Mobile Broadband in Ennis, Co. Clare

matsil

Hi All,

This is a double question really:

(1) What is the best mobile broadband available in Ennis, Co. Clare. i.e. which has the best coverage in the area and has the fastest download speeds. I am looking for the technical best, not the best value.

(2) I have "normal" landline boradband from Eircom - I think its 1 meg. Realistically, can I expect a similar quality of broadband from a "mobile" service provider?

Many thanks,

Regards,

Matt

cgarvey

matsil wrote: »

(1) What is the best mobile broadband available in Ennis, Co. Clare. i.e. which has the best coverage in the area and has the fastest download speeds. I am looking for the technical best, not the best value.

No simple/reliable answer to that, because it depends on how far you are from the cell mast, and how many users are generally on the same mast as you.

I've had a good 2Mb connection on o2 from the Garda Station mast, on a Sun evening, and 1-1.5Mb out near eircom off the Kilrush Rd. However, I've also had several disconnects on a weekday morning (not usually considered peak time). I haven't had Vodafone in over a year, but back then, it was pretty poor along Woodquay/Mill Rd, and all but non-existent in the centre of town (O'Connell, Abbey, Parnell St.). I'd imagine they've adjusted some sectors to cover the town centre in the meantime.

Someone could quite easily come on and reply that they've had the exact opposite experience (especially in a different area of town). That's the nature of 3G!

The only way you'll find out is to try each service out, or query your neighbours if you can.

matsil wrote: »

(2) I have "normal" landline boradband from Eircom - I think its 1 meg. Realistically, can I expect a similar quality of broadband from a "mobile" service provider?

Realistically, the answer would have to be a resounding "no"! You'll get a decent connection
most of the time if you pick a nearby mast (again, depends on where in town you are), and a service that isn't heavily contended on that mast (loads of users all on at 7pm, type of thing), but it won't be as reliable, or as consistent, as your DSL, and it won't "feel" as fast (because of the 3G latency). If you find a good service, there's nothing to say it won't be crap in 6 months time (as more users sign up), either. If you're just after a way to save on eircom line rental, and only do a bit of browsing/email, then it'll likely be fine for you (but do try before you buy!). Still, not as good as DSL, in general.

matsil

Thanks for the input - sorry about the delayed reply..... its been a hectic week.

I'm going to try and sort out a landline broadband connection so....... sounds like its going to be much better.

Alternatively, if I do end up with a "mobile" connection, then is it a good indication of being able to get a good signal if you are getting a strong phone signal? i.e. I have a 3g phone and the otherday I was getting full reception on my phone with vodafone....... would that indicate a relatively good mobile broadband connection too?

CutzEr

Yes, if you get great coverage with a 3G mobile, you would get the same with a 3G modem.

However; Vodafone are on of the worst, and most expensive 3G midband providers.

It goes like this:

Meteor Not available in Ennis
O2
Vodafone
3

matsil

CutzEr wrote: »

Yes, if you get great coverage with a 3G mobile, you would get the same with a 3G modem.

However; Vodafone are on of the worst, and most expensive 3G midband providers.

It goes like this:

Meteor Not available in Ennis
O2
Vodafone
3

O2 it is then I guess.... thanks!!!

I just went on the O2 website and did a connection speed test and got 892kbps...... would the mobile modem thingy have any chance of getting close to that?

cgarvey

matsil wrote: »

I have a 3g phone and the otherday I was getting full reception on my phone with vodafone....... would that indicate a relatively good mobile broadband connection too?

Not really. Signal strength is a good start, but the biggest problem with 3G "broadband" is contention. Contention is where your connection speed is shared with your neighbours. Contention on 3G, however, has a much bigger impact than contention on your phoneline broadband/DSL (or on NTL/Chorus/UPC), because of the technology. I wouldn't use signal strength as an indicator of performance for that reason.

matsil wrote: »

I just went on the O2 website and did a connection speed test and got 892kbps...... would the mobile modem thingy have any chance of getting close to that?

You got 892Kbps from your phoneline broadband, is it? If so, then that's not an indication of how good o2 3G broadband will be (anywhere).

The mobile modem thingy would have a chance of getting close to that, but only if you're close to a mast, and there aren't many other users. This is back to the contention thing.

If it's bad (heavily contended/lots of users on your mast), you'll be lucky to get anywhere near poor dialup speeds. If it's good, you should get 500Kbps-1Mb most of the time (slighty slower in the evenings), and if it's very good, you can get over 2Mb.

One thing to note is because of the 3G technology (specifically, latency), pages will be that bit less "snappy" than on your phoneline broadband. Online gaming (realtime/first person shooters/xbox/etc.) is out, and VoIP/Skype will be so poor you'll rule it out in no time.

An other option for you to consider, if you want rid of the expensive phone line rental, is fixed wireless. They put a lunchbox-sized aerial on your roof, so no phoneline needed. It should be as good as your phonline broadband in terms of speed and latency ("snapiness"), so it's suitable for gaming, Skype, etc. Irish Broadband cover Ennis, and others might as well.

foggy_lad

i have o2 at the moment and have great signal during the day and get great speeds but the signal drops in the evening as more people use the service and my speeds drop well below 1mbps usually hovering at 2-300kbps which would be ok were it not for the modem being disconnected over and over by the system because of the demands on it. stick with eircom even if you can only get 1mbps as it will be much more reliable and you will get much higher speeds at peak times.

matsil

foggy_lad wrote: »

i have o2 at the moment and have great signal during the day and get great speeds but the signal drops in the evening as more people use the service and my speeds drop well below 1mbps usually hovering at 2-300kbps which would be ok were it not for the modem being disconnected over and over by the system because of the demands on it. stick with eircom even if you can only get 1mbps as it will be much more reliable and you will get much higher speeds at peak times.

Thanks for the input - I'm moving into rented accomodation, so I don't really have the option of sticking with landline, unless the house has it already....... It just if I got the mobile broadband thingy and it was pathetically slow, I'd be gutted....... which it seems like it will be. I mean I'm not used to a hyper fast connection here are home, but at least it is somewhat reliable..... which it seems the mobile thingy is not, regardless of supplier!

jor el

matsil wrote: »

which it seems like it will be.

There's no guarantee, either way. I've never had a problem with speeds on O2, though I don't use it very often in the evening. I do use it at the weekends, often in poor signal areas, and it has always worked as well as I could expect.

Other peoples experience will be meaningless to you, or anyone other than that particular person. The ONLY way to know, is to try it. Most operators do a 7 day trial.

matsil

jor el wrote: »

........Most operators do a 7 day trial.

That's worth knowing! Cheers....... I guess I'll call into the O2 shop and speak to them about it......