Some more questions!

Agent7249

Could some one tell me:
1. What is an Exchange?

2. Do you have to be within a certain range of one to recieve broadband, and if so whats the average range?

3. Is there any customer service place there to ask about upcoming products? (ie the DSL service at €55)

4. If there is an exchange in limerick what range do you have to be within to recieve the DSL service? (when it comes out)

5. How much does it cost to install the service that will come out:
-Self install service
-Eircom install service

6. In the install services :
-Does the residental user have to install the DSL wiring with some sort of guide book to help?
-Would the self install serivce be second rate to Eircom install option which would lead to a poorer DSL service?
-Is there much of a difference between the two install options?

spongebob

Originally posted by Agent7249
Could some one tell me:
1. What is an Exchange?

A local building where telephone lines come together into Switches

2. Do you have to be within a certain range of one to recieve broadband, and if so whats the average range?

Yes, within 3km or so, maybe 4km in March with different technology

3. Is there any customer service place there to ask about upcoming products? (ie the DSL service at €55)

1800512128 for Eircom. Try ESAT website too.

4. If there is an exchange in limerick what range do you have to be within to recieve the DSL service? (when it comes out)

There are 3 or 4 exchanges in Limerick city, be more specific.

5. How much does it cost to install the service that will come out:
-Self install service
-Eircom install service

No prices yet, no indication as to whether self install kits will be available but probably not, Eircom make a lot of money on instalation.

6. In the install services :
-Does the residental user have to install the DSL wiring with some sort of guide book to help?
-Would the self install serivce be second rate to Eircom install option which would lead to a poorer DSL service?
-Is there much of a difference between the two install options?

N/a unless there is a self install. It is not complicated in the UK where it is common to self install
There is no quality difference whatsoever.

HTH

M

Hornet

Originally posted by Muck

>If there is an exchange in limerick what range do you have to be within to recieve the DSL service? (when it comes out)

There are 3 or 4 exchanges in Limerick city, be more specific.

Agent7249, if you give us the area code and the next 4 digits of your analogue phone number (the one with the modem connected to), we can tell you which exchange you are on.

No prices yet, no indication as to whether self install kits will be available but probably not, Eircom make a lot of money on instalation.

I would be surprised if Eircom wouldn't offer self-installation as soon as they officially enter the residential market. The Eircom installation is very inefficient and quite costly. The number of installations per day per installer is amazingly low. And in the context of getting rid of more and more people in Eircom, it doesn't make sense to insist on Eircom-installation. I know "from a reliable source" that Eircom had considered self-installation right from the ADSL launch, the idea was given up back then for a number of reasons, but it will come up again.

-Hornet

Agent7249

Agent7249, if you give us the area code and the next 4 digits of your analogue phone number (the one with the modem connected to), we can tell you which exchange you are on.

Srry, i didnt think phone numbers applied anyway as ya said 061 310XXX

Tellox

Agent, giving out your phone number across the net is not only stupid, it can also be dangerous. Edit your post and remove it.
http://www.esatbt.com/ie/products/access/dsl/index_Availability.html
check that to see if your on an esat exchange, or ring them or eircom tommorow.

Delphi91

AFAIK, there are only two exchanges which are DSL-enabled in Limerick. They are in Roches Street and in Dooradoyle. There could be more, but when I last checked, they were the only two.

Mike

Hornet

Originally posted by Agent7249
My number ill give in full 061 310xxx (We only have one line so its for internet aswell

If u mean what number it dials its 061 204101

The number I meant is your own number (but I would strongly suggest to edit your posting to x-out the last three digits for security reasons).

You are connected to the main Limerick Exchange (Eircom Exchange Code: LMKA). If I rember it correctly, this is the Roches Street Exchange, but I need to look it up tomorrow, so I might have to edit this statement.

The Roches Street Exchange is in the Esat list of enabled exchanges.

Roches Street is as well ADSL enabled by Eircom, so if you go to adsl.ie and type in your phone number and your Eircom Account Number it will do a pre-qualification of your line. If you pass the test, you can have ADSL and only have to wait until you deem it to be affordable for you. If you don't pass the test, don't panic. Let us know here and you will get advise how to get Eircom to test your line again.

-Hornet

Agent7249

I hope to god im in the 3-4km radius cause its only a 10 min drive into town, Ill have to check some atlas thing.

7.Which exchange is most south east of limerick city?

Ardmore

Originally posted by Agent7249
3. Is there any customer service place there to ask about upcoming products? (ie the DSL service at €55)

Eircom haven't received approval from the regulator yet, so, strictly speaking, there is no "upcoming product", and Eircom won't talk to you about it yet.

5. How much does it cost to install the service that will come out:
-Self install service
-Eircom install service

Same story. Nobody will know for sure until eircom announce prices.

6. In the install services :
-Does the residental user have to install the DSL wiring with some sort of guide book to help?

You plug a small filter into your phone jack. You don't need a guide book!

-Would the self install serivce be second rate to Eircom install option which would lead to a poorer DSL service?
-Is there much of a difference between the two install options?

No and No.

Ardmore

Originally posted by Agent7249
I hope to god im in the 3-4km radius cause its only a 10 min drive into town, Ill have to check some atlas thing.

You could be a 100 yards from the exchange as the crow flies, but the cable from your house to the exchange could be a mile long. It's the length of the cable, not the distance "as the crow flies" that matters.

call 1800 512 128 and ask eircom to test your line. Then call ESAT on 1800 924 924 and ask them to test it as well! (Even if it passes the eircom test).

thegills

Esat have enabled both Roches St. and Dooradoyle so you can try them. They won't be enabling any more Xchanges for a good while yet.

John2002

Eircom have an exchange enabled in Castletroy too.

Delphi91

Originally posted by John2002
Eircom have an exchange enabled in Castletroy too.

You sure about that?

I assume that's my local exchange (I'm in Lisnagry, about 3-4 miles from the exchange in Castletroy), but when I supply my number to the ADSL.ie page, it says "Sorry!". I assume its doing the check by knowing what numbers are connected to what exchange.

Mike

SkepticOne

Originally posted by Delphi91
You sure about that?

I assume that's my local exchange (I'm in Lisnagry, about 3-4 miles from the exchange in Castletroy), but when I supply my number to the ADSL.ie page, it says "Sorry!". I assume its doing the check by knowing what numbers are connected to what exchange.

It also could be that you are too far away from the exchange. The database contains the result of line tests performed periodically.

Ardmore

Originally posted by Delphi91
I assume that's my local exchange (I'm in Lisnagry, about 3-4 miles from the exchange in Castletroy), but when I supply my number to the ADSL.ie page, it says "Sorry!". I assume its doing the check by knowing what numbers are connected to what exchange.

If you're 4 miles from the exchange "as the crow flies", then it wouldn't be too surprising if the line test failed. The test doesn't just look at the number to figure out if your exchange is upgraded for ADSL, it's also based on the length of the line from the exchange to you.

Delphi91

Originally posted by Ardmore
If you're 4 miles from the exchange "as the crow flies"...

No, its by road.

Doesn't look like I'll ever be able to get ADSL unless I move house.

Mike

Agent7249

Thank you for submitting your details for initial testing for eircom business i-stream.

Unfortunately the numbers you have submitted do not currently meet the specifications required to support ADSL. If you have any additional telephone numbers on your account, you may wish to submit them for testing now.

ADSL is a more sensitive technology than other access products (such as PSTN). Every eircom i-stream query has to be individually assessed, and a line tested for suitability. Unfortunately some customers in ADSL enabled exchange areas will not be able to avail of this service.

The fact that your line does not meet the specifications required to carry ADSL, does not indicate a problem with your line. The issue is with the sensitivity of ADSL technology and not your telephone line.

I'm sorry to disappoint you at this stage. We will keep you informed of any changes in the availability of eircom i-stream in your area.

Alternatively, another product that may suit your requirements is eircom hi-speed.

eircom hi-speed is a high speed, dual channel, digital line which means your phone lines are twice as efficient. This enables you to surf the Internet at up to 128kbs*, to send emails or faxes and make or receive calls at the same time. Click here to find out more about eircom hi-speed.

*A subscription account with an Internet Service Provider, with a speed of 128k/bits per second is needed to achieve the 128k/bits speed. Use of both 'B' channels will be charged as two calls.

:mad:Thats from eircom
Where do I check the esat one?

Ardmore

Originally posted by Agent7249
Where do I check the esat one?

Just call them at 1800 924 924 and ask them.

zz03

Originally posted by Agent7249
Could some one tell me:
1. What is an Exchange?

This is a good question. In the context of DSL, an “exchange” really means the MDF (main distribution frame). An MDF can exist without an “exchange” (the entity that switches calls). Many towns and villages have no “exchange” but they do have an MDF. The building that might be called an “exchange” in such circumstances only holds a concentrator.

This is where the DSLAM would be installed for DSL. The concentrator takes advantage of the fact that not everybody in the town or village will be on the phone at the same time and therefore a place with 500 phones won’t need 500 “lines” to the outside world to provide service.

If one defines “exchange” in terms of the MSU, there are relatively few in the country (compared with what there might have been in the pre digital switching days). (LMKA is one of them).

The use of the word “exchange” in the context of DSL is a dumbing down of the public by eircom, BT and others who appear to be still living in the dark ages of the pre-digital era. If they ran the health service, presumably they might refer to ambulances, doctors surgeries nursing homes (even people’s first aid kits) as “hospitals”!

zz..

John2002

Originally posted by Delphi91
You sure about that?

I assume that's my local exchange (I'm in Lisnagry, about 3-4 miles from the exchange in Castletroy), but when I supply my number to the ADSL.ie page, it says "Sorry!". I assume its doing the check by knowing what numbers are connected to what exchange.

Mike

Yes, a company I used to work for recently installed DSL from Eircom. They're in the National Technological Park in Castletroy.

You might be on the Castleconnell exchange. Thats what I'm on and according to eircom the other day they have no definite plans to upgrade it.

Dustaz

Originally posted by zz03

The use of the word “exchange” in the context of DSL is a dumbing down of the public by eircom, BT and others who appear to be still living in the dark ages of the pre-digital era. If they ran the health service, presumably they might refer to ambulances, doctors surgeries nursing homes (even people’s first aid kits) as “hospitals”!

I wouldnt call it dumbing down to be honest.

I consider myself fairly beardy compared to Joe Soap and I didnt really know what an mdf was. Its easier if the public think of "the place that lines terminate at" as an "exchange" surely?

Delphi91

Originally posted by John2002
...You might be on the Castleconnell exchange. Thats what I'm on and according to eircom the other day they have no definite plans to upgrade it.

Typical! SO much for any hope of ADSL!

So, I wonder should I consider an ISDN line? Anyone got any recommendations?

Mike

Delphi91

Originally posted by Dustaz
...I consider myself fairly beardy compared to Joe Soap and I didnt really know what an mdf was...

I thought it was a type of timber, much preferred by those "Changing Rooms" type people.

Mike

dahamsta

Medium Density Fibreboard. By the way, the term doesn't ring any bells Dustaz, does it?

heh

adam