Why O Why....dsl Enabled Or Not!! Read On....

DialUpMeArse

Hello there lads, DialUpMeArse AKA Traolach Kaye here again.

The situation is as follows:

I live in a housing estate, Glenview Park Kilpedder, Co Wicklow. 88 houses arranged in an eliptical shape, just off the N11. One way in and out.

I obtained the phone numbers of other folk who live in the estate. Ran them thru the "availability checkers" of all and any of the major suppliers of Broadband.

Some of them show up as being DSL enabled.

However, for others, including my line, the message remains as follows:-



Sorry! Your line is not passing the initial test for DSL at present.

There may be a number of reasons for this:
You might not be connected to an ADSL enabled phone exchange
You may be located too far from an enabled exchange
Your line quality might not have been suitable for ADSL service when last tested

[Above message taken from DigiWeb site]

How can this be? The guy next door is only 10 yards away. Is it because he has a real phone line and all I have is some splitter bullshti? None of it is making the least bit of sense, of 4 phone numbers i have run, 2 pass and 2 fail. Is this even legal? I pay the same line rental as the next man and so on....

Thanks to anybody who takes the time to consider this and help me.

merry Xmas and all that good horsesh&t.

TK

Mr_Man

Since your neighbour is so close and he can get BB then it is likely that the first two reason given in the list do not apply.

This leaves line quality and this can be affected by a number of things...

1) poor copper between the drop on the pole and your house
2) A fault on the line between the pole and your house
3) Some people have also found that having equipment connected to the internal phone wiring can cause failure. So if you have a fax, cordless phone etc then they may causing the problem.

Solving 1 or 2 will require Eircom to come an fix the line, something they won't do if the line is working for the telephone.

If you have equipment connected then you'll need to disconnect it and then either convince Eircom to run the BB test on your specific line, or leave the equipment unplugged for a month so that the regular auto line check tests can be run and the database updated.

It could also be that you have a splitter on your line, these are quite common in Wicklow and while I've seen them used in housing estates if your neighbours can get a BB service then it is unlikely that you have a splitter. The only way to know for sure is to go and look. This is what you are looking for. If your line is split your a stuffed as Eircom refuse to remove them and with a splitter on your line you can't get BB.

HTH
M.

andrew163

Mr_Man wrote:

It could also be that you have a splitter on your line, these are quite common in Wicklow and while I've seen them used in housing estates if your neighbours can get a BB service then it is unlikely that you have a splitter. The only way to know for sure is to go and look. This is what you are looking for. If your line is split your a stuffed as Eircom refuse to remove them and with a splitter on your line you can't get BB.

HTH
M.

If that's the case.... it is possible to get it removed. Just takes alot of er..campaigning. (got mine removed after about 6 months of emails to an executive... was a while ago.. can't remember his name ). I'd suggest using the economic argument... present to them a case by which it would be more profitable for them to remove the splitter then to keep it there.... (difficult but possible)

netwhizkid

If he has got broadband, share a wireless connection or if he hasn't pay him to get it and route a wireless thing through his place. You have to love Ireland to live here really.

kaizersoze

According to your other thread (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=50579304&postcount=1) your phone line was only reconnected on the 21st of Dec.
If thats the case your line may not have been tested for BB yet. Thats why you're getting the fail result from the online checkers.
The lines are tested every 4 weeks (approx) and the database is updated.
All the online checkers do is access this database and check the result for your number. Ring Eircom and get them to test your line or be patient and wait for the auto test. Dont have anything connected to the line except a standard corded phone.
It's possible your neighbours that are failing the test are in the same boat as you or have something connected to the phone line that is causing the test to fail.

DialUpMeArse

Thats more than helpful lads, thanks. I've been talking to a fella in the know and he is insistent that the smartest thing to do is to sit tight with a dial up connection and wait things out. One mode of attack I had was to sign up to www.imagine.ie which offers a one-off call charge of 6c or so for every local/national call made under their 37.50 per month [including line rental] deal. Using an old iol-free CD i have I could ostensibly dial up for 6c per 59 mins online

One Hitch: Imagine say that they "buy" phone lines in bulk off eircom, hence their ability to sell their packages at a lower price to their new customers. Therefore, if Imagine now own the line I am using, what chance is there that Eircom will bother coming out to test my line?

Or do Imagine "own" it the line as they say, or are they merely renting in bulk from Eircom, as opposed to actually buying the infrastucture which Eircom currently own.?

It seems, and correct me if I err, that the best option is to stay with Eircom for the immediate time being, call them out to test the line [how long does this take, does anyone know], and then proceed according to Eircoms diagnosis re. my phone line.

As ever, please chip in with your opinons. many thanks for taking the time to consider this situation of mine.

Shag Eircom

TK

paulm17781

Imagine look to be a very dodgy operation. Stay well away. They only rent the Eircon lines. It'll be no different.

You'll get offers just as good from BT. I would recommend them over Imagine.

DialUpMeArse

Whats the knock on Imagine? Seems to be that people have very little confidence in them! Lay it on me....I'd love to be able to avoid any future bullsh^t. As I was saying in a different thread, "Imagine" offer a deal whereby you pay €37.50 per month for unlimited local/nat calls...on the face of it it seems ok. Minimum call charge of 6 cents, of course.

I like the sound of that, if anybody can show me whats wrong, then fine, I'll listen.

As it happens, a local GBS is due to go live in my area, supposdly next month. It would be nice to combine a good phone service with a good BB scheme.

Thanks, as ever

TK

paulm17781

Imagine don't offer anything that Eircon don't. Their packages are almost identical. Thier BB looks cheap but it is riddled with hidden costs. Router Rental, unclear indication of contract length, high install fees. If you want to get away from Eircon look at Smart or BT or someone. The right package with them will end up cheaper than imagine.

cgarvey

DialUpMeArse wrote:

Using an old iol-free CD i have I could ostensibly dial up for 6c per 59 mins online

Except, it most likely won't include access to 1892 numbers (dialup access). There is a thread somewhere in the Broadband Forum with geographic dialup access numbers (along with the conflicting claims that access to these numbers are treated differently by the CPS carriers). The user Watty, I think, has more info on this.

DialUpMeArse wrote:

Imagine say that they "buy" phone lines in bulk off eircom

If they did indeed say this, they are lying. They can only rent lines off eircom, who will still own the line. The line will still be tested by eircom (unless it's been unbundled by Smart Telecom, Magnet, or BT Ireland).

.cg

Br@nkin

Hey,

I'm just wondering, is your phone line on the Greystones or the Newtown exchange?

Cheers,
James

watty

Dunno what will happen with Tele2*, but with their 9 Euro a month ALL GEOGRAPHIC local and national calls are free in evening and weekend. Hang up at 59 min and reconnect.

As long as you use a 01, 021, 061 etc number this applies to Internet too.

*Now owned by carphone warehouse.

BT has a very small number of lines they really own. Everyone else is paying Eircom.

IT Loser

The exchange is supposedly Newtownmountkennedy, but I am only saying that as BT say my phone number pertains to that exchange.