Eircom ISDN

chuckleberryfin

I had no luck in the Nets/Comms board so I'll try here.

Can anyone let me know if they use Eircom's ISDN service for internet access? Is it worth the €s? What sort of hardware do Eircom supply? Was there any extras you had to purchase? What are the ping times like etc?

If anyone could let me know how they found Eircom's isdn service that'd be great.

Thanks

uncle_sam_ie

chuckleberryfin wrote:

I had no luck in the Nets/Comms board so I'll try here.

Can anyone let me know if they use Eircom's ISDN service for internet access? Is it worth the €s? What sort of hardware do Eircom supply? Was there any extras you had to purchase? What are the ping times like etc?

If anyone could let me know how they found Eircom's isdn service that'd be great.

Thanks

ISDN is a great product 10 years ago. We used ISDN for seven years until we were able to get BB in January of this year. All I can say is it cost me two hundred euro's to have it installed. They needed to string a brand new line all the way from the exchange. Because I have a separate clean line, I am now the only one around me that is able to get BB.(I live about 3.4 miles from the exchange) Also, I'm getting good speeds considering my distance. If you can't get any form of BB then ISDN would be a lot better then the SAT option and it will increase your chances of a BB pass in the future. As far as using it goes, it's still a dial-up product, so your on the clock. Voip works, and even video Voip kind of works. Downloading is less painful but leaves you praying your line will one day pass the line checker test.One good thing is that you can surf and use the phone at the same time. You will get an ISDN box that your phone and PC will plug into and thats it.

Anyway, I hope this helps

shanew

I had ISDN before broadband.. reasonably fast but
it worked out _very_ expensive as I ended up using
both channels - i.e. ~ 128kbps

As for hardware Eircom installed the ISDN socket/gadget
and I got the ISDN modem/router a Zyxel model.


Shane.

chuckleberryfin

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the replies so far. My only alternative to ISDN is Satelite broadband and considering what I've read I'm not inclined to pay for it. I already have my own phone line and the Anytime dial up package from Eircom. I worked out if I keep the anytime package and switch to isdn that'll give me the 150 hours online per month at 128kbps, using the two channels, for about 10 euro extra p/m, which I'm willing to pay.

I'm sorry if this next one sounds stupid but I'm more software than hardware. :rolleyes:

My pc has an internal, intel, ethernet card, is the external isdn modem necessary? I'm low on desk real estate atm.

Thanks again lads.

fatherdougalmag

You can get internal PCI ISDN adapters too. Some USB ISDN adaptes are very small too. Is there no wireless Internet option for you? Have you looked at http://www.irishwan.ie/? You might find someone around you who could help you out.

matt-dublin

I'm not too sure if the anytime package is available for isdn?
i would confirm this with eircom...

basically for 128k isdn u'll be using dual channel, which is charged at two phone calls.
so in the evening instead of 1.26cents a minute you'll be paying 2.52 etc etc.

i don't know if they will allow you to use isdn or make isdn calls using your minutes.
cofirm with them,
also get eircom to do a proper line test on your house and not to just check their database.

matt-dublin

chuckleberryfin wrote:

Hi Guys,
My pc has an internal, intel, ethernet card, is the external isdn modem necessary?

yes you would need an isdn modem. isdn and ethernet are two different things.
I would first suggest looking at other alternatives to isdn/satellite.

what is your location?

uncle_sam_ie

I was on the 150 hours per month, but keep in mind if you go to two lines at 128k you will only get 75 hours per month and you wont be able to make calls. Look on e-bay for an ISDN modem. Do make sure ISDN isn't your only choice. But, don't even look at Sat it's NOT real BB and cost way way way too much.

chuckleberryfin

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the information so far. As far as I can see its Sat bb or isdn atm. My location is Meath but far enough away from the "local" bb exchanges that I have given up on seeing bb anytime in the near future. I did get an Eircom fella out to test the phone line a few weeks ago and was told the line wasn't suitable for bb or isdn, they gave me a shout a few days ago to say that the line was now ISDN capable but still no BB.

According to Eircom website:

note: Using ISDN to dial-up with any of the eircom net flat rate products could double the speed with which you use your free hour allocation, and will result in double call charges for time exceeding that allocation.

It sounds like the double charges would only apply when you max out your allocated hours but I wouldn't be surprised if using two channels would halve your hours online.

yes you would need an isdn modem. isdn and ethernet are two different things.

I have studied network protocols, including ethernet, but I wasn't sure if ISDN was a protocol or a telephone network.

Well thanks lads, you've been a big help.

watty

1 channel = normal, 2 channels = two "lines", twice as fast, so doulble call rate.
It's both: Integrated Services Digital Network. It has a whole buch of protocols and supports Local Area Networking (not ethernet-TCP/IP variety) and Wide Area Network. You can even get X.25 as a layer on the 16kbps B interface normally only used for call setup/status.

The box with the ISDN socket is actually a Modem. Then the RJ45 is actually a high speed network bus (not ethernet) called S-bus.

So the ISDN to PC adaptor is a protocol converter if it uses Serial or Ethernet, and a sort of combo LAN card/Dialup interface if connected directly. It installs on PC as both RAS device AND Local Area Network device.

chuckleberryfin

Ah ok, that makes everything alot clearer, thanks for the details Watty!

watty

Serial is bad, Ethernet adaptors are Routers, and PCMCIA & PCI cards are direct interfaces (best).

Don't even think about a USB to ISDN adaptor.

chuckleberryfin

Yeah thought as much, I'll have alook at some pci isdn adapters and pull out my pci 56k modem, seems like the cleanest option. Add ons to buy. :mad:

uncle_sam_ie

watty wrote:

Serial is bad, Ethernet adaptors are Routers, and PCMCIA & PCI cards are direct interfaces (best).

Don't even think about a USB to ISDN adaptor.

Ya, thats what I had a USB one. Nothing but trouble. I've seen those cards Watty suggests on e-bay selling very cheap.

niallb

Even in the shops here, a PCI card will be about €25-€35.
Marx computers in fairview have a decent range,
though I see their price has gone up.

You'll see a big improvement with ISDN.
Don't bother with using two channels to get "twice the speed".
Twice the cost is all you'll notice.
Even one 64k digital channel is a lot faster than a 56k analogue modem.
Connect using your ordinary modem, go to a fast site, and download a fairly large file. See what speed that little window tell's you you're getting.
Probably 2.5k to 4.5k on dialup.
ISDN will push that figure to 7.3k rock solid, and 13.8k with two channels.
It's a worthwhile speed increase.

I'm also in Meath, miles from my exchange, and I've had ISDN for 5 years.
We desperately need a new motorway, so that we can get to broadband enabled areas faster :-)

fatherdougalmag

watty wrote:

Don't even think about a USB to ISDN adaptor.

Why not?

chuckleberryfin

Darkest dunsany? Sure we're practically neighbours (in meath terms).

niallb

If you're not that far off, I can let you see what kind of speeds ISDN can give you. I'd suggest you try a 3G datacard as well though depending on where you are. PM me roughly where you are, and I'll see if I can get any info for you on coverage.

I've got an old USB ISDN modem, and while I much prefer a PCI card,
the USB is fine so long as you have the right init strings.

Gonzo

I was on ISDN for years before broadband came to my area, it was a lifesaver from the awfull 28k I had before it, at the time I was into online gaming alot and ISDN gave me a low ping (for the time) which simply wasnt possible with 28k/56k but it did cost an arm and a leg. Then when i switched to broadband on eircom my ping was actualy slightly worse but the speed much faster but now both pings and speed on the broadband are great.
If ye cant get DSL/Cable broadband and can afford it then definitely go with ISDN over 28k/56k/Satellite