National Broadband satellite - effects of weather on speed

hjr

trabpc wrote: »

His charge is €58 p/m but because phone is not working on sat yet he is gettig the €20 back so all he is currently paying is €38 euro.

Just wondering did you ask for a rebate or was it offered, as I have the 1MB option for about a month now and no sign of phone to arrive....

Thanks

Ogham

I have the 1Mb option too - and no mention of phone service. I didn't push it - and assumed the charges would work out dearer than our UTV package (free evening and weekend calls in Ireland and UK)
A 20 euro reduction would be nice . Did you ask Mark - or did it just happen?

I had it installed in Sept - by an an engineer . No way would I do it myself. He said they had installed about 600 - no mention of any self install. A neighbour of mine got it installed by them before Christmas - as far as I know there was no major delays for them.
The only thing I have a problem with - is if you go over 5Gb in a month you get reduced speeds for the rest of the month. It has happenned twice now. They don't specifically say in their policy that 5Gb is a limit - but I have been told that 5Gb is some sort of limit. Apart from that - speeds are mostly around the 980kbps for me. With 3 teenagers in the house - I'll have to limit their use of youtube etc ..

mumhaabu

Ogham wrote: »

I have the 1Mb option too - and no mention of phone service. I didn't push it - and assumed the charges would work out dearer than our UTV package (free evening and weekend calls in Ireland and UK)
A 20 euro reduction would be nice . Did you ask Mark - or did it just happen?

I had it installed in Sept - by an an engineer . No way would I do it myself. He said they had installed about 600 - no mention of any self install. A neighbour of mine got it installed by them before Christmas - as far as I know there was no major delays for them.
The only thing I have a problem with - is if you go over 5Gb in a month you get reduced speeds for the rest of the month. It has happenned twice now. They don't specifically say in their policy that 5Gb is a limit - but I have been told that 5Gb is some sort of limit. Apart from that - speeds are mostly around the 980kbps for me. With 3 teenagers in the house - I'll have to limit their use of youtube etc ..

Never mind 5GB I could download 20 or 30GB in a day never mind a month, this is really only a snazzy web page accelerator and of no use for the other real useful things on the net, like Rapidshare, Torrents, Distros and downloads to Xbox etc. 5Gb is an absolute joke of a limit. Anything under 100GB/month isn't worth pissing at! But then at 1megabit or 100KB/s it would take a nice bit to get into mega gigabyte downloads.

Ogham

mumhaabu wrote: »

Never mind 5GB I could download 20 or 30GB in a day never mind a month, this is really only a snazzy web page accelerator and of no use for the other real useful things on the net, like Rapidshare, Torrents, Distros and downloads to Xbox etc. 5Gb is an absolute joke of a limit. Anything under 100GB/month isn't worth pissing at! But then at 1megabit or 100KB/s it would take a nice bit to get into mega gigabyte downloads.

It's this or 30k dial up for me - nothing else works where I live. It is more than a "web page accelerator" - it's an internet connection and it's all I have available. I know it's not great - but what else can I do?
(Ok I could move to a city - but that's not an option)

Fuzzy Clam

mumhaabu wrote: »

Never mind 5GB I could download 20 or 30GB in a day never mind a month, this is really only a snazzy web page accelerator and of no use for the other real useful things on the net, like Rapidshare, Torrents, Distros and downloads to Xbox etc. 5Gb is an absolute joke of a limit. Anything under 100GB/month isn't worth pissing at! But then at 1megabit or 100KB/s it would take a nice bit to get into mega gigabyte downloads.

Yeah, but some of us have a life outside of sitting in front of a pc all day downloading porn:rolleyes:
Most average users would not come anywhere near 100 Gb a month.

48nico

mumhaabu wrote: »

Never mind 5GB I could download 20 or 30GB in a day never mind a month, this is really only a snazzy web page accelerator and of no use for the other real useful things on the net, like Rapidshare, Torrents, Distros and downloads to Xbox etc. 5Gb is an absolute joke of a limit. Anything under 100GB/month isn't worth pissing at! But then at 1megabit or 100KB/s it would take a nice bit to get into mega gigabyte downloads.

This 5GB came as a surprise to me to i was reduced to between 48k-85k for 2 weeks

fergalfrog

mumhaabu wrote: »

Lol! I can't believe this was being rolled out on a DIY basis? I was certain they installed it for you! I remember those buzzers from that piece of crap Lidl satellite system a while back, there is no way it is humanly possible for an average person to be expected to be able to set this up before unless they know the workings of Satellite technology and all the trappings that go with it. For VSAT and especially for this product that is on the margins of footprint you need to dish to be 100% aligned correctly as if it is not then in light misty rain it will cut out which is of no use whatsoever to a product that delivers internet based data.

This product is best left to a experienced satellite engineer......

....Best of luck aligning it but I can see it becoming a real nightmare!

After some delay I got my equipment last week and I now agree fully with the above. I had to go pick it up at my nearest train station which kinda defeated the purpose of requesting delivery.

It is not as simple an install as I thought it would be. I called them yesterday to arrange an engineer to come out and do the install. Apparently the self install is based on Germany and Luxemburg where they are installing it themselves. Maybe we are just thick but I have no doubt the average user would need to allow at least a full day and plenty of patience for it. I can't devote a day to it especially not being very confident I would get it working.

If everyone could do this then Sky tv would be a self install too.

You will need all the tools/skills required to bolt a dish to a wall. You can use an antennae pole (should you have one lying around!!) but you will still need to bore through a wall to bring it into the house. You'll also need a compass. The earpiece thing seems to be missing from what I received.

All up it's in the too hard basket for me and I'm happy to pay the 100 euro to get someone out to do it. I don't consider myself completely useless btw. I am 31 years old, do the odd basic handy man job, have been working in the internet industry for 9 years and yet I am saying no to the self install. That's just me but I asked 2 people I work with and my partner and they all said they would pay the 100 euro. My advice would be unless you have done stuff like this before you'd be better off pay the 100 euro.

watty

Signal is a LOT stronger in Germany/Lux = smaller dish = easier to align.


Lidl get a lot of returned sat systems and people take a long while to install them badly.

48nico

48nico wrote: »

HI,i just recently installed the satellite myself during the bad weather of 3 weeks ago,i found the ear phone useless as i was getting their full package broadband+tv+voip.i found the tv channels first the broadband wasnt far from that. my package was 1mb download,128 upload ,using broadband speed test it shows im getting around 90% average,the jitters are between 185-350 not great,im still waiting on phone handset from them,im using an old phone till then:)

YOU will never align it on your own it took me 4to 5 hours and alot of srcreaming,if i were to do it again i would get it installed

hi Fergalfrog whats your speed like:)

fergalfrog

48nico wrote: »

...whats your speed like:)

Don't know yet - engineer is coming out to install it late this week or early next week. As with others I have tried everything else and other than dial-up this is the only option available to me.

trabpc

As I said before My bro knows nothing About I.T. He is Handy at DIY like most of us here. Really all it is is 4 bolts to the wall and bore a hole for the Coax. Yes aligning it took an hour or two. he bought a router and configed it to send it around the house via wireless. Come on lads it not that hard!!

He picked up the dish and box up at their base in Clane.

BTW he has noticed it has slowed quiet alot recently. some pages won't load at all.
Most Websites seem to think he is based in Belgium or some other European country.
The Ip is Atomatically configured. so he can't change it.

1st 3 weeks worked great now not so sure. looking at 3 again!

Ogham

The slow down is probably - as mentioned earlier - because he is going over 2GB . It is not stated in black and white - but it looks like the Astra service (not NBB directly) start cutting speeds once you download 2Gb in a month. Speeds are cut as as low as 64k if you go over 5GB. Once the 4 weeks (1 month is up the speed goes back to normal until you hit the limit again. Not great - but what choice have you got?

watty

NBB have no hub. They are just a reseller of Astra2connect. So he is IP is wherever the REAL isp is (Netherlands, belgium, Germany, Italy are typical for Satellite Hubs).

Ogham

Mine (NBB) shows up as a Luxembourg IP address

fergalfrog

trabpc wrote: »

As I said before My bro knows nothing About I.T. He is Handy at DIY like most of us here. Really all it is is 4 bolts to the wall and bore a hole for the Coax. Yes aligning it took an hour or two. he bought a router and configed it to send it around the house via wireless. Come on lads it not that hard!!

Well then maybe it's just me!!! I don't have a drill to go boring in the 4 bolts or to run the cable through the wall. I don't have the time really either (and I still estimate most of a day is required).

I don't know one woman who owns a drill and certainly none would be prepared to take on the install. I know there might be some that could but still this rules out almost close to 50% of the population.

The earpiece (and perhaps more) was missing in the equipment I received. If you install it you have to call them again to activate your modem too. All up it was a much better idea to get someone out to do the install.

As I said before if everyone could do this then Sky tv would be a self install too.

I have to keep chasing them and the previous post "engineer is coming out to install it late this week or early next week" didn't matierialise. As of today an engineer is coming out on Monday or Tuesday of next week.

watty

Very few men or women can do it.

Actually I know some girls/women safter and better with drill than some "Tim Allen" overconfident DIY disaster areas.


You have to use correct type of:
drill bit (and correct size)
drill machine
bolts
maybe eye protection

From posts on Cable & Digital TV | Satellite forum, many people can't align the easier small dish for FTA BBC TV.

watty

Ogham wrote: »

Mine (NBB) shows up as a Luxembourg IP address

Astra (the service provider) are based in Luxembourg. It means they have probably more satellites per person than any country (of course most or for other country).

fergalfrog

watty wrote: »

Very few men or women can do it.

Phew...it's not just me then.

trabpc

TBH it probably took him 4 hours in total so €100 is not too bad for install

€25 per hour

I take the point not many have a Drill or bit capable of going through 300mm of concrete!

fergalfrog

I am up and running with NBB and although I have ony used it for two full days.

You can see what it looks like at:
http://www.williamstownoffline.com/images/nbb_small.jpg

See how it is around double the size of my sky dish. A Polish guy came on time to do it and did a top job. It took him just under 2 hours I'd say and there's no way I could have done as good a job.

Also while it's early days yet I haven't seen it to be affected by weather. The guy who installed it seemed to know his stuff and he said the weather had no effect unless it was very windy. (It was snowing at the time and I have been logging speeds since I got it).

Since this is the only form of broadband I can get I am very grateful for it. It has taken a while to get it - my credit card was debitted on Nov 28th and I sent my direct debit form on Dec 2nd - there was Christmas and the self-install business but I had to keep chasing them and they're very poor to say the least at returning calls!

Ogham

fergalfrog wrote: »

I am up and running with NBB and although I have ony used it for two full days.

You can see what it looks like at:
http://www.williamstownoffline.com/images/nbb_small.jpg

See how it is around double the size of my sky dish. A Polish guy came on time to do it and did a top job. It took him just under 2 hours I'd say and there's no way I could have done as good a job.

Also while it's early days yet I haven't seen it to be affected by weather. The guy who installed it seemed to know his stuff and he said the weather had no effect unless it was very windy. (It was snowing at the time and I have been logging speeds since I got it).

Since this is the only form of broadband I can get I am very grateful for it. It has taken a while to get it - my credit card was debitted on Nov 28th and I sent my direct debit form on Dec 2nd - there was Christmas and the self-install business but I had to keep chasing them and they're very poor to say the least at returning calls!

Just don't go mad with the downloads - or your speed will get throttled as soon as you hit 2GB in a month. For me the 21st is the day they start counting from zero each month. (So its full speed today for me) Not sure why it's the 21st - it wasn't my install date?
I use this internet logging software which is free from http://www.netlimiter.com/ to keep track of how much I download.
Did they mention the telephone service to you?

fergalfrog

The guy that did the install said the voip phone would be sent out in 2 weeks. I think I'd nearly prefer not to bother with it and stay with the 20euro rebate (I haven't got my first months bill/payment yet). If anyone has the phone can they let us know if it works ok?

Thanks for the link to the logging software - looks good. In one conversation I had with them they said that downloads were unlimited within reason.

One other question - because my ip is in Luxembourg does that mean I won't be able to get things like the Island of Ireland only stuff that RTE sport provide (eg. the All-Ireland final)? I would think so.

watty

yes. It does mean that.

VOIP is not great on Satellite, 9/10ths of second delay makes interupting nearly impossible. It more like using two way radio with a roger bleep, but with a silent bleep.

Ogham

fergalfrog wrote: »

The guy that did the install said the voip phone would be sent out in 2 weeks. I think I'd nearly prefer not to bother with it and stay with the 20euro rebate (I haven't got my first months bill/payment yet). If anyone has the phone can they let us know if it works ok?

Thanks for the link to the logging software - looks good. In one conversation I had with them they said that downloads were unlimited within reason.

One other question - because my ip is in Luxembourg does that mean I won't be able to get things like the Island of Ireland only stuff that RTE sport provide (eg. the All-Ireland final)? I would think so.

I am sure no one has got the phone service from them yet. I had to enquire before I was offered the 20 euro rebate (hopefully it will be backdated to the install date) . They told me that Eircom was delaying things - something to do with the release of phone numbers?
Re: unlimited downloads. I suppose there is no cap - but you will get speed reductions as soon as you go over 2Gb in a month .They did have a fair usage policy on the website but it was pretty vague and has since been removed. The usage policy is really determined by Astra the satellite provider - and others on here have dug out some figures from another Astra reseller in Europe that show the pretty drastic speed restrictions once you go over 2Gb in a month especially at peak times. See this thread

Re the IP address from Luxembourg - yes it probably means that any sites thet restrict access based on location determined by IP address will not give you access. There are Irish proxy sites that will get around this - you will probably find info about them here on boards.ie somewhere.

Have fun with your broadband - but watch out for those WIndows updates and other automatic software updates - they can eat up a fair bit of your 2Gb in the first few days if you let them.

Binka

I wouldn't mind if it was just the phone service that I was waiting for!!:mad:

They've had my money since November and there's still no sign of it. I spoke to them today and they don't know when the equipment will be in. I was told at least another month and even then they don't know.

I was offered a refund but i don't want to take it because I have no other options.

Guess I'll just have to sit tight.:(

Ogham

My NBB connection is not working today - I'm managing to post using the old vodafone mobile connection . Is anyone on NBB OK today or is it just me?

fergalfrog

Mine went off this morning at around 11:20

I switched off everything and restarted. I was about to call NBB and then at 11:37 it came back up and I am online again now.

Ogham

Ignore that las post - NBB now working! Sorry

fergalfrog

Anyone else notice it went offline again for around 5 to 10 minutes this morning?

Ogham

Only just gone online - so I didn't notice .
Dont worry - only another 20 months of the contract left to go