Carnsore Broadband Problems

improv_12

Hi,

I have seen comments (and commented) on other threads regarding Carnsore but I thought itw oudl be a good idea to start a new thread to see how people are currently getting on with Carnsore Broadband.

We have been with them for a good few months now and are getting really frustrated with the speeds. Its OK on some days but in the evenings and weekends its really bad. (1 Mbps)

We have conntacted them loads and they say that they are 'upgrading' the service. They have been saying this for months. They also say that they don't gaurantee a minimum speed so 1Mps is an acceptable service for the monthly fee.

I am interested to hear how other people are getting on with Carnsore. Is anyone else having problems with the service at the moment?

We are on the 'Residential Package' for €30 with promised speeds of up to 15Mbps.

The FB page and website is really out of date. It all leaves me wondering why the service has gone so bad as they used to have a good reputation.

I would be interested to know what the 'upgrade to the service' actaully involves as they always side step the subject when asked. If anyone has got any answers to this I would really appreciate hearing from you.

Cheers

EDIT: It also seems like they share the same 5 GHz spectrum as Skytel/Rocket so there is probably no point in swapping? Alos it appears like your service may be cut if you complain, has anyone had that experience?

ED E

5Ghz is open spectrum, they don't pay to use it but also have to share it.

With the NBP and Imagines FiberConnect product rolling out the WISPs won't have any motivation to upgrade (unless they can block the NBP in court). At this point its make what you can from those with no other providers to move to then close down in 2020.

improv_12

Hi ED E,

What you say is pretty depressing and I suspect to be pretty accurate.

Maybe Carnsore's 'upgrade to service' will be just the fact that as people unsubscribe to their service the speeds will naturally get better......

improv_12

If Carnsore Broadband are over subscribed I wonder if they are still taking on new customers as that will only make the speeds even worse? Has anyone recently started using them?

ED E

Pretend to be a neighbour and try and order....

improv_12

ED E wrote: »

Pretend to be a neighbour and try and order....

Haha, sounds like a good idea..... not really sure I could pull that off though...:)

ItHurtsWhenIP

improv_12 wrote: »

Haha, sounds like a good idea..... not really sure I could pull that off though...:)

Don't do it like this anyway :

improv_12

MMFITWGDV wrote: »

Don't do it like this anyway :

That is exactly what I would probably sound like

Chef-1st

I'm with Carnsore BB two years now. Lately, as you say, the service has been dire. Evening and weekend times so intermittent, sometimes cuts out, sometimes 0.3-1M download speed, sometimes about 8M and upwards. All I want is a reliable service that isn't congested.
I've been lazy in emailing Jack, as he will only accept wired connection speed tests, not wireless.

have they got greedy and took on more custom? Have they upped the contention ratios? They'd never admit it, that's for sure.

I'm currently looking in to Imagine LTE broadband, but it's twice the price of Carnsore! May not be worth it.
If anyone does want to know how I get on with it if I do change, I'll let them know.

improv_12

Hi chef-1st. Interesting to hear from you. I appreciate that wired tests provide Carnsore with better data, but they can't ignore the fact that wired or wireless there is a major problem. I guess there might be people who don't have wired connections at all.... I wonder what they are told?

The cost of Imagine is definately a consideration and would make me hesitate in changing. However with the service from Carnsore now becoming unusable then changing provider may become the only option.

If Carnsore are just trying to make as much money as possible before their service is outcompeted by fibre then even that plan may go wrong for them. People will leave.....sooner han they expect. I can often get better 3G+ speeds and there is always Rocket (the service might not be much better but it is an option).

improv_12

ED E wrote: »

5Ghz is open spectrum, they don't pay to use it but also have to share it.

With the NBP and Imagines FiberConnect product rolling out the WISPs won't have any motivation to upgrade (unless they can block the NBP in court). At this point its make what you can from those with no other providers to move to then close down in 2020.

On what grounds would the WISPS be able to block the NBP? Do you know if Carnsore is trying to do this?

ED E

A group of 20(?) lodged a complaint due to the tender spec of 30Mb minimum at all times excluding them.

improv_12

OK cheers , I see (I think)...30Mb minimum would seem a little beyond the reach of Carnsore.

I just noticed that the Carnsore website now says 'Fibre Powered Broadband for Wexford'. I didn't know they were using Fibre....maybe just in the town?

WexIan

A month ago they put in a fix and speeds had improved considerbly, infact had become usable again at evening time and especially weekends but I notice the last few days they have been droping slowly again.
As KN are about to put up new fibre cables past my place I hope I will be able to get FTTH in the near future so wont be dependant on Carnsore.
It is a pity Carnsore over sold to subscribers as I have been using it since 2011 and it always delivered consistant speeds until spring of last year when it fell of the cliff but thats what happens.
If you live in Wexford town Rocket / Skytell seem to have good speeds and where I use it speeds in excess of 30+Mbps down.

Chef-1st

Well I know from friends and neighbours Rocket Broadband is not an option. They're worse altogether. And I've dealt with them too. Terribly ignorant customer service. I would never ever move to them. I hear they constantly throttle users and have much slower speeds than Carnsore.

It's a tough call moving to Imagine, as it's hard to justify 60euro per month just for your broadband. It's an awful lot of money, that you're locked down to for 18 months. I can't make up my mind yet.
I wouldn't mind if it was like Virgin with a stable, reliable,super fast wired connection, but this is just middle-of-the-road slightly better than the rest wireless broadband, which still factors in all the wireless problems and woes we see.

ED E

Chef-1st wrote: »

It's a tough call moving to Imagine, as it's hard to justify 60euro per month just for your broadband. It's an awful lot of money, that you're locked down to for 18 months. I can't make up my mind yet.
I wouldn't mind if it was like Virgin with a stable, reliable,super fast wired connection, but this is just middle-of-the-road slightly better than the rest wireless broadband, which still factors in all the wireless problems and woes we see.

Its not though. Imagine TDD LTE is the rural version of Virgin HFC. Obviously you get less for your money but for the area its by far the best bang for your buck. If you're living remotely and paying less than €40/mo for your main connection you cant really expect a good service, the market dictates thats a minimum in urban areas where costs are way lower.

Imagine are paying a licence fee to use 3.6Ghz radios while the other WISPs are AFAIK all using open spectrum that they can't do much with and can't guarantee speeds. Their FUP is very fair IMO and from Morganas results I'd be very happy with the service.

Chef-1st

Yeah I know you get what you pay for. It's just that 30 to 60euro per month is a big jump for most people.
What's this I'm hearing about the licence up for auction or expires in 2017 and that imagine might be fecked? Do you anything about that ED?

ED E

It was discussed in the other thread, have a read there

improv_12

Wexian, what you say seems to ring true with what othere users say...that Carnsore used to be good....it is a real pity. They are just destroying their own reputation and therefore business...

Chef-1st, I agree €60 is alot of money. I didn't realise that you had to sign up for 18 months. Do they offer both a guaranteed minimum and maximum speeds btw?

Chef-1st

Hey Improv.
Yep, they won't connect you unless the engineer on the day gets a minimum of 30M download speed and I get my 100euro refunded if he doesn't.
I have gone with them as of today, well, the initial part anyway. I'll have a guy out in under 10 days to connect me up to my home.
He's not concerned that I'm about 15km from Forth Mountain. He says the signal is good for about 30kms.

I've gone with them because of a few reasons.
The 4:1 contention ratio. (something carnsore can never do)
The guaranteed min 30M speeds. (something carnsore can never do)
The low latency averaging 30ms. (something carnsore can do, but it can be randomly high and inconsistent)
The max of 400 users in each phase. (something carnsore will never do)
The 20G daily download cap does not apply from 12-7am. (you can download them big games with no issues)

It's a lot of money per month, but I'm getting back in to gaming this year, and I just can't rely on Carnsore.
Hope it works out after all this. Should do. I'll let you know how I get on if you like?

improv_12

Chef, cheers for your update. Yep I woulod be interested to hear how you get on. If you get chance maybe you could post here again in a few weeks?

Good Luck

blowtorch

Unfortunately, after 5 years of good broadband service, I'm leaving Carnsore. Service is so bad that since mid 2015, speeds have gone to 1 or less down and zero... Yes zero, up. Fobbed off for months now with the upgrade story. At one stage they were saying that another, new addition of another provider on Maygalss tower was the problem...interference with Carnsore's signal.
But service had just gone down and down. Imagine, at double the price, if it's stable is better than nothing.
Carnsore will be gone in a year or two unless they get their act together. Maybe they should consider LTE.
On another note, I've been getting text messages from Skytel - unsolicited and not a customer. I was a customer 8 years ago, and kicked them out. They aren't entitled to hold my data that long, and definitely not entitled to send marketing texts to me.

Chef-1st

Well whatever problems we have with Carnsore, they are not as bad as Skytel/Rocket broadband, that's for sure. They are a terrible shower of.... alright.
Funny enough my broadband lately with Carnsore has been really good. Even on evenings and weekends. Been streaming HD content without any issues at all. I've been running random speedtests, and all have been much better than average. I was only getting about 1M in the evenings and weekends up until recently. Ohh the irony just when I sign up to Imagine LTE!