Eircom's computer says no.... am I f*cked now?

DeVore

I have no line of sight to any wireless masts and my landlord wont let me put anything up on his precious roof. I had Eircom install a line yesterday which entailed the guy doing about 2.5 hours work in my flat and out the back but today the Eircom Computer said "no" to my broadband check.

I asked the sales guy if that meant I wouldn't be able to get broadband and he said "no".... "never??" .... "never." :eek:


So, am I fncked?

Where do I go from here? Can BT supply BB on a line Eircom say they cant??


DeV.

Nevyn

DeVore wrote: »

I have no line of sight to any wireless masts and my landlord wont let me put anything up on his precious roof. I had Eircom install a line yesterday which entailed the guy doing about 2.5 hours work in my flat and out the back but today the Eircom Computer said "no" to my broadband check.

I asked the sales guy if that meant I wouldn't be able to get broadband and he said "no".... "never??" .... "never." :eek:

Ouch

DeVore wrote: »

So, am I fncked?

Where do I go from here? Can BT supply BB on a line Eircom say they cant??


DeV.

BT still work of the infrastructure which is installed and own by Eircom, if the infrastructure can't support it your boned.

What excuse did eircom give about the 'new' line ?
No room on the exchange ?
The exchange is too old ?
The line out from the building is too old or split ?

thefinalstage

DeVore wrote: »

I have no line of sight to any wireless masts and my landlord wont let me put anything up on his precious roof. I had Eircom install a line yesterday which entailed the guy doing about 2.5 hours work in my flat and out the back but today the Eircom Computer said "no" to my broadband check.

I asked the sales guy if that meant I wouldn't be able to get broadband and he said "no".... "never??" .... "never." :eek:


So, am I fncked?

Where do I go from here? Can BT supply BB on a line Eircom say they cant??


DeV.

It may be simply because there broadband line checks cannot be run live. In a month it will probably pop up on their system as ok.

arseagon

Dev, I'm able to do DSL checks on lines through a different system to that of eircom. I've always noticed that mine come back significantly higher than eircom's own. If you want to PM me the phone number i'll do a check on it for you?

Also I don't know if it has changed but it used to take a certain length of time for newly installed lines to qualify at all.

preilly79

thelastangryman wrote: »

It may be simply because there broadband line checks cannot be run live. In a month it will probably pop up on their system as ok.

what he said I had a similar problem with a customer who was ordering broadband ... the line did not show up on something known as the Eircom Gateway (an eircom B2B site) and I wasn't able to order broadband until their systems were updated with the new line info.

DeVore

He didnt give me any reason at all. He said it was a "mystery" but that a number of customers in my area were having the same problem. However, it was just as much a mystery why they couldnt get it.

Whats weird is that the exchange IS upgraded, I can see some Eircom WIFI spots around the place (yes, I know I can hack them, I dont want to be dependant on my neighbours turning on their wifi for me to get online.... i might offer to pay their broadband if they'll keep it on permanently).


The guy didnt know, and didnt seem to particularly care, he didnt even bother to make up an excuse and what I found "funny" was the bit where I asked him if I would EVER get broadband and he said "never". :rolleyes:

I went to Broadband.gov.ie and it says there are a dozen people who can service my place, but it sounds like arse to me!

DeV.

DeVore

Re: The line showing up:

I rang up the day they installed it and was told that the line couldnt be checked for 24 hours. So I rang back today and was told "no".


I had them shut down the line today (in disgust) if that affects anything. I basically only wanted the line to transfer to someone else (anyone else) and if it cant have BB then its unfit for use and I dont want to pay for it. (which I'm not).

I'll happily talk to ANYONE who can get me a decent connection.

DeV.

Thoie

Vodafone 3G thingy?

http://www.vodafone.ie/broadband/mobile/

AlmightyCushion

He said decent, I wouldn't classify 3g as decent, way too unpredictable. Do you know any of the neighbours well, DeV? At a push you could get one of them to get wireless broadband and using a wireless router/cable use the internet from your house. You could pay or split the cost with them. Hardly ideal but keep it in mind as a last resort maybe.

mayordenis

no chance of going down the NTL route? good service imo.

avoid 3g like the plague that it is.

Thoie

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

He said decent, I wouldn't classify 3g as decent, way too unpredictable. Do you know any of the neighbours well, DeV? At a push you could get one of them to get wireless broadband and using a wireless router/cable use the internet from your house. You could pay or split the cost with them. Hardly ideal but keep it in mind as a last resort maybe.

Well, with no phone line, no line of sight, and no external fittings, his other alternative is two tin cans, a coat hanger, a toilet roll tube, and a tiny tiny little man who will run backwards and fowards along the line carrying packets. I have found the cost of tiny tiny men prohibitive, and he might just find a 3G connection a little easier to manage. Most tiny tiny men are not plug and play.

DeVore

NTL only do TV (which I got from them and service was fine). They wont know when cable-broadband will be released in my area....

DeV.

PogMoThoin

I got a new phone line in which failed the test originally, they told me my line failed and I'd never get broadband, 2-3 weeks later the line passed the test. It seems it takes 2-3 weeks for a new line to pass on the system.

Sponge Bob

Eircom have disabled line checking on certain lines in Rathmines and Terenure where they are carrying out tests on IPTV. They have also wired a few buildings for BB over Powerline from the basement .

If you PM the BB mods they may have some info on contacting the trial techs who have been known to lurk about Boards and maybe even get you on the trial or wirelessly sharing a nearby trial line.

Just a thought if you live in those areas, IIRC you once did .

Mantel

Did you try smart at all? Throw the number in to their checker and see what it tells you http://smarttelecom.ie/ since they generally use their own equipment in exchanges you might get a yes on it. Although if it passes you'll have to get eircom to turn it back on

Cabaal

Sponge Bob wrote: »

If you PM the BB mods they may have some info on contacting the trial techs who have been known to lurk about Boards and maybe even get you on the trial or wirelessly sharing a nearby trial line.
.

Don't look at me I have no such info sorry,

Dev as for your line, as already noted I believed it could take upto 30 days for a line to be tested and to show on the eircom checker

Also dev I've sent you a PM about this, it may help.

Icdb

arseagon wrote: »

Dev, I'm able to do DSL checks on lines through a different system to that of eircom. I've always noticed that mine come back significantly higher than eircom's own. If you want to PM me the phone number i'll do a check on it for you?

Also I don't know if it has changed but it used to take a certain length of time for newly installed lines to qualify at all.

any chance you could check my line... on ur different system.. everyone up and down my road.. can get it.. except for my house and my brothers house... pm''d phone number

DeVore

I live in Rathmines now, yes.

Its not that the line can't be seen, it can but it just comes back with a straight red light apparently. I can't understand how I can see WIFI connections from my front room but cant get broadband.... its farcical.

DeV.

Samba

Hiya Tom,

(check your pm's please )

I know my folks were in the exact same boat....I can ask the ol lad what measures he took exactly but from what I can recall he did the following.

He wrote a letter to a the relevant minister (I presume communications) outlining his disgust at the fact that he couldn't avail of broadband due to cheap copper wiring originally laid by Eircom.

He then also wrote a letter to the then eircom CEO(this was around the time of their take over) threatening to write a letter to the buyer they had lined up detailing the lack of investment in the eircom infrastructure and how this affected the Irish broadband roll out and how they would be required to heavily invest to upgrade the infrastructure etc....

Two weeks later he had 3 engineers working on the problem and there were two broadband lines up and running in no time.

Try magnet too.

DeVore

Magnet were great for me before but surely if I cant get ADSL then they wont be able to do anything for me?

DeV.

griffdaddy

hold on, i thought you invented the internet?
You could go for a 3g thingy? o2 maybe? vodaphone's at home thing? you could also ask one of the web cafes (if you're near one) for a monthly deal, that's not unheard of in the city center anyway.

Nevyn

Can't sit in you boxers and socks in a net cafe playing wow at 5am.
Mobile internet connects are not broadband.
Every home should be able to get a broadband connection be it hardline, cable or LOS.

griffdaddy

Thaedydal wrote: »

Can't sit in you boxers and socks in a net cafe playing wow at 5am.

What if it's really really warm? although i actually meant that you get a monthly wireless subscription on their servers if you're near enough, we used to do it with WorldLink in Dublin, you can get pretty good deals depending on what they ahve and how sound they are, but if you're not in range it's not even an offer. and you're dead right, every house should have some kinda access to broadband nowadays.

DeVore

griffdaddy wrote: »

hold on, i thought you invented the internet?
You could go for a 3g thingy? o2 maybe? vodaphone's at home thing? you could also ask one of the web cafes (if you're near one) for a monthly deal, that's not unheard of in the city center anyway.

Many people make that mistake. I didnt invent the internet I just brought it to the masses :)

Yes, WOW (or Warhammer Online now Thead!) in your jocks at 5am is not really on in a netcafe. I am currently using a mix of mobile "broadband" and stolen Eircom wifi access when someone in the building turns on their router. *ahem*.


DeV.

I had a similar problem only it was more complicated. Applied for a line and when it was installed it initially passed. But I then noticed I could only get 16.8k on dialup and a few days later the test failed, an eircom rep claims the infrastructure in the area is too old (even though when I do a wireless scan I can see BT, eircom, Perlico and Vodafone routers around me). I cancelled the line but am now facing a bill of €200-odd for a failed broadband attempt. I don't want to pay it but probably have to, I've still had an operational phone line for 2 months even if I didn't use it.

UPC weren't available in my area initially but they now seem to be. They came out last Tuesday but couldn't get a return path because the system hadn't been fully activated in the area yet. But last night my UPC TV box locked on to the return path with the internal cable modem so I ordered again. Hopefully it'll be the end of my broadband saga.

I really hope you can work out something, I feel your pain!

Moriarty

If there's internal phone wiring in the apartment disconnect it all if you can. Quite often the internal wiring is atrocious and will screw with the line stats as measured from the exchange. The only thing you want connected is the port on the main eircom presentation box.

Leave it like that for a month, then speak to eircom again enquiring about getting DSL active on the line. It's unfortunate, but the only way you'll get eircom to work for you is if you fein interest in buying the service from them directly.

Unless your line is tied together with wet string, it should at least get an amber pass status at this point. Once that's confirmed, place a dsl order with the provider of your choice and you should be set. Have you checked if BT LLU services are available to you, if you have no access to smart/magnet?

AlmightyCushion

Moriarty wrote: »

Unless your line is tied together with wet string,

Seeing as it's Eircom we're speaking about that is certainly a possibility.

Moriarty

Yup, it's a distinct possibility. No harm eliminating all the other possible problems though

Nevyn

So you have to agree to a contract and pay at least two months rental to see IF the line will then pass ?

AlmightyCushion

Thaedydal wrote: »

So you have to agree to a contract and pay at least two months rental to see IF the line will then pass ?

Pretty much. Bit of a bítch really.

cgarvey

Thaedydal wrote: »

So you have to agree to a contract and pay at least two months rental to see IF the line will then pass ?

Yes.

DeVore, eircom batch test lines and report the results to eircom customer service reps (and eircom wholesale customers) as soon as they have them. This is known as prequal (pre-qualification test) and means that you're likely to be able to get DSL.

That batch test can take anything up to a month. So, if you can, wait for a month and get a 3G dongle, or Irish Broadband Ripwave / Clearwire, in the meantime. All those are far from fixed line broadband, but it's about the best chance you have, especially if you've a good Ripwave/Clearwire signal.

eircom are under no obligation to provide DSL, so you are depending on their goodwill to waive the install/rental charges (which they might well do, if you kick up enough of a stink: "Owner of Ireland's largest, mutil-award-winning website can't get broadband" has a ring to it.).

Not withstanding Sponge Bob's rumour, but I know of a Rathmines exchange customer who's had prequal done in the last week (and passed).