont need to when there are users who are willing to blame other users. Pass the buck I call it.

Im very close to the blue line for FTTH, so this will suffice until then. I am 350 metres short of the line, but if I cannot get Eir to put it in for me and extend the line, I will arrange something with my neighbours as I'm up high looking down on them, so I might just put in my own line of site connection and pay towards their internet, hell I might even pay it all as they wouldn't use a fraction of the 1GB product that I would pay for. That would cover the little bit of electricity they would use at their end for the uplink.

ED E

TireeTerror wrote: »

Really they should just provide more bandwidth, they are charging €59.99 for it, it is very expensive for what it is, they are only getting away with it because there is a serious lack of competition in the areas where they have deployed initially.

I'm sorry, how deluded are you?

They're operating in areas with zero to no coverage, offering 100x the competition for the same price as urban users pay for a mid tier product. I'm pretty sure if in a year they upped the price to €90/mo only a fraction of users would cancel their service as for people living in those areas its a godsend.

Chef-1st

ED E wrote: »

I'm sorry, how deluded are you?

They're operating in areas with zero to no coverage, offering 100x the competition for the same price as urban users pay for a mid tier product. I'm pretty sure if in a year they upped the price to €90/mo only a fraction of users would cancel their service as for people living in those areas its a godsend.

Why? Are they putting up new masts in other areas where there is no coverage?
Personally anyway, in Wexford, I (we) have lots of options for broadband. Their line of sight is pretty much the same as the rest of the line of sight fixed wireless providers from the main mast in Wexford.
And there is no way I'd pay 90euro p/m for it. Even 60 yoyo was a bit of a push for me.

ED E

Chef-1st wrote: »

Why? Are they putting up new masts in other areas where there is no coverage?

It looks like they may be, but couldn't say that for sure.

Yes you have alternatives, but look at the OP, Morgana went from 5-6Mb to 50-80Mb and thats because she was covered. Not everyone currently has a WISP and I'd be confident there are 1-3Mb DSL users who will be hooked completely when they experience the difference.

Up until 4-5yrs ago our option was: 4Mb ADSL. We then got UPC coverage for a premium. Every year we've had a price increase but we've never considered moving back to DSL(30Mb VDSL now available for 1yr). Same thing happened when we were part of the first exchange to get 1Mb DSL way back in the day.

oscarBravo

TireeTerror wrote: »

Really they should just provide more bandwidth...

How?

9726_9726

oscarBravo wrote: »

How?

Exactly!

"Them ISPs should stop being greedy and defy the laws of physics, already. Like squeeze more bits per hertz from a standard whatever-QAM 20MHz channel, FFS"

ItHurtsWhenIP

polaris68 wrote: »

That email also states that the cooling off period starts on the date of placing the order and not the date of installation.

Just something to keep in mind if people are thinking of getting this to try it out. There appears to be quite a few weeks wait to get this installed.

That email can say what it likes, the law of the land states that the cooling off period starts from the date of delivery of the service.

Jack Killian

Chef-1st wrote: »

Why? Are they putting up new masts in other areas where there is no coverage?

Personally speaking : yes.

And re the price : €59 for this vs €55 for eircom's soul-destroying bundle offering is a no-brainer.

Quiksilver

Man, you look away for a few days and the thread explodes with Imagine and Eircom bashing.
Not everyone can get connected to fibre, and i certainly feel the pain for those in the country side who are paying and arm and a leg for sub 2Mb broadband. I don't know why people still bring up how future proof Imagine is, here and now it is a god send for those of us in the country side. We don't know what thing will be like in 10 years time, wireless technology has made huge jumps in improvement in the last few years and with early testing of 5G showing promising speeds of 3+Gigabit i couldn't see why Imagine would not upgrade their network to accommodate the changes in wireless technology that can occur.

To be honest i don't think that Imagine setting up LTE will stop the development of fibre but it will allow those who cannot connect to fibre access to what seems to be some pretty damn good speeds.

Also as fibre does become available to those who are using Imagine i'm sure that if and when they switch over that it will clear space on the mast for new customers.

Johnboy1951

@Quicksilver
The worry for some of us in 'the sticks' is that Imagine could somehow screw up the awarding of contract/s for the NBP, while still being incapable (practically speaking) of providing service to the required numbers for the NBP.
No doubt if I could access Imagine service at present, I would. But that does not alleviate the worry.
Could Imagine possibly prevent the government from subsidising the roll out of fibre to areas serviced by Imagine?
Would they try and, regardless of outcome, delay the roll out?

Quiksilver

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Could Imagine possibly prevent the government from subsidising the roll out of fibre to areas serviced by Imagine?

It's hard to know, it does look like Imagine are aiming at the NBP. To be honest i don't think their is one perfect plan that can get broadband out to us in the sticks. I think for the next few years it will have to be a combination of fibre and wireless technologies that will get us country folk pretty decent broadband. Fibre will be best for developing the NBP but i don't think Imagine should be stopped from developing a network that will help those can' or won't be getting fibre for a good few years.
I think it will all depend on the competency of those looking after the tendering process. Who knows, it could be NBS all over again; so it would be nice to have someone else working on an alternative.

Anyway back on topic , Anyone from Mid-west limerick heard any news of Imagine going live?

Pious14

Quiksilver wrote: »

It's hard to know, it does look like Imagine are aiming at the NBP. To be honest i don't think their is one perfect plan that can get broadband out to us in the sticks. I think for the next few years it will have to be a combination of fibre and wireless technologies that will get us country folk pretty decent broadband. Fibre will be best for developing the NBP but i don't think Imagine should be stopped from developing a network that will help those can' or won't be getting fibre for a good few years.
I think it will all depend on the competency of those looking after the tendering process. Who knows, it could be NBS all over again; so it would be nice to have someone else working on an alternative.

Anyway back on topic , Anyone from Mid-west limerick heard any news of Imagine going live?

Called today. Paid a deposit two weeks ago when they stated that engineers should be calling this week with site to go live at end of June.

On the call today they stated that it will the end of July when the site goes live. I believe the site will be on top of woodcock hill with I think they quoted a 20 mile radius.

Don't like the sound of a delay already!

Johnboy1951

i don't think Imagine should be stopped from developing a network that will help those can' or won't be getting fibre for a good few years.

No one wants to stop them ....... but the fear of what it might do to prospects of a proper future-proofed national broadband roll out is heavy on some.
The Gov cannot subsidise roll out in areas where there is a commercial presence. That raises serious questions and concerns.
I can well understand that fear, even though I too am unable to get reasonable speeds now.

Gooser14

I understand that Imagine sales people have been contacting people in Newport Co. Tipperary. Does anybody know whether Newport will be serviced from the Woodcock Hill mast or are they putting a mast on Keeper Hill?

Jack Killian

Quiksilver wrote: »

It's hard to know, it does look like Imagine are aiming at the NBP. To be honest i don't think their is one perfect plan that can get broadband out to us in the sticks. I think for the next few years it will have to be a combination of fibre and wireless technologies that will get us country folk pretty decent broadband. Fibre will be best for developing the NBP but i don't think Imagine should be stopped from developing a network that will help those can' or won't be getting fibre for a good few years.
I think it will all depend on the competency of those looking after the tendering process. Who knows, it could be NBS all over again; so it would be nice to have someone else working on an alternative.

Anyway back on topic , Anyone from Mid-west limerick heard any news of Imagine going live?

July 10th was the last update I was told. Apparently they moved from the Clarion with 150 subscriber capacity to Woodcock with 400.

TireeTerror

ED E wrote: »

I'm sorry, how deluded are you?

They're operating in areas with zero to no coverage, offering 100x the competition for the same price as urban users pay for a mid tier product. I'm pretty sure if in a year they upped the price to €90/mo only a fraction of users would cancel their service as for people living in those areas its a godsend.

Deluded? Maybe you're deluded.

Zero to no coverage? Before you start ranting about me, perhaps think about what you're typing.

Just because there are few alternatives, it doesn't mean it is good value. Paying €150 for the install and then €60 per month for 18 months minimum is very expensive. Whether or not YOU think it's expensive does not matter to me, it is expensive.

Also, and this is only a guess, based on the series of lies and garbage Imagine have been peddling to obtain sales, I would not be surprised if we see that 400 users limit being exceeded once the greed factor kicks in, as it has done with virtually every other line of sight supplier all around Ireland. Most likely they will not oversubscribe the masts until they get a decent reputation, they will continue to link to this thread, or others, to reassure customers. But I am confident in not much time they will be making excuses about speeds dipping way below 30Mb at peak times. In fact based on their record of lies and bullsh1t so far, it is a certainty.

I will take their service in the meantime of course, Ive become accustomed to the sh1tty standards Ive witnessed in Ireland, so as long as I'm prepared for it to crumble at some point in the future, I will at least enjoy it while it lasts. I would love to be surprised and find they are honourable, but all companies are out to extract as much revenue as possible and they rarely ever play fair, because playing fair is not as profitable as scamming people.

Call me a cynic if you want, 16 years working in the telecommunications sales industry and all of the "training" I've witnessed in that time tell me to prepare for the worst.

Quiksilver

TireeTerror wrote: »

Paying €150 for the install and then €60 per month for 18 months minimum is very expensive. Whether or not YOU think it's expensive does not matter to me, it is expensive.

For those in the country side, this is not expensive, We all know those close enough to suitable exchanges can get better speed for a better price. I'm paying €50 a month for 4 Meg download where i usually get 1/3 to 1/2 of that; This was fastest i could get, i'm changing over to Three mobile broadband until Imagine is available is it the fastest provider available to me at the moment. Their are a lot of people that would easily pay that kind of price to get a 60-70 Meg average download speed not to mind the 30 Meg minim speed they are aiming to supply. The cancellation fee is only €100 if you wanted to jump ship but unless it was going sub 20 Meg, i'd still stay with them until something better came around, which it could and more than likely will; until then it is the best option for quite a few.