Help needed!

LadyMayBelle

Hi there: I'm clueless when it comes to things like this so help needed.

I'm moving into a house next week for three months, there is no broadband in the house, but I need it. What's the easiest way for me to get it, the other girls don't want it so I can't go down the ntl route, what should I be looking for so I can use it on my laptop??

Sponge Bob

One of the Midband products , 3g or Ripwave , would be best but note that contracts can often be a year which is overkill.

If there is an existing phoneline you could add a BB package to it, paid for by you , but the min DSL contract is 6 months and there would be a disconnection charge at the end and the router may have to go back too meaning you would have to take it with you when you leave .

Given how awful Irish midband products can be you may find that paying ( in effect) double for DSL is a better idea becuase of the 6 month contract and the fact that it works as advertised .

eircom 1Mbit BB would be €25 a month , free dsl router that you keep, min 6 months and €30 or €40 disconnect fee . Total nearly €200 for 3 months but it will work .

watty

For what you get pay for a year's real broadband for 3 months can be better value depending on your internet needs.

NTL= UPC is cable broadband and can be subscribed to without TV. Cost is €336 for a year. There needs to be a cable connection already. No phone line needed. Works out at €112 a month if used only for 3 months.

You can also pay for a year's Metro and at basic package given there is no line rental it would be €419.20 for a year. That's equivalent to €140 a month if you have it only 3 months. It needs no cable or phone line but an outdoor radio/aerial unit about 2x size of a lunch box.

Not all phone lines work for DSL and about 2/3rds of the cable TV network supports Broadband very well, UPC working on the rest, some of which supports BB. Metro and other wireless products may not have a signal.

Mobile and Ripwave products may give a very slow speed or erratic connections if the signal is poor or there are many users where you live.


Three months is a very problematical length of time for a real broadband install. You might get a discount paying for a year in advance or a special rate less than a discounted year paying for 3 to 6 months in advance. Ring around.

Then again, you might not be able to get Broadband at all.

Sponge Bob

make sure you get a BB only contract not a bundle like eircom talktime or bt talk ( with dsl) as these are one year contracts

cheapo operators like perlico and imagine and vodafone will ONLY offer a bundle which will be a one year contract .

for DSL only ( on top of an existing phone line) I believe your only choices are Digiweb , BT and Eircom.

Be careful about ownership of modem at end of contract . eircom will allow you keep it but the other two may want it back and could send a package out to the address ( and you not there any more ) for you to post it back .

The same applies to the midband operators. 3g providers allow you to own the modem but not ripwave or clearwire ....clearwire are a 24 month contract so avoid them completely , even if their system did work which it does not .

There are 3g data 'add ons' where ( eg meteor) may give you a 3gb-10gb data allowance for a month ( month to month) but this is pointless without a 3g phone or a phone that supports EDGE ( a faster 2g standard of about 128k supplied by o2 and Meteor only )

You may have to move to a 'business' phone package to avail of the addons but may not be locked in for any more than month to month and may already have a compatible phone such as a nokia N or E series .

Do not expect any honesty from phone salesmen in shops so ask in the mobile forum here

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=411

HTH .