Eir rural FTTH thread

ccazza · 13-01-2017 04:56PM

I was able to order extreme on the website before the rep called to our door. Now I have an installation date of next week and it's showing as not available on the checker. Our next door neighbour is showing as capable of getting it. I confirmed out installation date today so I think the checker is not always accurate.

Gwynston · 13-01-2017 04:58PM

ccazza wrote: »

I was able to order extreme on the website before the rep called to our door. Now I have an installation date of next week and it's showing as not available on the checker. Our next door neighbour is showing as capable of getting it. I confirmed out installation date today so I think the checker is not always accurate.

But how did you order it if the checker is showing as not available?
Is there a different route through the ordering flow that bypasses the checker?

ccazza · 13-01-2017 05:07PM

Gwynston wrote: »

But how did you order it if the checker is showing as not available?
Is there a different route through the ordering flow that bypasses the checker?

It was showing as available when I ordered it. I know it's available as the rep called to the door. I don't think the checker is working perfectly.

Johnboy1951 · 13-01-2017 05:15PM

Further Update:

Person who was told on phone by eir that FTTH was not available to him while he could see the techs connecting people rang eir yet again to try to get it.
In short (the call took about an hour he said) it went like this ...

cust: I want to order fibre-extreme. My address is xxxxxx

eir: FTTH not available in your area

cust: It is I can see them working in the area

<hold>

eir: Might not be available at your house.

cust: Yes it is I can see the techs connecting my neighbour!

<hold>

eir: We would need to send out an engineer and 'run a line in' to make sure.

cust: No! I do not want a phone line.
I have spoken to the on site engineer installing to my neighbour (white lie), and there is no problem supplying me with fibre-extreme

<hold>

eir: OK, you can order fibre-extreme.
Which product?

cust: Standalone broadband, 150Mb/s

eir: That will be a 12 month contract;
Promotional price of €55
Regular price €55

cust: Accepted.

Call ended. ~1hour duration

He received a couple of emails soon after ...
1. Confirmatin of order and order number. price etc
2. Installation date in 10 days time.

There is no way he would have got the order in without extreme insistence.
The guy at the eir end wanted to sell him a phone line with 1Mb/s connection.
Probably because we had discussed things at length beforehand, he knew exactly what he wanted and insisted on getting it. It did help him that he could actually see neighbours being connected.

One happy chappy ...... which makes me very jealous indeed!

Bored Accountant · 13-01-2017 05:25PM

Shyboy wrote: »

Yes, about 2 weeks before...typical, the one day I was out of the area...:(

I believe all operators are given a months notice before an exchange is live so they can do the same if the so wish to put boots on the ground.

KOR101 · 13-01-2017 06:23PM

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

....extreme insistence.

Extreme patience, extreme insistence, extreme fibre.

tsue921i8wljb3 · 13-01-2017 06:36PM

Bored Accountant wrote: »

I believe all operators are given a months notice before an exchange is live so they can do the same if the so wish to put boots on the ground.

My understanding is that there is a moratorium on selling in the 30 day period. This is to allow other operators get their systems in order. I may be mistaken though. Can anyone confirm please?

RoYoBo · 13-01-2017 07:30PM

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

I have a suspicion that they will do the pre-live sign up connections, move on to the next blue-line and so on to try to meet their stated targets of 'premises passed'.

Further sign ups will be left until eir decides to provide the man power to do them.

That seems to be what is happening. I hope I am wrong

^^^^This. The cynic in me suspects that capacity to install trumps any possible financial gain, with 'premises passed' and guaranteed takers (random low hanging fruit) taking precedence. Spread the PR butter thin and cover a wide area seems to be the name of the game. Looks good if there's no real oversight, which there doesn't appear to be.

It's easy to claim you installed extreme fibre to those who wanted it and that the fibre is passing X premises in a given area. When you have little chance of meeting your publicised targets, this looks as if you tried!

Shyboy · 13-01-2017 07:57PM

Called Eir Sales again...The guy who I spoke to was very "sympathetic" about my situation but said that they can only go by what Eir Wholesale have in their system.

They had a note from Eir Wholesale on my account, from when I called last week saying I cannot get FTTH because I am too far from the exchange.:eek:

I tried to explain to him it is FTTH, not FTTC but he said I might be still too far...I said no, FTTH is a different technology and that my neighbours have ordered it through the rep but he admitted that they have been given very little information from Wholesale about the FTTH process...

He then admitted that they have limited ports in the exchange and the rep may have sold them all...he said all remaining homes would therefore fail the line test until they add more ports...

He reckoned that was most likely my problem...:(

Johnboy1951 · 13-01-2017 08:11PM

Shyboy wrote: »

Called Eir Sales again...The guy who I spoke to was very "sympathetic" about my situation but said that they can only go by what Eir Wholesale have in their system.

They had a note from Eir Wholesale on my account, from when I called last week saying I cannot get FTTH because I am too far from the exchange.:eek:

I tried to explain to him it is FTTH, not FTTC but he said I might be still too far...I said no, FTTH is a different technology and that my neighbours have ordered it through the rep but he admitted that they have been given very little information from Wholesale about the FTTH process...

He then admitted that they have limited ports in the exchange and the rep may have sold them all...he said all remaining homes would therefore fail the line test until they add more ports...

He reckoned that was most likely my problem...:(

It might be correct ....... but it seems more like an excuse to me.

tsue921i8wljb3 · 13-01-2017 08:35PM

Shyboy wrote: »

Called Eir Sales again...The guy who I spoke to was very "sympathetic" about my situation but said that they can only go by what Eir Wholesale have in their system.

They had a note from Eir Wholesale on my account, from when I called last week saying I cannot get FTTH because I am too far from the exchange.:eek:

I tried to explain to him it is FTTH, not FTTC but he said I might be still too far...I said no, FTTH is a different technology and that my neighbours have ordered it through the rep but he admitted that they have been given very little information from Wholesale about the FTTH process...

He then admitted that they have limited ports in the exchange and the rep may have sold them all...he said all remaining homes would therefore fail the line test until they add more ports...

He reckoned that was most likely my problem...:(

Sounds like utter spoofing to me. It seems that retail sales have not been trained to sell FTTH. Surely the build plan would have accomodated all premises on blue lines.In fact I suspect additional capacity will have been built into the rollout when they come back to do premises not on blue lines.

Pulsating Star · 13-01-2017 08:46PM

..

13-01-2017 08:49PM

Allison Puny Appetite wrote: »

Sounds like utter spoofing to me. It seems that retail sales have not been trained to sell FTTH. Surely the build plan would have accomodated all premises on blue lines.In fact I suspect additional capacity will have been built into the rollout when they come back to do premises not on blue lines.

I would tend to agree with that, the infrastructure build would accommodate all the properties along a particular road plus spare capacity. What is limited though is the time the house installation crew have available at each location for the first signups.

In other words the crew have, say a week allocated for a particular area and will only connect subscribers during that time before going onto the next area.

The above is speculation, but would make good business sense by ensuring the maximum number of subscribers get connected in as many areas as possible in the shortest amount of time.

If you miss the initial installation rollout, it sounds like you could be in for quite a wait for the ad-hoc installation crews to arrive.

Gonzo · 13-01-2017 09:33PM

so once my area goes live my only options are:

1 - stay in 24/7 and hope an eir salesman calls to the door and order

2 - spend multiple hours on different phone calls begging and pleading to get a connection which may not work

3 - if no sales rep calls or the sales agents online can't be bothered then possible months and months of waiting before i even get connected.

13-01-2017 09:44PM

Gonzo wrote: »

so once my area goes live my only options are:

1 - stay in 24/7 and hope an eir salesman calls to the door and order

2 - spend multiple hours on different phone calls begging and pleading to get a connection which may not work

3 - if no sales rep calls or the sales agents online can't be bothered then possible months and months of waiting before i even get connected.

I intend to get the missus to nail the sales rep when they turn up and make sure we sign up.

long_b · 13-01-2017 10:01PM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I intend to get the missus to nail the sales rep when they turn up and make sure we sign up.

If that's the price ye're willing to pay then go for it. Seems a bit drastic, but hey, I'd even consider doing it myself for fiber.

Truth is, all of us here would.

ItHurtsWhenIP · 13-01-2017 10:23PM

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

...
eir: That will be a 12 month contract;
Promotional price of €55
Regular price €55
...

That's a pretty sh1tty promotional price!

Johnboy1951 · 13-01-2017 10:47PM

ItHurtsWhenIP wrote: »

That's a pretty sh1tty promotional price!

with the alternative of 1Mb/s it is a great price

pegasus1 · 13-01-2017 10:58PM

Shyboy wrote: »

Called Eir Sales again...The guy who I spoke to was very "sympathetic" about my situation but said that they can only go by what Eir Wholesale have in their system.

They had a note from Eir Wholesale on my account, from when I called last week saying I cannot get FTTH because I am too far from the exchange.:eek:

I tried to explain to him it is FTTH, not FTTC but he said I might be still too far...I said no, FTTH is a different technology and that my neighbours have ordered it through the rep but he admitted that they have been given very little information from Wholesale about the FTTH process...

He then admitted that they have limited ports in the exchange and the rep may have sold them all...he said all remaining homes would therefore fail the line test until they add more ports...

He reckoned that was most likely my problem...:(

Hi Shyboy, you should give the dccae a call or a mail and say that Eir are failing in their commitment of supplying the 300,000 premises...

http://www.dccae.gov.ie/en-ie/about-us/contact-us/Pages/Communications.aspx#broadband

BandMember · 13-01-2017 11:49PM

ItHurtsWhenIP wrote: »

That's a pretty sh1tty promotional price!

Eir don't do promotional prices anymore on stand alone fibre it seems, none on their FTTC offering either. However, €55 isn't bad when the 100 FTTC offering is €50 a month (and even though some exchanges/cabs are only enabled to receive 70 max)....

oscarBravo · 13-01-2017 11:51PM

Allison Puny Appetite wrote: »

My understanding is that there is a moratorium on selling in the 30 day period. This is to allow other operators get their systems in order. I may be mistaken though. Can anyone confirm please?

I'm not completely sure, but I think that all operators are simultaneously given advance notice of when the exchange/cabinet will go live, which gives them an opportunity to do advance marketing. At the end of the notice period, open eir's systems start accepting orders.

I'd need to double-check the exact process, which probably won't be for a wee while.

tsue921i8wljb3 · 13-01-2017 11:54PM

oscarBravo wrote: »

I'm not completely sure, but I think that all operators are simultaneously given advance notice of when the exchange/cabinet will go live, which gives them an opportunity to do advance marketing. At the end of the notice period, open eir's systems start accepting orders.

I'd need to double-check the exact process, which probably won't be for a wee while.

Thanks. There's no rush.

marno21 · 14-01-2017 12:37AM

Deleted User wrote: »

I intend to get the missus to nail the sales rep when they turn up and make sure we sign up.

A bit harsh surely. We all want FTTH but crucifixation of an eir employee is a bit much now.

plodder · 14-01-2017 12:42AM

Shyboy wrote: »

Called Eir Sales again...The guy who I spoke to was very "sympathetic" about my situation but said that they can only go by what Eir Wholesale have in their system.

They had a note from Eir Wholesale on my account, from when I called last week saying I cannot get FTTH because I am too far from the exchange.:eek:

I tried to explain to him it is FTTH, not FTTC but he said I might be still too far...I said no, FTTH is a different technology and that my neighbours have ordered it through the rep but he admitted that they have been given very little information from Wholesale about the FTTH process...

He then admitted that they have limited ports in the exchange and the rep may have sold them all...he said all remaining homes would therefore fail the line test until they add more ports...

He reckoned that was most likely my problem...:(

But, ports with FTTH must be fundamentally different than with DSL, where each subscriber needs its own port. With FTTH you have up to 32 subscribers sharing one strand, and presumably one physical port at the exchange/cabinet. Can they really run out of ports that quickly?

tsue921i8wljb3 · 14-01-2017 12:51AM

plodder wrote: »

But, ports with FTTH must be fundamentally different than with DSL, where each subscriber needs its own port. With FTTH you have up to 32 subscribers sharing one strand, and presumably one physical port at the exchange/cabinet. Can they really run out of ports that quickly?

I assume they are using Huawei equipment so ports would be provided in the form of a line card in the OLT with each card providing 8 or maybe 16 ports. Each port would then be split down to whatever ratio they are using probably 1:32. So technically they could run out of capacity but it would require them to have underspecified the number of cards needed for the amount of planned premises.

http://www.hza-network.com/products/Huawei-MA5600T-Series-Card-GPBH.html

Shyboy · 14-01-2017 10:59AM

pegasus1 wrote: »

Hi Shyboy, you should give the dccae a call or a mail and say that Eir are failing in their commitment of supplying the 300,000 premises...

http://www.dccae.gov.ie/en-ie/about-us/contact-us/Pages/Communications.aspx#broadband

Definitely want to complain to someone...I am thinking of emailing Comreg but they probably won't do much...:(

The neighbours who were supposed to have installations last week were called by Eir and they have been rescheduled to this week...I think the other's were down for this week so I assume that they want to get them all done in the one week. Most I have spoken to have their's booked in for Tuesday...I am keeping an eye out to talk to a tech...(anything's worth a try...)

Also, I have heard of a few other neighbours (who I assume also missed the rep) call Eir and being told not available. Even two people who placed orders with the rep and being called back by Eir to say not available, big rows on the phone, then suddenly they are allowed to place an order...A lot of people very p*ssed off in the area. :mad:

I definitely think they are only doing the pre-orders that the rep took for now . I can totally understand regarding limited manpower, etc. but something is seriously wrong with the whole process...:(

It wouldn't have even been too bad if the rep had explained to people that they were only taking limited orders for the timebeing...

Johnboy1951 · 14-01-2017 11:19AM

Shyboy wrote: »

Definitely want to complain to someone...I am thinking of emailing Comreg but they probably won't do much...:(

The neighbours who were supposed to have installations last week were called by Eir and they have been rescheduled to this week...I think the other's were down for this week so I assume that they want to get them all done in the one week. Most I have spoken to have their's booked in for Tuesday...I am keeping an eye out to talk to a tech...(anything's worth a try...)

Also, I have heard of a few other neighbours (who I assume also missed the rep) call Eir and being told not available. Even two people who placed orders with the rep and being called back by Eir to say not available, big rows on the phone, then suddenly they are allowed to place an order...A lot of people very p*ssed off in the area. :mad:

I definitely think they are only doing the pre-orders that the rep took for now . I can totally understand regarding limited manpower, etc. but something is seriously wrong with the whole process...:(

It wouldn't have even been too bad if the rep had explained to people that they were only taking limited orders for the timebeing...

I would have to check back, but I think the rep I posted about in Ennis did say that unless the connection was ordered at the door they would not get connected when it became available/live.
At the time it seemed like an 'over-selling' tactic from the rep which was not believed.

Now it seems maybe it should have been believed .....

Gonzo · 14-01-2017 11:29AM

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

I would have to check back, but I think the rep I posted about in Ennis did say that unless the connection was ordered at the door they would not get connected when it became available/live.
At the time it seemed like an 'over-selling' tactic from the rep which was not believed.

Now it seems maybe it should have been believed .....

this shouldn't happen, they are gonna have to take on many more employee's to handle this, if this is the way it's gonna be all over the country for the next 5+ years there is gonna be a lot of very angry people. Everyone can understand delays in rollouts but these sneaky tactics and withholding people's numbers from going live is just not on.

Gwynston · 14-01-2017 11:30AM

Shyboy wrote: »

Even two people who placed orders with the rep and being called back by Eir to say not available, big rows on the phone, then suddenly they are allowed to place an order...A lot of people very p*ssed off in the area. :mad:

That's another worrying development.
It sounds like there's restricted live installs as it is and now some who had been signed up are being welched on also. And it sounds like very cloak and dagger stuff - one minute it's categorically not available until you've given out till blue in the face, and suddenly - hey presto - it is after all :rolleyes:

Sounds like a completely broken process

Johnboy1951 · 14-01-2017 11:40AM

Gonzo wrote: »

this shouldn't happen, they are gonna have to take on many more employee's to handle this, if this is the way it's gonna be all over the country for the next 5+ years there is gonna be a lot of very angry people. Everyone can understand delays in rollouts but these sneaky tactics and withholding people's numbers from going live is just not on.

Well I don't know about the time-scale of 5+ years, that seems rather pessimistic. It does seem that they are rolling out the fibre; taking orders before it goes live; fulfilling those orders (for the most part) and moving on to another section.

I see this as a deliberate tactic to meet the target of 'premises passed' ...... if the fibre is live and some are connected so all premises passed can be counted.

I would 'hope' that the delays in signing up would not be great after most 'blue-lines' have gone live.
But we do not know.
It is up to eir to manage their commercial roll-out in whatever manner suits their purpose.
We can only look on and hope some decision of theirs will facilitate us personally.

Eir rural FTTH thread

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