neighbour can get bb, I can't.

tammy

Howdy,

Recently moved to a rural(ish) location, moved into a house that was build less than two years ago. Got a new phone line installed about 2 months ago as I live about 2 - 3 miles from a DSL enabled exchange. My line fails line tests, and my dial up speed is 28.8kpbs, though it made it to 31.2kbps once.

However chatted to neighbours across the lane, and they get amber in the tests and get dial up speeds over 40kbps. They haven't ordered bb but are considering it. There's another neighbour a bit further away who does get bb however.

Does this mean my line is split or a carrier line? And considering I had it installed very recently I would have thought this practice would have stopped. Is there any way I can diagnose my line to find out what the problem is. This chat with the neighbours has brought me new hope and I was on the brink of ordering satelitte bb. Wireless is not a good option where i am unfortunately.

Do I just need to harass eircom relentlessly, until they do something or is it a lost cause?

thanks
Tammy

Foxwood

tammy wrote:

my dial up speed is 28.8kpbs, though it made it to 31.2kbps once.

Does this mean my line is split or a carrier line?

Those dialup speeds would tend to indicate a carrier line, yes.

It has been suggested that you should order ISDN (or "hi-price" as eircom should call it), and cancel the order immediately after your dialup speeds improve (when the remove the carrier), but before they actually do the install. Test your dialup speeds at least once a day if you go don this route!

DublinWriter

Foxwood wrote:

It has been suggested that you should order ISDN (or "hi-price" as eircom should call it), and cancel the order immediately after your dialup speeds improve (when the remove the carrier), but before they actually do the install. Test your dialup speeds at least once a day if you go don this route!

That's exactly what I did. It's feckin' expensive but I didn't have any other option.

About a year ago I heard Eircom's chairman on the Pat Kenny show answering listeners' questions, one of which was about getting off a group carrier scheme in order to get BB. He stated that they could make 'special considerations in some cases'. Yeah right, what option is that on your annoying automated system then?

I was averaging about 12kps, yes, k not m on dial-up when I was on the carrier line, and getting 54kps when in town with the same laptop.

Now I'm on BB via an ISDN installation, a costly and wasteful method, but there isn't an alternate as Eircom are so proceduralised.

byte

Yeah, when I had 28k speeds back at home, I ordered ISDN, as 28k was terrible and ISDN would free up the landline for calls. But about 3 days before an Eircom guy came to install the PnP box, my speeds shot up to about 48k. Unfortunately, there was no DSL at the exchange then, so I had to get ISDN anyway and pay over the odds. Admittedly though, I found 64k ISDN infinitely better than 28k back then!

Do-more

Is this the problem that Eircom have asked the Government to cough up €150 million to put right?

You could always ask your neighbour to connect you to his wireless network!

tammy

Thanks guys, this sounds like the way to go then, pretty ridiculous but if its the only way I guess theres no option.

I do have a number for the eircom guy who installed the line, was thinking he might do a nixer and upgrade the line himself though this may be pie in the sky. Are you locked into a contract with ISDN, i.e. will I have to use the service for some fixed period? Also how much does it cost for them to uninstall the ISDN in order to receive broadband. Oh and will it take months?

thanks
tammy

DublinWriter

tammy wrote:

Are you locked into a contract with ISDN, i.e. will I have to use the service for some fixed period? Also how much does it cost for them to uninstall the ISDN in order to receive broadband. Oh and will it take months?

The day after you get ISDN installed, call the BB sales line and get them to do a line check. If you pass, then get the ISDN cancelled and order BB on the same day. There's no term contract involved with ISDN.

For the installation of ISDN, deinstallisation of ISDN, and installation of BB you won't have much change out of €300.

watty

Doesn't ISDN make BB line check fail?

I'm 900m from a modern Digital ISDN native exchange and can't get ISDN. No space for Interface on shelf. It's getting upgraded for DSL next year I think.

About 200m away in opposite direction there are folk on an Exchange that has had DSL since Esat (now BT) did their first trial.

Don't start me on WiFi...

DublinWriter

watty wrote:

Doesn't ISDN make BB line check fail?

No

watty wrote:

I'm 900m from a modern Digital ISDN native exchange and can't get ISDN. No space for Interface on shelf. It's getting upgraded for DSL next year I think.

Huh? Shelf? What shelf?

Blaster99

Before you go and do crazy stuff, have you talked to eircom ADSL sales? There are rumours that they're actually interested in selling broadband now and can move the carrier to another line if they receive a broadband order.

Sponge Bob

But BB orders cannot take an order if it does not pass and it cannot pass if eircom have split the line between about 16 houses like they often do.

best escalate , try the old reliable email phil.nolan@eircom.ie to get to the escalations team

watty

19" racks.
Shelf full of cards / modules whatever. That's what they said anyhow

Foxwood

tammy wrote:

Thanks guys, this sounds like the way to go then, pretty ridiculous but if its the only way I guess theres no option.

I do have a number for the eircom guy who installed the line, was thinking he might do a nixer and upgrade the line himself though this may be pie in the sky. Are you locked into a contract with ISDN, i.e. will I have to use the service for some fixed period? Also how much does it cost for them to uninstall the ISDN in order to receive broadband. Oh and will it take months?

You don't want ISDN installed. You just want them to think that you want ISDN installed. They'll have to remove the splitter BEFORE the install ISDN, and you need to cancel the ISDN order immediately when your dia-up speeds increase.

There won't be any charge if you cancel before they install the ISDN. (Don't wait until they know on your door to do the install, though - that's probably a bit too late!)

Foxwood

DublinWriter wrote:

No

Are you talking about Ireland, or some other country?

The eircom line checker will fail an ISDN line.

DublinWriter

Foxwood wrote:

The eircom line checker will fail an ISDN line.

`
In my case when the Eircom ISDN guy came out, he drilled in the ISDN box and went 'oh, you're on a carrier line, I better pop down to the local exchange and take you off'.

If you order ISDN they are obliged to take you off a carrier, they're won't if you order BB.

DublinWriter

Blaster99 wrote:

Before you go and do crazy stuff, have you talked to eircom ADSL sales? There are rumours that they're actually interested in selling broadband now and can move the carrier to another line if they receive a broadband order.

The Eircom BB sales people work to a tight script, and it you fail the line test they just go "computer says no".

Sponge Bob

DublinWriter wrote:

`
If you order ISDN they are obliged to take you off a carrier, they're won't if you order BB.

Not quite true, they can refuse to complete the ISDN order in many cases simply leaving you on the pairgain.

I have known of cases where the engineer showed up and basically disappeared again.

I have known of cases where someone rang from eircom after the order was placed and said they would not complete it.

Nevertheless its worth a try for many.

watty

They accepted my ISDN order and then SIX WEEKS later they cancelled it. I have no pairgain. I get 42K on dialup. So ordering ISDN may do nothing to progress BB as Sponge Bob suggests.

There are countries where not only will and ISDN line pass, but they have a different DSL product compatible with ISDN. There are *some* advantages to ISDN in SOHO. Like auto fax/voice/ modem switching, 12 numbers with auto routing to any PC via server of fax etc (using cheap 80 euro PCI ISDN adaptor sharing ISDN bus with micro PABX), cheap 8 phone micro PABX under 300 Euro. There is a reason why they persist in installing ISDN in Germany.

DublinWriter

watty wrote:

They accepted my ISDN order and then SIX WEEKS later they cancelled it. I have no pairgain. I get 42K on dialup.

I'll count myself lucky to end up with BB via ISDN then. On the carrier line I was getting 12K on dialup and I can stand at the end of my garden and hit the local exchange with a well-aimed stone.

Fubarts

As i'm in the same boat. The best action is to Email Eircom unless the ISDN trick is tried ???
btw one Eircom engineer told me to try the same trick with the ISDN & cancel.