eircom to upgrade an additional 300+ exchanges - No timeframe set

damien

eircom today announced its plans to commit an extra €30m to broadband enable an additional 319 communities around the country. This will allow up to 140,000 extra customers to connect to a broadband enabled exchange. It is hoped that the work will be completed within a couple of years.

Today’s announcement comes five months after the company announced it will broadband enable an additional 100 exchanges nationwide in 2007. In January, eircom committed to a ‘take all orders’ programme, to provide broadband to everyone living within the five main urban areas of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. In total, more than 900 exchanges representing 96% of the working telephone lines in Ireland will be connected to a broadband exchange in the coming couple of years.

I've asked eircom for a timeframe on this. So far they have yet to provide a timeframe for the 100 they announced for this year.

damien

List of new exchanges to be enabled.

delly

I got excited there for a moment until I checked the list and it aint there. Boo! Despite the fact that I live in one of the largest and newest estates in the North East with nearly 900 homes.

damien

Which exchange?

delly

I have got different responses as to the actual exchange as some class it as 'Drogheda' despite it being just over the border in Meath. I think its called 'Colpe Cross' which serves an estate called 'Grange Rath' just south of Drogheda.

damien

Delly, eircom asked me to relay this to you:

There isn't an exchange for that estate, but an RSU is going in and our
current target date is end of June. There were delays but the developer
and ourselves met last week and that is the new target date. It is
actually served off of the Drogheda exchange.

shane_by

Interesting. My exchange is listed. My trials and tribulations regarding broadband are recounted here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055070722

delly

Wow, that was fast. That gives me some hope, but am I right in thinking that an RSU being a subexchange of the main exchange restricts what you can get, or would the fact that it is new mean that it would be dsl enabled once it comes online?

cathald

Class, my exchange is there too!

Patrickof

Unbelievable, after two years of no broadband and nearly one year of vodafone 3g our exchange (The Heath, Laois) is finally on a list of exchanges to be enabled.

I wonder when they'll release timeframes.

bye bye vodafone.

smellslikeshoes

Patrickof wrote:

Unbelievable, after two years of no broadband and nearly one year of vodafone 3g our exchange (The Heath, Laois) is finally on a list of exchanges to be enabled.

I wonder when they'll release timeframes.

bye bye vodafone.

I wouldn't jump for joy just yet, The last 100 exchanges announced havent been upgraded yet, They were announced last autumn and are supposed to be all done in the year 2007, I couldn't imagine this lot being done until at least 2008.

In all honesty this announcement is pretty sleazy. Eircom have realised that announcing exchanges like this will keep the broadband starved people on those exchanges from signing up to contracts with wireless/3g providers with the expectation that they will have dsl soon, thus keeping them on profitable dialup services for that much longer.

mike65

Aertel reports this news with a line mentioning IOFFL! Must be a first.

Mike.

damien

mike65 wrote:

Aertel reports this news with a line mentioning IOFFL! Must be a first.

Our name will be mentioned in bingo halls up and down the country from here on in.

Blaster99

smellslikeshoes wrote:

In all honesty this announcement is pretty sleazy. Eircom have realised that announcing exchanges like this will keep the broadband starved people on those exchanges from signing up to contracts with wireless/3g providers with the expectation that they will have dsl soon, thus keeping them on profitable dialup services for that much longer.

eircom is the only company that offers some insight into their rollouts plans and I would have thought they should be commended for that. The rest hide behind waffly PR statements that tell us nothing.

qwertplaywert

was getting hopeful for minute, then looked at list, not on it

is_that_so

delly wrote:

I have got different responses as to the actual exchange as some class it as 'Drogheda' despite it being just over the border in Meath. I think its called 'Colpe Cross' which serves an estate called 'Grange Rath' just south of Drogheda.

If you are in Grange Rath you are too far from the Drogheda exchange.

dahamsta

I don't see Cloyne in that list, it was in the last batch right?

I asked a bitstream reseller about it recently and he said that eircom don't even give them dates, never mind anyone else. Looks like you belong to the privileged set Damien.

adam

Altreab

Blaster99 wrote:

eircom is the only company that offers some insight into their rollouts plans and I would have thought they should be commended for that. The rest hide behind waffly PR statements that tell us nothing.

Eircom tend to list the exchanges that havent been upgraded, announce that they will be upgraded and then take their sweet time upgrading them. The entry of a (usually wireless) competitor into an area seems to be the determining factor as to when they upgrade.
An exchange close to where i am had the following happen .

Customer: When will the exchange be upgraded?
Eircom: It will be at least a year before your exchange will be upgraded. It is not on the build list.

One week later a Wireless operator goes live in the area. Following week Eircom announces on local radio that they have now upgraded local exchange.
This has been repeated consistantly around the country. So Eircom announcing something and doing something is VERY different.

damien

qwertplaywert wrote:

was getting hopeful for minute, then looked at list, not on it

Which exchange are you on?

damien

dahamsta wrote:

I don't see Cloyne in that list, it was in the last batch right?

Yes and already waiting on a time from eircom for it.

Blaster99

Apart from this latest press release, eircom has given a deadline for the upgrades and has delivered the upgrades within that time. This would be unlike let's say NTL, who have been promising me broadband in three months time since 1999.

Anyone who gets into the broadband business has to expect competition. The fact that eircom is planning to enable practically all the exchanges is hardly news.

qwertplaywert

damien.m wrote:

Which exchange are you on?

im on the Readypenny exchange, in Louth

to be honest, i shouldnt be surprised, i heard a neihbour once say thiers only 300 houses on the echange

gerky

Good news Damien at least it’s a start on bringing things up to scratch.
What’s the maximum distance broadband will work from the exchange.

jwt

Depending on your line anywhere from 10 feet to 4 miles.

No, I'm not joking

I posted about the eircom PR here

John

The Real B-man

What really pisses me off is why eircom arent using adsl2+ on there new exchanges i mean its the way forward

1huge1

Do my eyes decieve me, Hospital, Co.Limerick is actually on the list
wonders will never cease

Ill believe it when i see it

delly

Irony of ironys, on the day your giving me this info Damien, I came home to find a flyer from a local Counciller titled 'Eircom broadband comes to Grange Rath' and no, he didn't give any credit to IOFFL.

dahamsta

damien.m wrote:

Yes and already waiting on a time from eircom for it.

Thanks Damien.

oleras

Press release should read " eircom dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century"

Silly state of affairs really, What i have noticed, along with everyone else with regard to broadband is its either a feast or a famine, you can either point blank not get it and when the exchange is enabled you have the choice between fixed and wireless all of a sudden.

They announced the patrickswell co.limerick one last year to be done this year, anyone any idea what kind of timeframe before its completed ?

Slaanesh

I too was getting hopeful like others.

Kilmessan is not on that list, not that it would be, it's served off the tara exchange. I moved into a new estate that is served by a sub-exchange in the center of the village, it is not DSL capable and tara is too far out.

However, an eircom technician is the only guy to have broadband in the village, 'on trial'.

dr.bollocko

I find it best to never be hopeful when it comes to this shower of wasters.
They are a joke of a telecomms company.
And I wouldnt read too much into this announcement. I just dont trust them. Their system is inept, employees are callous <.cg snip> and I hope that I never ever have to give another cent of my hard earned to this bungling, moronic good old boy company.
God I hate eircom.