Best GigaBit broadband in Dublin

TestLink · 22-10-2020 4:06pm #1

Currently with VirginMedia 240 Mbps broadband with land phone - 64 euro pm

Now 1 Gbps Pure Fibre Broadband is available in my area and Eir rep was at my door step offering 55 euro per month offer with 24 month contract.

Options & Addons offered:
1 Gbps Fibre broadband + free eir sports + 1 yr Amazon prime - 55 euro per month

Unlimited Landline calls + Mobile calls to ALL countries except one - 10 euro

Apple TV with 50 free basic channels - 9.99 euro

Eir is said to have bad reputation when it comes to Customer Service. I have DigiWeb also offering the Gigabit BB at my place. Surely there would be other Service Providers soon as they would share the Eir infrastructure.

Any suggestions on which service provider I should NOT choose, based on your prior experience?

Vodafone / Magnet / Sky / Pure Telecom / DigiWeb ?

alec76 · 22-10-2020 4:26pm

Eir is unlimited , Digiweb has 1TB cap if not mistaken.
Eir's router is very poor , especially for wireless range, Digiweb's router much better , still not good enough to distribute 1Gb wireless across the house.
Eir's customer support is dreadful, Digiweb's very good.
I would steer clear from Vodafone though.( customer care as poor as Eir's but very congested network in some parts of the country, especially due to Covid 19).

TestLink · 22-10-2020 4:32pm

alec76 wrote: »

Eir is unlimited , Digiweb has 1TB cap if not mistaken.
Eir's router is very poor , especially for wireless range, Digiweb's router much better , still not good enough to distribute 1Gb wireless across the house.
Eir's customer support is dreadful, Digiweb's very good.
I would steer clear from Vodafone though.( customer care as poor as Eir's but very congested network in some parts of the country, especially due to Covid 19).

I have a good AX wireless router in my house and currently I use the VirginMedia router in modem mode and would like to keep the same setup. Which service providers modem would be capable of this setup? Thanks...

alec76 · 22-10-2020 4:51pm

If you don't care for landline Phone , you could get rid of provider's router altogether, just stick you own into to the ONT ( small white box , it is fiber modem itself )
If you need Phone then you probably have to put your router into AP mode, because if you set provider's router into the bridge mode , phone wouldn't work.
I am with Eir 1000/100 package, using my own mesh system, no phone ,very happy with Eir's network in general.
No packets loss, great routing to European, American servers etc.

TestLink · 23-10-2020 12:29pm

alec76 wrote: »

If you don't care for landline Phone , you could get rid of provider's router altogether, just stick you own into to the ONT ( small white box , it is fiber modem itself )
If you need Phone then you probably have to put your router into AP mode, because if you set provider's router into the bridge mode , phone wouldn't work.
I am with Eir 1000/100 package, using my own mesh system, no phone ,very happy with Eir's network in general.
No packets loss, great routing to European, American servers etc.

How is Eir support? Is is as bad as widely talked?

I currently use VirginMedia hub in modem mode with a phone line on to the hub and the Phone is working fine. Would the Eir Huawei router for fibre has a different setup?

tazzzZ · 23-10-2020 1:29pm

if eir and digiweb are available its likely you can use airwire too. they are just resellers. but customer service is excellent and they are unlimited. might be slightly more expensive though. i have SIRO with them and they have been well worth the extra cost imo.

alec76 · 23-10-2020 3:08pm

Eir support is very bad, so you obviously on your own, just forget their existence.
But their network is excellent , better than VM .
DIGIWEB would be the second best.
Airwire has a great support , but plenty people here not happy with their Gigabit service.
They all sharing OpenEir network, you are right there , but it is ONLY LAST MILE.
Fibre from your home and OpenEir exchange is shared by all providers, but how is data travel from exchange to the Provider ( interconnect) and further is specific to every provider. Vodafone and Sky using cheapest third party interconnect so there is chance is highly congested and you won't be able to get Gigabit speeds with them, especially COVID 19

Ha Long Bay · 23-10-2020 3:13pm

alec76 wrote: »

Eir is unlimited , Digiweb has 1TB cap if not mistaken.
Eir's router is very poor , especially for wireless range, Digiweb's router much better , still not good enough to distribute 1Gb wireless across the house.
Eir's customer support is dreadful, Digiweb's very good.
I would steer clear from Vodafone though.( customer care as poor as Eir's but very congested network in some parts of the country, especially due to Covid 19).

Digiweb increased the cap to 2TB.

https://digiweb.ie/fair-usage-policy/

TestLink · 23-10-2020 3:18pm

Any one here using Eir Huawei Fibre router? I would like to know whether the router supports Modem / Bridge mode with out issuing DHCP leases. It is the F2000 eir Fibre Modem from Huawei.

Had a chat with eir sales team, but they were not able to answer this query and was told to contact the eir tech support!

alec76 · 23-10-2020 3:19pm

TestLink wrote: »

I currently use VirginMedia hub in modem mode with a phone line on to the hub and the Phone is working fine. Would the Eir Huawei router for fibre has a different setup?

Yes it is different to VM.
It is possible to use your own router connected directly to the "fibre socket " (ONT ) and you could plug Eir router to the LAN port and use it only as ATA for your phone. You have to do port forwarding of course , there is no good guides how to do it , and you won't get support from your provider of course.
But if you have good understanding of networking , youll make if , alright.

There is always easy way to get out - use your router in AP mode only.

alec76 · 23-10-2020 3:22pm

TestLink wrote: »

Any one here using Eir Huawei Fibre router? I would like to know whether the router supports Modem / Bridge mode with out issuing DHCP leases. It is the F2000 eir Fibre Modem from Huawei.

Had a chat with eir sales team, but they were not able to answer this query and was told to contact the eir tech support!

I only used it for hour , such a junk .

440Hertz · 23-10-2020 3:25pm

Isn’t the Eir router Sagemcom now?

The first version was Zyxel, second version Huawei and current version Sagemcom, but they all look very similar as they’re an Eir branded custom spec.

TestLink · 23-10-2020 3:25pm

Please see the attached pic. It says "The eir F2000 is working in bridge mode". Would I be able ethernet cable from the F2000 router and plug it in to my current router?

440Hertz wrote: »

Isn’t the Eir router Sagemcom now?

The first version was Zyxel, second version Huawei and current version Sagemcom, but they all look very similar as they’re an Eir branded custom spec.

I was told that it is Huawei F2000 router.

440Hertz · 23-10-2020 3:31pm

TestLink wrote: »

Please see the attached pic. It says "The eir F2000 is working in bridge mode". Would I be able ethernet cable from the F2000 router and plug it in to my current router?

I was told that it is Huawei F2000 router.

That’s the previous model.

They’re using a Sagemcom made device called “Eir Fibre Box 1A 1.0 now.”

Seems just as locked down.

Digiweb have a higher spec Fritzbox available, if you talk to them too. It’s an extra cost.

The Fritzbox mesh repeater plugs are brilliant, but they come with a continental plug only, which isn’t a big deal - simple adapter and you’ll have to just buy online. I think Digiweb may sell the larger repeater which looks more like a router.

Snake Plisken · 23-10-2020 3:42pm

Interesting topic from the OP as I had Vodafone at the door offering a similar offer. Up until recently Virgin were the only game in town and they knew it increasing cost every year without offering any great improvement in service like UPC used to. I'm currently on their 240MB service with the landline I'm wondering will they cut the price of their 1GB service to match the likes of Eir? I also use my VM box in modem mode but would probably want to hold onto my landline if I did switch providers.
Any issue for gaming with speed for console gaming with Eir? How prevalent is peak time congestion if there are multiple customers trying to use the fibre network, do speeds drop greatly? Is it still the standard Telephone twisted pair wiring coming into the house or is it different?

TestLink · 23-10-2020 4:02pm

Snake Plisken wrote: »

Interesting topic from the OP as I had Vodafone at the door offering a similar offer. Up until recently Virgin were the only game in town and they knew it increasing cost every year without offering any great improvement in service like UPC used to. I'm currently on their 240MB service with the landline I'm wondering will they cut the price of their 1GB service to match the likes of Eir? I also use my VM box in modem mode but would probably want to hold onto my landline if I did switch providers.
Any issue for gaming with speed for console gaming with Eir? How prevalent is peak time congestion if there are multiple customers trying to use the fibre network, do speeds drop greatly? Is it still the standard Telephone twisted pair wiring coming into the house or is it different?

I was told by the eir rep that 1 Gbps speed is guaranteed at all times. The fibre from the main distribution is directly to your house. With fibre there wont be any congestion.

alec76 · 23-10-2020 4:21pm

TestLink wrote: »

I was told by the eir rep that 1 Gbps speed is guaranteed at all times. The fibre from the main distribution is directly to your house. With fibre there wont be any congestion.

It is a lie obviously, you shouldn't trust sales rep , they have no idea about the product they are selling.
There is congestion there and 1 Gb speeds not guaranteed at all times. But if you are living in well populated area , EIR or DIGIWEB would have more chance to deliver 1 Gb compare to Vodafone /Sky etc due to interconnect.

Julez · 23-10-2020 4:29pm

TestLink wrote: »

Currently with VirginMedia 240 Mbps broadband with land phone - 64 euro pm

Now 1 Gbps Pure Fibre Broadband is available in my area and Eir rep was at my door step offering 55 euro per month offer with 24 month contract.

Options & Addons offered:
1 Gbps Fibre broadband + free eir sports + 1 yr Amazon prime - 55 euro per month

Unlimited Landline calls + Mobile calls to ALL countries except one - 10 euro

Apple TV with 50 free basic channels - 9.99 euro

Eir is said to have bad reputation when it comes to Customer Service. I have DigiWeb also offering the Gigabit BB at my place. Surely there would be other Service Providers soon as they would share the Eir infrastructure.

Any suggestions on which service provider I should NOT choose, based on your prior experience?

Vodafone / Magnet / Sky / Pure Telecom / DigiWeb ?

I was almost signing up with Vodafone FTTH but in the end it actually wasn't supported in my area. But was the best value by far. My understanding is that Sky, Vodafone, OpenEir, Digiweb (as long as FTTH) all use the same OpenEir network. So the actual internet you're getting shouldn't be too much different.

Vodafone was 40 a month for 1gb broadband (30 for 500mb), adding phone was free and I think for 10 euro more you can add TV. They also don't charge an installation fee. In terms of customer service, I think they are all shíte at the moment, possibly due to Covid.

I had to stick with VM in the end anyway but I did up these quick maths while looking around, not sure if its still 100% valid, prices may have changed (figures include activation fee, if applicable)...

Digiweb
500Mb - €685 yr
1000Mb - €760 yr

Sky
500Mb - €410 yr
1000Mb - €650 yr

Vodafone
500Mb - €360 yr
1000Mb - €480 yr

alec76 · 23-10-2020 4:46pm

Julez wrote: »

My understanding is that Sky, Vodafone, OpenEir, Digiweb (as long as FTTH) all use the same OpenEir network. So the actual internet you're getting shouldn't be too much different.

Common mistake , they not, only same part for them would be Last Mile ( fibre from home to exchange) , it is different routes afterwards.
So, let say, 2 neighbors , one customer of Vodafone OpenEir FTTH , second Eir's FTTH , both on 1 Gb package, but actual speeds would be very different, more than likely Eir customer would have higher speeds compare to Vodafone, especially now , with COVID.

jimmycrackcorm · 23-10-2020 10:38pm

Julez wrote: »

I was almost signing up with Vodafone FTTH but in the end it actually wasn't supported in my area. But was the best value by far. My understanding is that Sky, Vodafone, OpenEir, Digiweb (as long as FTTH) all use the same OpenEir network. So the actual internet you're getting shouldn't be too much different.

Vodafone was 40 a month for 1gb broadband (30 for 500mb), adding phone was free and I think for 10 euro more you can add TV. They also don't charge an installation fee. In terms of customer service, I think they are all shíte at the moment, possibly due to Covid.

I had to stick with VM in the end anyway but I did up these quick maths while looking around, not sure if its still 100% valid, prices may have changed (figures include activation fee, if applicable)...

Digiweb
500Mb - €685 yr
1000Mb - €760 yr

Sky
500Mb - €410 yr
1000Mb - €650 yr

Vodafone
500Mb - €360 yr
1000Mb - €480 yr

I regret changing from VM to VF. VF actually charged me the installation fee even though it is supposed to be free. The CS agent tried to fob me off saying I have a different FTTH but the guy I signed up with said it would be free installation.

Also the speeds can vary drastically. At quiet times I can do various speedtests and get from the full 1GB/s to what it is now on a Friday evening < 10 MB/s. The actual impact I see is that my IPTv buffers a lot on VF. My VM 300mb broadband was fine for all my needs anyway and it wasn't much more than the VF cost, but at least speeds were consistent and IPTv was flawless.

I am doubtful about Eir as they have charged people for going over the TB limit, up to max 100 euro per month.

I'll definitely be changing once my 12 month contract is up.

alec76 · 24-10-2020 12:15am

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

I am doubtful about Eir as they have charged people for going over the TB limit, up to max 100 euro per month.

I'll definitely be changing once my 12 month contract is up.

Eir is totally unlimited , some old customers might be still under 1TB FUP cap, but every new contract is unlimited for the last 2-3 years.

alec76 · 24-10-2020 12:19am

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

I regret changing from VM to VF. VF

14 days cooling off period ?

Gonzo · 24-10-2020 12:09pm

I reckon Eir has the best gigabit service in terms of reliability, speed and ping response times and if you have no problems getting it set up or any billing issues then great. However if something goes wrong e.g. billing issues then your on your own trying to get it sorted out. Eir's customer support is non existent and even worse than the Eircom days. Having said that I've had Eir FTTH for nearly 4 years now and haven't had any trouble with it, it's been reliable the whole time.

Airwire and possibly Digiweb are the only other providers I'd recommend in the Dublin area, Digiweb changed their cap to 2tb per month which is probably enough for most people, certainly better than the 1tb per month they had up to very recently. Support with Airwire and Digiweb would also be light years better than Eir's suppport, plus you get the same modem from both those providers which is much better than Eir's modems.

While I'm still with Eir, I recently made the change to a Fritzbox modem and it's made a huge difference to the wifi reliability and speeds around the house.

Blowheads · 24-10-2020 12:13pm

TestLink wrote: »

How is Eir support? Is is as bad as widely talked?

I currently use VirginMedia hub in modem mode with a phone line on to the hub and the Phone is working fine. Would the Eir Huawei router for fibre has a different setup?

It's worse, ring up there on a Monday and see how long you're waiting.. never mind if you'll actually set a solution..

TestLink · 24-10-2020 12:58pm

Gonzo wrote: »

While I'm still with Eir, I recently made the change to a Fritzbox modem and it's made a huge difference to the wifi reliability and speeds around the house.

Would you be able to setup the Fritzbox modem yourself?

What router are you using? Would it be possible set your own OPenVPN vpn client in the router, like the one offered by ExpressVPN?

I am ok with VirginMedia customer service. But it is no value for money. I pay around 65 euro for 240 Mbps broadband + Phone (Unlimited calls to Irish Landlines). Now I have 1 Gbps fibre in my estate I would like to move to some other provider.

alec76 · 24-10-2020 1:16pm

People often calling router - modem and vice versa, myself too.
Fritzbox is the Router , not a fibre modem ( ONT)
He replaced F2000 Eir’s router with Fritzbox router.
ps. As far as I am aware , Fritzbox doesn’t support VPN client settings, only VPN server . ( You could setup your own VPN server but can’t run Express VPN client/or similar on this router.

How fast ExpessVPN btw? No way it is support gigabit speeds though.If all your traffic goes through ExpressVPN you definitely won’t be getting gigabit .
Why would you need all traffic going through ExpressVPN ?
I understand you might need it for some devices running IPTV , torrents etc , but every single device goes through VPN?
Do you realise that people who control ExpressVPN would know everything about you?

Gonzo · 24-10-2020 11:55pm

TestLink wrote: »

Would you be able to setup the Fritzbox modem yourself?

What router are you using? Would it be possible set your own OPenVPN vpn client in the router, like the one offered by ExpressVPN?

I am ok with VirginMedia customer service. But it is no value for money. I pay around 65 euro for 240 Mbps broadband + Phone (Unlimited calls to Irish Landlines). Now I have 1 Gbps fibre in my estate I would like to move to some other provider.

The modem a Fritzbox 7530 replaced the Eir F2000. Main reason I replaced the F2000 was the wifi was dropping constantly on all devices even sitting next to the router. Wifi speeds were also poor on the rare times the connection stayed up. The F2000 worked great wired tho.

I've had the Fritzbox about 2 months now and it hasn't dropped once and it gets around 200 meg on speedtests on the phone, If I had a newer phone speeds would probably be higher. On wired I generally get between 600 and 946 meg depending on time of day and speedtest server.

Ive' never tried any vpn stuff with the Fritzbox.

Stephen Strange · 25-10-2020 1:01pm

alec76 wrote: »

Eir support is very bad, so you obviously on your own, just forget their existence.
But their network is excellent , better than VM .
DIGIWEB would be the second best.
Airwire has a great support , but plenty people here not happy with their Gigabit service.
They all sharing OpenEir network, you are right there , but it is ONLY LAST MILE.
Fibre from your home and OpenEir exchange is shared by all providers, but how is data travel from exchange to the Provider ( interconnect) and further is specific to every provider. Vodafone and Sky using cheapest third party interconnect so there is chance is highly congested and you won't be able to get Gigabit speeds with them, especially COVID 19

I'm with Airwire on their 500mb package, can't fault them at all. CS is great and service is good. Big fan of the fritzbox in terms of wireless in the house

TestLink · 25-10-2020 7:22pm

alec76 wrote: »

How fast ExpessVPN btw? No way it is support gigabit speeds though.If all your traffic goes through ExpressVPN you definitely won’t be getting gigabit .
Why would you need all traffic going through ExpressVPN ?
I understand you might need it for some devices running IPTV , torrents etc , but every single device goes through VPN?
Do you realise that people who control ExpressVPN would know everything about you?

ExpressVPN is very fast. My virginmedia speed is 240 Mbps. I get 200 Mbps via Express VPN. The VPN client is set at router level.

Express VPN is based in British Virgin Islands with strong privacy legislation and no data retention. Also the server applications run in RAM. There is no secondary storage. It has a no log policy and outside 14 eye countries. Only downside is it is a bit expensive compared to NORD vpn.

alec76 · 25-10-2020 7:37pm

TestLink wrote: »

ExpressVPN is very fast. Mt virginmedia speed is 240 Mbps. I get 200 Mbps via Express VPN. The VPN client is set at router level.

Will you be happy to have 200mbps out of 1000 though?
As for the security... I dunno , could be honest business or could be run by CIA, russian FSB or al qaeda just as well.
They could monitor and study all traffic goes through them .
Question Who do you trust less in privacy terms, Irish ISP or some company from Offshore island?
I mean , one thing to use third party VPN to watch American Netflix, different thing if you uploading data in the clouds, personal photos or sensitive business information.
I am running my very OWN VPN server , but hey, I could trust myself though

TestLink · 25-10-2020 7:40pm

alec76 wrote: »

Will you happy to have 200mbps out of 1000 though?
As for the security... I dunno , could be honest business or could be run by CIA, russian FSB or al qaeda just as well.
They could monitor and study all traffic goes through them .
Question Who do you trust less in privacy terms, Irish ISP or some company from Offshore island?
I mean , one thing to use third party VPN to watch American Netflix, different thing if you uploading data in the clouds, personal photos or sensitive business information.
I am running my very OWN VPN server , but hey, I could trust myself though

For VirginMedia out of 240 Mbps I get 200 Mbps
With Eir out of 1000Mbps I might get 800. That is Ok.

There are 4 ports at the back of the Huawei HN8250ts modem. Can I connect one or them to my personal wifi router wan port and one to the Eir router which I would be using for telephony? Would this setup work?

If the above wont work can I use an Ethernet Splitter to split the connection - one to my wifi router and other to the eir router. See pic

Best GigaBit broadband in Dublin

Comments