Broadband in Dubin...

gb321123

Have got a new apartment just off Francis street and want to get broadband connected up as soon as possible.
There is a phone line, but it is not connected.
Can anyone give me a run down on my options, I have been out of the country and to be honest I don't have a clue.

Have visited the Irish Broadband site and they say that I have coverage for the ripwave package. Does this work or is it flakey. Also I need to connect more than one computer to the connection, preferably using WI-FI. How would I go about doing this, can I run the ripwave connection box into a wi-fi router so that more than one person can use the connection?

Thanks in advance.

bk

Only get Ripwave as the absolute last option. It isn't very good.

If you want to get BB via ADSL from Eircom, BT, UTV, Magnet or Smart Telecom, you will need to get the line connected first and then after about a month you **might** be able to get BB from them, but you won't know if it will work until the line is connected and have waited the month and you will have to pay line rental (and maybe a line connection charge).

If you get cable TV from NTL then you might want to try them first, you can now get cable BB from NTL in many areas.

If these don't work then try the better quality wireless providers, Digiweb Metro service (requires an antennae on the roof).

Then try the 3G HSDPA BB service from Vodafone.

Then and only then should look to Ripwave as a last resort.

Colonel Sanders

give magnet a ring. they'll tell you your options over the phone and whether or not ur area is covered. I find them very helpful (unlike eircom) and their packages have so far been very very reliable. Not too dear either at 39 a month for 2mgs

dub45

You are more than likely on the Crown Alley Exchange if you are in Francis St - if you are you are lucky enough to be able to get Smart. Do it:)

dub45

bk wrote:

Only get Ripwave as the absolute last option. It isn't very good.

If you want to get BB via ADSL from Eircom, BT, UTV, Magnet or Smart Telecom, you will need to get the line connected first and then after about a month you **might** be able to get BB from them, but you won't know if it will work until the line is connected and have waited the month and you will have to pay line rental (and maybe a line connection charge).

If you get cable TV from NTL then you might want to try them first, you can now get cable BB from NTL in many areas.

If these don't work then try the better quality wireless providers, Digiweb Metro service (requires an antennae on the roof).

Then try the 3G HSDPA BB service from Vodafone.

Then and only then should look to Ripwave as a last resort.

For many people NTL BB is now worse than Ripwave - so be very careful about this particular suggestion! Just read the number of recent threads on boards about NTL - even NTL are acknowledging that people are leaving!

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055091198

She then told me that Yesterday the Customer Services Dept. had a big meeting to find out why som many customers were leaving... This I found funny, because they were Kinda unclear as to why.. The agents were asked to get clear reasons from customers leaving and try to keep them by offering them faster speeds..

the corpo

bk wrote:

then after about a month you **might** be able to get BB from them, but you won't know if it will work until the line is connected and have waited the month and you will have to pay line rental (and maybe a line connection charge)

is this true? you have to wait a month with eircom on a new account before transferring? that's appalling

bk

the corpo wrote:

is this true? you have to wait a month with eircom on a new account before transferring? that's appalling

Yes, basically Eircom only test the lines for BB once a month, so it can take up to a month. It depends on what date they test the lines in your area and when you got connected.

So for instance they might test the lines on the 10th of every month. If you are connected on the 8th, then you are lucky and you will know 2 days later. If you got your line connected on the 12th, then you have to wait until the next month to find out.

Before you ask, no, if you call them they won't run the line test, they only read out the results from the database of when the last test was run.

Yes, as dub45 said, if you are on the Crown Alley exchange, then you should seriously look at Smart.

bk

dub45 wrote:

For many people NTL BB is now worse than Ripwave - so be very careful about this particular suggestion! Just read the number of recent threads on boards about NTL - even NTL are acknowledging that people are leaving!

True, I suppose I've been very lucky and have had an excellent service from NTL, no problems really.

However even if you have problems, IMO it is still better then Ripwave, which is completely rubbish and shouldn't even be called BB.

Anyway with Vodaphone, O2 and 3 all now offering or about to offer HSDPA wireless BB, there is no reason to go Ripwave now IMO.

gb321123

Thanks for the help everyone

Think I'll be in for a wait so. This could prove abit of a problem as I'll be working from home and the internet is vital. However there is an internet cafe directly across the road. Hopefully this means at least that there is broadband in the area. If all comes to all I can ask them for a wi-fi connection as a temp measure.

Also what about 3 wireless broadband, has anyone experience? Seems like a good option but I can't find details of a usb modem on the 3 site, only the pcmica card

dub45

bk wrote:

True, I suppose I've been very lucky and have had an excellent service from NTL, no problems really.

However even if you have problems, IMO it is still better then Ripwave, which is completely rubbish and shouldn't even be called BB.

Anyway with Vodaphone, O2 and 3 all now offering or about to offer HSDPA wireless BB, there is no reason to go Ripwave now IMO.

Friend of mine rang me last week to inquire about dsl - he has been with NTL for years for his BB - he was on his 20th day of no bb service and he was just being fobbed off by NTL with apparently no attempt at all to solve his problem.

Even Ripwave would be a better alternative than that sort of crap. And what was their immediate priority when UPC took over? Forcing people onto direct debits and implementing late payment fees.:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Competition? I am sure Eircom cannot believe their luck with this shower of idiots to put it charitably.

BendiBus

gb321123 wrote:

Hopefully this means at least that there is broadband in the area.

I tested a few Francis St phone numbers on the Eircom broadband site and they all pass. So there is definitely bb in the area.

In the meantime you might have noticed that Caffe Noto on the corner of Francis St/Thomas St offers free wifi.

gb321123

Thanks for the tip on the free wi-fi from the cafe.

dub45

BendiBus wrote:

I tested a few Francis St phone numbers on the Eircom broadband site and they all pass. So there is definitely bb in the area.

In the meantime you might have noticed that Caffe Noto on the corner of Francis St/Thomas St offers free wifi.

I have just checked the no of the Tivoli Theatre (Francis St) on the Smart site and it says that its on the Dolphin's Barn exchange and Smart is available.

diego_armando

Hey this is exactly the kind of therad ive been looking online for!

I have just had a line connected for eircom on St.Ignatius Road, basically on the corner of Dorset St. and near the canal.

I was thinking of just staying with Eircom to connect BB but 54.99 for a bundle seems a bit steep. Any other options I should consider?

jimmycrackcorm

dub45 wrote:

Friend of mine rang me last week to inquire about dsl - he has been with NTL for years for his BB - he was on his 20th day of no bb service and he was just being fobbed off by NTL with apparently no attempt at all to solve his problem.

Even Ripwave would be a better alternative than that sort of crap. And what was their immediate priority when UPC took over? Forcing people onto direct debits and implementing late payment fees.:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Competition? I am sure Eircom cannot believe their luck with this shower of idiots to put it charitably.

There are people with every operator who have issues, but the vast majority are fine. Given the type and nature of NTL's network I believe that their problems are localised to specific areas.

As for people leaving I know people who have moved their BB because they prefer to get Sky in instead.

dub45

jimmycrackcorm wrote:

There are people with every operator who have issues, but the vast majority are fine. Given the type and nature of NTL's network I believe that their problems are localised to specific areas.

As for people leaving I know people who have moved their BB because they prefer to get Sky in instead.

In the NTL situation people are moving their BB because they want BB!

Vash

I use to live in that area onef the perpendicular streets off of francis, I ordered magnet, and it took about 8 weeks for them to get someone to come to my house...very dissapointing, and then when I got it, it wasnt very good really intermittent, and then there was a fire in my building took a week to get that resolved, then another fire in my building, and at that point...i moved

diego_armando

I have just had a line connected for eircom on St.Ignatius Road, basically on the corner of Dorset St. and near the canal.

I was thinking of just staying with Eircom to connect BB but 54.99 for a bundle seems a bit steep. Any other options I should consider?

ixoy

Yes, I know there's a thread already by me but this might be a better place..

Just moved into an appt in Portmarnock. I'm assuming it's on the Portmarnock exchange so - sob - Smart is out. Potential providers include BT, Eircom, and NTL.
There's no phone line connected in the place (there's a phone point but the line is disabled or so I'm told) so according to the above post by bk, I'd have to wait an age potentially? That's not good.

NTL seem to get a lot of faeces thrown at them, but they'd be quicker at hooking me up it would seem. Is everyone on them fiercly unhappy or is just a higher porportion of dissatisfaction?? And do they use NetGear wireless routers (reason I ask is that there's a netgear router broadcasting nearby which might indicate them)?

chopperbyrne

NTL are very good for a few years until the area gets oversold and the contention really kicks in.

They used to be the best provider in Tallaght, but are nowhere near as good as the DSL offerings nowadays.

diego_armando

Can someone advise me how to get an answer to my post above, it seems every time i post someone just continues the thread with their own query.

Should I be starting a new thread?

diego_armando

I have just had a line connected for eircom on St.Ignatius Road, basically on the corner of Dorset St. and near the canal.

I was thinking of just staying with Eircom to connect BB but 54.99 for a bundle seems a bit steep. Any other options I should consider?

gb321123

Called into 3 yesterday and they have the new usb modems. Only thing is that I have just read on the website that they have blocking voice. Does that mean VOIP?