Extremely Poor Broadband Service

4dVoiceless

Current situation: our broadband download speed is nothing short of a rip-off for 2018 and the amount been paid for it. The provider is 3. A neighbour has a competitor provider who have installed a chimney mounted antennae and so has a, relatively speaking, excellent download speed. For us, "3" have provided a wall mounted (2m from ground) 4" cubed size antennae which is indicative of potential signal quality and they refuse any kind of upgrade/improvement by way of hardware. A couple of weeks ago 3 stated that we are getting a 1.3Mbps download speed which they stated without doing a site test at least since install a number years ago - technically speaking I cannot see how it is possible to do that remotely and the test from a few years back would not now be valid, but I stand to be corrected so I think they are trying to fob us off. I collected download speed data for a month, with screenshots to validate, and it's at a 2.95 average which means it buffers all the time on video download i.e. useless. Secondly 3's technical support team recommended we switch off the modem periodically, to allow it to rest (!!) for a few minutes and thereby improve the signal. Again I cannot see how that is possible as it is an electronic device so why would it need to rest, it's not a living breathing being! So I interpret they are lying unless technically proven otherwise. And here's the nub of the problem: am tied into an 18 month contract that will cost €800+ to break. Made initial enquiries to ComReg but whilst they were most supportive CR had nothing that I could see to bring to the table from the consumer's point of view in a situation like this. Any1 know of alternative solutions that will get to non-buffering speeds without such a significant financial penalty in a reasonable timeframe preferably but not necessarily by way of leaving "3"? Thanks, 4dV.

Marlow

3 is Midband. It's not broadband.

It's a mobile internet service faster than dial-up with an unknown amount of contention, because you never know, how many people are in the same cell and bandwidth usage is not managed between the customers.

Where are you in the country ? Have you looked for alternatives ?

Have you checked the Ireland Offline map for alternatives ? http://irelandoffline.org/map/#!/map

/M

368100

4dVoiceless wrote: »

Current situation: our broadband download speed is nothing short of a rip-off for 2018 and the amount been paid for it. The provider is 3. A neighbour has a competitor provider who have installed a chimney mounted antennae and so has a, relatively speaking, excellent download speed. For us, "3" have provided a wall mounted (2m from ground) 4" cubed size antennae which is indicative of potential signal quality and they refuse any kind of upgrade/improvement by way of hardware. A couple of weeks ago 3 stated that we are getting a 1.3Mbps download speed which they stated without doing a site test at least since install a number years ago - technically speaking I cannot see how it is possible to do that remotely and the test from a few years back would not now be valid, but I stand to be corrected so I think they are trying to fob us off. I collected download speed data for a month, with screenshots to validate, and it's at a 2.95 average which means it buffers all the time on video download i.e. useless. Secondly 3's technical support team recommended we switch off the modem periodically, to allow it to rest (!!) for a few minutes and thereby improve the signal. Again I cannot see how that is possible as it is an electronic device so why would it need to rest, it's not a living breathing being! So I interpret they are lying unless technically proven otherwise. And here's the nub of the problem: am tied into an 18 month contract that will cost €800+ to break. Made initial enquiries to ComReg but whilst they were most supportive CR had nothing that I could see to bring to the table from the consumer's point of view in a situation like this. Any1 know of alternative solutions that will get to non-buffering speeds without such a significant financial penalty in a reasonable timeframe preferably but not necessarily by way of leaving "3"? Thanks, 4dV.

Sorry...I know its probably frustrating as hell for you (ive been in very similar situation with imagine) but im loling at the "give the router a rest" bit. They'll say anything, how could you have respect for them being told to do that.

ED E

Paragraphs.

4dVoiceless

In north Co Galway. Yes, there is an alternative provider but I need to get out of "3" without paying the €800 via e.g. they not meeting contractual fairness as my interpretation is they have lied to me twice (refer to original post for such) or e.g. "3" provide suitable hardware such as roof height antennae FOC since their total service package is currently abysmally poor. The latter is the most straightforward option as no paperwork, sig waiting times etc.

4dVoiceless

My last post was to Marlow's "3 is..." post.

Marlow

4dVoiceless wrote: »

In north Co Galway. Yes, there is an alternative provider but I need to get out of "3" without paying the €800 via e.g. they not meeting contractual fairness as my interpretation is they have lied to me twice (refer to original post for such) or e.g. "3" provide suitable hardware such as roof height antennae FOC since their total service package is currently abysmally poor. The latter is the most straightforward option as no paperwork, sig waiting times etc.

First of all, nobody is going to read your first post fully. It's unreadable.

Secondly: How on earth do you have to pay 800 EUR to get out of contract ? Their currently most expensive contract is 30 EUR/month, 18 months contract, which amounts to a maximum of 540 EUR over the 18 months.

I know, they had a 60 EUR contract at some point, but you can't be on that, if you have 800 EUR left to pay, because by the time that was abolished, a lot more months of payment would have been gone and the remainder would be less than 800 EUR by now.

/M

4dVoiceless

Reply to Marlow re "first of all..."
The contract does not expire until Q4, 2019 and is well in excess of €500 from recollection of a tech support call I made a few weeks back.
I can dig out the exact figure but without jest will be queued on "3" Customer Support Line for ~25 minutes just to get that answer.

Based on the 'wasted' hours (literally!) that I have been on hold with their support line down through the years it's not worth the wait in this instance suffice to say the price is north of €500.
If it was €50, never mind a multiple of it, then it still would be a rip-off based on the Customer Service (signal quality, telephone support) received to date.

Marlow

Ok,

the first problem here is, that you don't even know, what you pay Three per month .. or what your monthly limit is.

What does your bank account say, they take every month ?

If you want to find an escape route, all of this information is important.

/M

4dVoiceless

Reply to "Marlow" and "Ed E" re formatting - here you go plus a few minor changes:

The Current situation.
Our internet download speed is nothing short of a rip-off for 2018 and the amount been paid for it.

The provider is "3".

A neighbour has a competitor's provider i.e. "Imagine" who have installed a chimney mounted antennae and so has a, relatively speaking, excellent download speed. For us, "3" have provided a wall mounted (2m from ground) 6cm cubed size antennae which is indicative of potential signal quality and they refuse any kind of upgrade/improvement by way of hardware. A couple of weeks ago "3" stated that we are getting a 1.3Mbps download speed which they stated without doing a site test at least since install a number years ago - technically speaking I cannot see how it is possible to do that remotely and the test from a few years back would not now be valid, but I stand to be corrected so I think they are trying to fob us off.
I collected download speed data for a month, with screenshots to validate, and it's at a 2.95 average which means it buffers all the time on video download i.e. useless.
Secondly 3's technical support team recommended we switch off the modem periodically, to allow it to rest (!!) for a few minutes and thereby improve the signal. Again I cannot see how that is possible as it is an electronic device so why would it need to rest, it's not a living breathing being! So I interpret they are lying unless technically proven otherwise.

And here is the nub of the problem: we are tied into an 18 month contract that will cost €800+ to break.

I made an initial enquiry to ComReg but whilst they were most supportive CR had nothing that I could see to bring to the table from the Consumer's point of view in a situation like this.

Any1 know of alternative solutions that will get to non-buffering speeds without such a significant financial penalty, in a reasonable time-frame, preferably but not necessarily by way of leaving "3"?

Thanks,
4dV.

Marlow

If your contract expires in Q4 2019, then you're on a 30 EUR/month contract at the most. Because you would signed up to Three in March or April the earliest.

And by then their Unlimited/750 GB limited 30 EUR package was in place, being the most expensive service, they provide for residential.

So you'd be out by approx 390-480 EUR at the most.

Anyhow, where I'm aiming at, is that you could argue, that you can't even reach the 750 GB limit with the speeds you're getting, you can at least try to force them to move you to the 15.99 package ...and then break contract after that ....

/M

4dVoiceless

Marlow wrote: »

Ok,

the first problem here is, that you don't even know, what you pay Three per month .. or what your monthly limit is.

What does your bank account say, they take every month ?

If you want to find an escape route, all of this information is important.

/M

Thanks Marlow - I've given ballpark figure and see comment re even if it were €50 why it would not be worth it. Have you ever tried dealing with "3's" Customer Service: if not then give it a couple of trys and I'd say you would be on board with me as to why any price to get out, bar FOC, is too high?
Additionally as time is money then the cost of hours we have spent on their useless signal speeds plus significant holding times on Customer Services then that has cost us a fortune in the years we have been with them.

It would now add insult to injury to have to pay any amount of money to get out of the Contract per all my comments above and that may not be the only escape route (cf hardware upgrade idea plus what looks like lies they provided)? Would you have any others?
If contract exit is the only route then I will document a full report of exact times, dates, speeds data, exact costs down to "shillings and pence" etc. etc. but the logical sequence, I assess at this point in time, is to see what is the path of least resistance for all concerned based on the option(s) that there are.

raxy

I think you'll find your stuck here. Your first post says you get an average of 2.95 so you are receiving their service, even if it's s crap one.
Your also not comparing like with like with the imagine comparison so what imagine provide isn't really relevant. Threes signal will be sent from cell phone masts so the receiver doesn't need to be on the roof, it just needs to be able to get signal from the mast.
I do feel your pain with trying to deal with them, I've been there numerous times.
Looks like you either need to pay the exit fee or put up with poor internet.

Marlow

I've have dealt with Three ... from the very early days.

Where I got cut off every month, because they didn't manage to record my payments every month on time.

But they couldn't set me up on DD because the account holder wasn't the same as the name on the contract.

I only got a sub again, when they moved the business call center to Ireland and I wouldn't have to deal with India and actually were offering business packages.

Having said that, I've never been under any illusion, that Three is what it is: mobile broadband = midband.

It is not a broadband replacement and it's not usable for a residential or business as a stationary service. Nevermind streaming or gaming.

When you sign up to a broadband service, you can never go by, what the sales person tells you. You do need to do your own research. With three, that's even possible: starting on a prepaid and see, if it works for you. I'm afraid, your problem is, that you signed up to a service, without doing any research of what it was capable of.

So your options to get out now, are to first of find out exactly what you're paying per month and what your limit is. Then find the exact date, when your service is up .. Q4 2019 is extremely vague .. then basically request a downgrade on the basis, that the service is not fit for purpose, but make sure they don't extend your contract as part of that.

And then ... you can either start thinking if it's worth your while to either break contract or just use it as a backup or mobile solution until your contract is out.

/M

4dVoiceless

raxy wrote: »

I think you'll find your stuck here. Your first post says you get an average of 2.95 so you are receiving their service, even if it's s crap one.
Your also not comparing like with like with the imagine comparison so what imagine provide isn't really relevant. Threes signal will be sent from cell phone masts so the receiver doesn't need to be on the roof, it just needs to be able to get signal from the mast.
I do feel your pain with trying to deal with them, I've been there numerous times.
Looks like you either need to pay the exit fee or put up with poor internet.

3 have provided a wi-fi booster that hooks directly to the previously mentioned antennae however if it was a further amplified antennae, in addition to this, would it improve speed? The Imagine antennae is not line of sight either but neighbour's have a much larger receiver and their signal is transmitted from a mast 8 miles further away and they do not have buffering issues. Granted that source strength of both provider's transmissions are unknown for my part. I've (as yet) limited knowledge in this particular space but would you know if there are any gains to be had from hardware improvements over existing 3 set-up and what assoc tech spec would need to be stated so as to go that route?

Marlow

4dVoiceless wrote: »

3 have provided a wi-fi booster that hooks directly to the previously mentioned antennae however if it was a further amplified antennae, in addition to this, would it improve speed? The Imagine antennae is not line of sight either but neighbour's have a much larger receiver and their signal is transmitted from a mast 8 miles further away and they do not have buffering issues. Granted that source strength of both provider's transmissions are unknown for my part. I've (as yet) limited knowledge in this particular space but would you know if there are any gains to be had from hardware improvements over existing 3 set-up and what assoc tech spec would need to be stated so as to go that route?

You can under no circumstances compare Imagine and Three. Looking at their antennas will tell you nothing. And in North Co. Galway, you should have the choice of at least 2 other providers anyhow.

Three is a mobile provider, who providers 2G, 3G and 4G connections in the mobile frequencies with nomadic (mobile) and fixed users. Contention: unknown ... often 100:1 or more.

Imagine is a broadband provider, who uses the LTE protocol to provide broadband in the licensed 3.5 GHz spectrum. But at a price point of 60 EUR/month and with a 20GB daily cap (600 GB/month), that's a very expensive service. And often over contended if you check this thread: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057558377

You have additionally 2 local fixed wireless providers in your area, depending on where you are, that actually provide a superior service to both above. Either slow and cheap or medium priced and fast, but both beating Imagine on price and performance.

/M h

4dVoiceless

Marlow wrote: »

I've have dealt with Three ... from the very early days.

Where I got cut off every month, because they didn't manage to record my payments every month on time.

But they couldn't set me up on DD because the account holder wasn't the same as the name on the contract.

I only got a sub again, when they moved the business call center to Ireland and I wouldn't have to deal with India and actually were offering business packages.

Having said that, I've never been under any illusion, that Three is what it is: mobile broadband = midband.

It is not a broadband replacement and it's not usable for a residential or business as a stationary service. Nevermind streaming or gaming.

When you sign up to a broadband service, you can never go by, what the sales person tells you. You do need to do your own research. With three, that's even possible: starting on a prepaid and see, if it works for you. I'm afraid, your problem is, that you signed up to a service, without doing any research of what it was capable of.

So your options to get out now, are to first of find out exactly what you're paying per month and what your limit is. Then find the exact date, when your service is up .. Q4 2019 is extremely vague .. then basically request a downgrade on the basis, that the service is not fit for purpose, but make sure they don't extend your contract as part of that.

And then ... you can either start thinking if it's worth your while to either break contract or just use it as a backup or mobile solution until your contract is out.

/M

At €63pm there's €882 remaining on contract. I'm grateful for your suggested solutions but that's way out of my league to pay for a low-band back-up as I'd anticipate would be for many punters out there.


Yes, I did go in with a non delusional :-) 'buyer-beware' approach to the sales pitch been conveyed and also did more pre-purchase research than would/should reasonably be expected in an overall context.


I think their 'mid-band' would be far more accurately described as 'low-band' from the perspective of value for money at a minimum. It would serve consumers better were there to be such a term on the spectrum introduced if not there already and greater protection against what amounts to false advertising via say the CR channel: constant buffering with technically incorrect (tbc) customer support is quite simply not what 3 advertise and as such is unjustifiable under any circumstances.

Marlow

4dVoiceless wrote: »

At €63pm

How on earth did you end up 63 EUR/month ?

What product, limit and product description ?

/M

westyIrl

4dVoiceless wrote: »

At €63pm there's €882 remaining on contract. I'm grateful for your suggested solutions but that's way out of my league to pay for a low-band back-up as I'd anticipate would be for many punters out there.


Yes, I did go in with a non delusional :-) 'buyer-beware' approach to the sales pitch been conveyed and also did more pre-purchase research than would/should reasonably be expected in an overall context.


I think their 'mid-band' would be far more accurately described as 'low-band' from the perspective of value for money at a minimum. It would serve consumers better were there to be such a term on the spectrum introduced if not there already and greater protection against what amounts to false advertising via say the CR channel: constant buffering with technically incorrect (tbc) customer support is quite simply not what 3 advertise and as such is unjustifiable under any circumstances.

What package did three sell you 4dVoiceless? Something is not right there. We need specifics.

Also, it may be worth checking that it's not a poor signal condition that is causing your problems (as unlikely as it may be). Try the three sim in an unlocked phone (or someone else with a three phone) close to where the antenna is located and ensure a reasonable signal is being received. Further, run simultaneous speed tests on this phone and on your own link to ensure it's not any form of equipment issue.

Once you rule out it being any setup issue, its certainly contention. I would then recommend going gung-ho to get out of the contract if at all possible.

You won't find better advice anywhere than can be given here by the likes of Marlow, ED E, etc.

Jim

4dVoiceless

Thank you to 1 and all for your comments.
I have plenty to go on here to improve the situation which I will run with from here.

All the best,

4 D V.