Is eircom.net the ISP for the ADSL connection?

ceejay

I found out today that my line is ADSL approved

However, before I jump in and sell my soul to eircom, I was wondering, who is the ISP for the ADSL connection? I asked the person at eircom this question, and they were not sure, and seemed to indicate that I would need to let my current ISP know that I was upgrading to ADSL, and they would "upgrade" my account with them. Now this seems like a bit of spoofing to me, but can anyone confirm or deny this, especially those who already have signed up for the service?

I seem to remember in some earlier thread someone mentioned that you could request a static IP address when signing up, so this would seem to indicate that eircom is the ISP. Can you get a static IP with the i-stream base package, or is it only available with the top one?

Of course, I may just wait for Esat, now that I know the line is ready, since there's no usage cap with them

Ciarán.

bricks

The theory is that other ISP's can buy the wholesale ADSL off Eircom and then sell it to you. I don't think anyone has done this yet tho.
So if you ring them up and order it then you'll be with Eircom by default.
I think you can ask them for a static IP on any of the I-Stream services, They'll wanna know why you need it tho.

Dustaz

The ISP is eircom, i dont think you can use another ISP yet.

If you get i-stream solo, you dont get a static ip, but those nice folks at www.dyndns.org will sort you out with a dynamic dns which will suit for most things

Frank Grimes

Originally posted by bricks
I think you can ask them for a static IP on any of the I-Stream services, They'll wanna know why you need it tho.

You can only get a static IP address on the Enhanced package, it's dynamic on the other two.
And Eircom net is going to be your ISP.

ando

Originally posted by bricks
I think you can ask them for a static IP on any of the I-Stream services, They'll wanna know why you need it tho.

yep, you can get a static IP with any package, but You'll need a good excuse prepaired on exactly what your going to be using the connection for

Frank Grimes

Originally posted by ando
yep, you can get a static IP with any package...

No, you can't. It's only with the Enchanced package they'll give out static ips.

lynchie

Originally posted by Frank_Grimes


You can only get a static IP address on the Enhanced package, it's dynamic on the other two.
And Eircom net is going to be your ISP.

If Eircom.net is the ISP and Eircom and Eircom.net are separate entities, then surely the bill would have to be from Eircom.net and not on your standard Eircom bill??

vinnyfitz

Eircom.Net and Eircom are supposed to be discreet companies and normally act like they are - (try getting them to collaborate on anything!).

If we will be forced to take out an eircom net subscriptions (about €200 per annum) on top of the istream fees then this is another hidden charge which we can not avoid so we should be objecting to the ODTR and the ASAI.
Can anyone provide definitive information on this one please?

Frank Grimes

If we will be forced to take out an eircom net subscriptions (about €200 per annum) on top of the istream fees then this is another hidden charge which we can not avoid so we should be objecting to the ODTR and the ASAI.

The internet access is being provided by Eircom net and it's included in the monthly fee.

SkepticOne

Originally posted by vinnyfitz
If we will be forced to take out an eircom net subscriptions (about €200 per annum) on top of the istream fees then this is another hidden charge which we can not avoid so we should be objecting to the ODTR and the ASAI.
Can anyone provide definitive information on this one please?

Your ISP charges are included in the istream fees. No extra 200. The concept of a separate ISP is hidden with istream and the whole thing is sold by Eircom retail.

ceejay

You would think then that the staff on the phone should know the (correct) answer to the ISP question then, wouldn't you?

So, regarding a static IP, what's a good reason to give for wanting one

Ciarán

Bard

Originally posted by ceejay


So, regarding a static IP, what's a good reason to give for wanting one

Ciarán

A "good" reason for wanting a static IP would be that you do work from home and the network connections between your office and your home machine are easier to set up with a static IP address. i.e.: Your network card can act as a VPN (Virtual Private Network) node.

You also might want a static IP address for security reasons. Many companies want to know exactly who is getting into their systems and won't allow access without knowing the source, so they therefore set it up that you can only access their system through the same IP address every time.

A definite no-no of a reason would be the desire to run a web server... and if you DO run one, I wouldn't assume, if I were you, that eircom won't find out and discontinue your service (it's against the terms and conditions under which you sign up to i-stream).

Anyway- there are definitely pitfalls to having a static IP and/or an always-on connection. Read this before you go insisting on having a static address.

ceejay

OK, so using i-stream to host a web server is probably not on - which was going to be one of my questions

But what about this - hypothetical - scenario:

Say I have a LAN that I would like to hook up via i-stream using a FreeBSD box as a firewall/router. I want to be able to connect back into the LAN from a remote location over the Internet using some kind of VPN. I reckon I'd need a static IP for this, but is this an "acceptable" reason does anyone know? And is using this kind of setup with i-stream solo acceptable according to the T&Cs?

Ciarán

SkepticOne

Originally posted by ceejay
Say I have a LAN that I would like to hook up via i-stream using a FreeBSD box as a firewall/router. I want to be able to connect back into the LAN from a remote location over the Internet using some kind of VPN.

I reckon I'd need a static IP for this, but is this an "acceptable" reason does anyone know? And is using this kind of setup with i-stream solo acceptable according to the T&Cs?

That is "acceptable" a reason as any, IMO. When you're talking to the salesperson just say that you were told that you would need a static IP for the VPN in order to connect to the office. Say that you are not interested in istream otherwise. Hopefully the salesperson will agree in order to get a sale.

Note that static ip is not standard with anything other than the 'enhanced' package.

SkepticOne

Just one other thing, I would avoid saying that you want the VPN in order to connect to your machine from various remote locations. That sounds too much like a 'server' (even though VPN is a type of server). Simple connection from home to the office network for confidential email and occasional transfer of word documents is better.

I'm always a bit reluctant to post this sort of advice as Eircom staff do read this forum.

ceejay

OK, so what about if I want to get a SMTP feed over i-stream? AFAIK, this requires a static IP address. Do you think this would be acceptible?

My feeling is that eircom don't want server-type connections for one of two reasons:

1. They want to keep the upstream bandwidth utilisation low
2. They don't want to impact on revenue from new/existing 64k leased lines

Is it reasonable for eircom to limit what people use the connection for, since eircom can limit the bandwidth for any given user, and charge them if they go over their data transfer cap?

Ciarán.

vinnyfitz

Originally posted by SkepticOne
Your ISP charges are included in the istream fees. No extra 200. The concept of a separate ISP is hidden with istream and the whole thing is sold by Eircom retail.

Interesting. I was recently assessing the merits of migrating from hi-speed to istream and was told by Eircom-net sales staff that I would have to pay the lowest annual subscription of circa €200 if I was with istream in comparison to the €350 annual fee for connecting at 128K with hi-speed. Loath as I am to admit it this sort of €350 saving does make istream a bit more attractive - though still much more expensive than it should be.

If one were to go with a Beam or Leap type solution what would be the situation in terms of ISP service?

SkepticOne

Originally posted by vinnyfitz
If one were to go with a Beam or Leap type solution what would be the situation in terms of ISP service?

Generally, they would do a deal with an ISP to supply the internet bandwidth needs of their customers and this costs of this would, of course, be passed on. It is unlikely you would get to choose your ISP in this case, though in theory it might be possible.

On the DSL side, some countries require that the your bill be split between the DSL transport provider and ISP in order to encourage ISP competition and make the costs transparent to the user.

If this was the case in Ireland, then might would choose Eircom for the DSL and Eircom.net as your ISP. The overall cost would be the same but it would be more obvious that you have choices as to your ISP.

If the wholesale bitstream service takes off in Ireland (unlikely), then you will switch ISP by changing telco. So if ESAT decide to resell the service, then you will get one bill from ESAT. Of course, the same thing is happening behind the scenes but the user has a greater perception of competion.

A greater perception of competition suits Eircom as it gives the impression of a fiercly competitive market. The single bill probably also suits the OLO as well because of the convenience to the user.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both schemes.

Bard

Originally posted by ceejay
OK, so using i-stream to host a web server is probably not on - which was going to be one of my questions

With regard to this matter, there's no "probably" about it. Hosting a web server using i-stream is a direct violation of the contract between you and eircom. It is specifically stated in the Terms & Conditions that it is strictly forbidden for the DSL connection provided by eircom to be used for the hosting of a web server. I believe it covers FTP and mail servers also, although I could be wrong there.

lynchie

Bard, are the terms and conditions the same for the enhanced servce too, i.e. you cant run http/smtp/ftp etc..

Bard

Originally posted by lynchie
Bard, are the terms and conditions the same for the enhanced servce too, i.e. you cant run http/smtp/ftp etc..

don't know for sure but presume so.

I don't have i-Stream