Rural broadband

JP Rouse

I'm living in rural Donegal, looking for a technician to install an external aerial and indoor router to receive 4g.

There are a few companies that do it,

(Imagine, regional broadband, rural WiFi)

But they lock you into a contract.

I'm looking for an independent installer to come and set up and calibrate the aerial and router for a 1 off fee and then I can run a pay as you go SIM.

I have good 4g Vodafone coverage outside but my house is a new build. Insulated to the max.

Does anyone know of a professional in the Donegal area or surrounding area who caters for this.

Many thanks.

Boards.ie: Niamh

Moved to the Donegal forum.

muffler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058239516/rural-broadband

Can you say (approx) what area of the county you're in?

Raf75

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058239516/rural-broadband

Maybe it is not answer for your question but i would consider Starlink as internet provider

NIMAN

Starling is well reviewed and appears a good service, but it is very expensive

IIRC, it's 500 for installation and 100 each month.

Firblog

PM sent

JP Rouse

Thanks for all the comments,

Starlink looks amazing but just a tad out of budget especially with the cost of living shooting up! 🤢

But I might have to look into it more if all else fails.

It's probably gonna be 2030 b4 NBI gets around to me!

Decky86

Can I get some info on this as I was about to create a post on the exact same thing... Inishowen area . Broadband will never likely be there

NIMAN

Here's the main Starlink thread from the Broadband forum

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058178483/starlink-anyone-get-it-yet#latest

L1011

NBI have kicked dates out for much of Donegal and have given basically gibberish explanations to local reps when questioning it (Pringle dug deep on the question and they still didn't give a proper answer)

Gooser14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119455272#Comment_119455272

If there is a good Three service available in your area they are currently offering 3 Broadband Unlimited 5G Gold with external aerial for €39 p/m with 3 months free. Installation is done by Three. It is a 24 month contract. See link below:

https://www.three.ie/buy/broadband.html

NIMAN

Would the external aerial make much of a difference to your signal reception?

I have a decent 3 signal, but if I ever run speed tests it varies wildly. For example some times during the day I can get 50meg, but at night much much lower, I assume when more folk are using it?

I just ran a test at 22:50 and I'm getting 5meg.

Firblog

External aerial can make big difference I've seen improvement from 5MB to 80MB on 4G network, also 5G Vs 4G is big improvement.

darth_maul

Just had Rural Wifi installed in inlaws house outside Stranorlar, Have tried absolutely everything and network previously, They sent a satellite/IT crowd out from Gaoth Dobhair to do install, tried absolutely everything and eventually was able to get a strong signal with an antenna mounted in attic space, 130-170mbs, now only have of a couple days but it seems to be very good so far, speeds seem to be solid all day unlike imagine was.

NIMAN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121245102#Comment_121245102

Who is the provider?

muffler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121250830#Comment_121250830

As stated rural wifi

NIMAN

Apologies, didn't know rural WiFi was the actual service name.

muffler

Easily missed

Dats_rite

I toyed with the idea of Rural WiFi, Imagine, I had blue box and I had Beacon Broadband.

I then took the plunge and went with Starlink.....Cant recommend it enough. Speeds of about 250mb and no downtime. Its expensive to buy but really worth it.

I'm based in Inishowen

NIMAN

Is Starlink still 100 per month?

Dats_rite

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121256629#Comment_121256629

€65 now. DRopped from €85 about 4 months ago so getting more competitive.

NIMAN

It seems to get fairly poor reviews across some review sites eg Trustpilot 2.6.

And then some rave reviews.

So you're finding it good?

Is there any interruption with bad weather?

Dats_rite

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121263310#Comment_121263310

I have no complaints at all. Very reliable and in the 6 or so months we have had it there has been a couple of storms and heavy rain but I haven't been affected.

Todays speedtest