Broadband NA due to "Pair Gain"

Danno

I have tried to get broadband on my line, but discovered that I will not be able to do so because, there is a carrier/line splitter/pair gain thingy device on the pole where my line comes from.

Tried to ring eircom to ask them to fix it - they want €98 + VAT to send out an engineer to "have a look".

I understand that the device on the line is illegal since 2001.

What are my options???

Danno

Now eircom are telling me that I will have to have a new line at a cost of €121 - WHAT THE FECK!

uncle_sam_ie

Unless there is a wireless ISP in your area or you can get NTL, all you can do is hand over the cash and bend over. You can thank the Minister of communications dail-up Dempsey.

MunsterCycling

Does it get windy near that pole at all??? Have you had voice call problems? Cracking, distorsion etc??? Well ring up €ircon and tell them the problems your having with your voice calls adn they must look into it under their USO obligation. When ask are you having voice call problems say YES!

uncle_sam_ie

Danno wrote:

Now eircom are telling me that I will have to have a new line at a cost of €121 - WHAT THE FECK!

Is that 98 +121 euro?

Danno

Engineer to have a look at the line = €98+VAT

OR

Order a new line €121 (not sure if includes VAT) and "HOPE" that the new line will pass the test.

Exchange is only 50 metres from the house!

Carrier (little white box) on telegraph pole outside house. All that is needed is for an engineer to connect me to a direct pair to the exchange.

Feckin Eircom.

No wireless in area YET. Permeir Broadband (Clonmel) are looking for high sites in the area...

MunsterCycling

Cough

jor el

As MunsterCycling with the bad cough said, ring them and tell them you have voice problems on the line. Say it's an intermittent noise problem and effects your phone calls. It may help to rustle a bad of Tayto when you're talking to them, I've heard that has had some success. Anyway, if they can't fix the problem they have to replace the line, at no cost to you. Ring them every day until they replace it.

If you order a new line there's probably no guarantee there won't be a pair gain on that too.

zuma

Speaking of the USO.

I know someone who honestly had a crap line....eircom just layed some of it on the ground and in the ditch FFS!

He got so pissed off with calls dieing on him that he used some DIY to make sure eircom had to fix the problem....nod...nod...wink....wink!!!!

Sponge Bob

a pairgain at 50 metres, what a bloody disgrace.

try repairing it yourself by using a chainsaw on the base of the pole .,

Danno

May have to cut the hedge when the weather gets fine...

ooops... snip snip...

Blaster99

eircom is supposed to sort out pair-gains at no cost to you. This is their own policy according to that McRedmond chap and ComReg might even be on your side.

Danno

Any link to their policy online where this might be stated?

Blaster99

No. The way it works is that David McRedmond tells journalists, either in print or on the radio, that eircom will do this and the other to get people online but the broadband sales dept have never heard of any it. He mentioned the thing about pair gains on the Pat Kenny show as far as I recall and it's hinted to in the Irish Times article quoted here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=263283. The principle is that if you put in an order they will sort things out. It's just that it's impossible to place an order unless you pass the test.

I think people who've e-mailed the Pat Kenny show have had some success as well as eircom has apparently assigned somebody to look into complaints from his radio show. Search for Pat Kenny on this forum.

Blaster99

I have a vague recollection that eircom has made some commitments to ComReg with regards to pair gains, but that probably didn't extend beyond acknowledging that such things exist. Highly unlikely that ComReg could be bothered doing anything that would go against the wishes of their best buddies in eircom, but you can give it a try. There's no way on this planet that you should have to pay for eircom to fix their network.

dyslexixboy

Danno a word of warning on the new line I got a new line installed and then had it tested and it failed, im now on digiweb metro and canceled my line with eircon

uncle_sam_ie

What if he ordered an ISDN line and then dumped it after a couple of months. I know it's very expensive way to go about it, but he'd be left with a good line ready for DSL. God I hate eircon!

kaizersoze

uncle_sam_ie wrote:

What if he ordered an ISDN line and then dumped it after a couple of months. I know it's very expensive way to go about it, but he'd be left with a good line ready for DSL. God I hate eircon!

Yep. Costly but effective. Strange that they will remove a pairgain for an ISDN order but not for a BB order. Email phil.nolan@eircom.ie, Comreg, Pat Kenny, Joe Duffy, Podge and Rodge and anyone else you can think of until it's sorted.

damien

I've seen emails from people who emailed Pat Kenny after eircom went on air and they had their pair gains removed.

Sponge Bob

Pat Kenny received a personal assurance from McRedmond of eircom, live on air a few months back, that these kind of lines would be sorted. All you need to do is ask.

Apparently Pat forwards the emails personally to McRedmond with a little note. Make sure you give your eircom account number to Pat.

Running out of clean copper 50 yards from the exchange is a new low in this country ....even for eircom .

Sponge Bob

Discussion and synopsis of the assurances given to Pat Kenny, Live on air , here

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054895821&highlight=kenny+mcredmond

Duiske

Sponge Bob wrote:

Pat Kenny received a personal assurance from McRedmond of eircom, live on air a few months back, that these kind of lines would be sorted. All you need to do is ask.

.

Eircom Broadband told me on Saturday that our line was a carrier line, and put me through to faults dept. They in turn gave me a name and number to call in Kilkenny, to have the line upgraded. They said it would take "a matter of weeks" and there was no mention of any charges. Bit of a change from 2 weeks ago when I was simply told by an Eircom rep that they were "under no obligation to provide, or assist in the provision of Broadband".

Sponge Bob

yes, I have only recently heard good (any ) stories about the amber program, announced a year ago but finally creaking into life in the past month or so.

Danno

Thanks guys for the help. I will try and meet an engineer at the exchange and I will kindly ask him...

lucernarian

That sucks allright, a pairgained line 50 metres away from the exchange. I've seen a pairgain 20 odd metres in a straight line from the Castlebellingham exchange in Louth so you wouldn't be the only one.

I understood you were with Digiweb for broadband?

Danno

I am, house #2 is not in digiweb coverage