Advice re Smart BB

6ix

Hi all, I'd appreciate some advice.

I currently have an Eircom Broadband (crappy 1MB) connection at my house in Dublin 6. I was hoping to switch to UPC, but as they seem to be taking an age to supply BB to this area, I finally got around to looking at alternatives this evening. Smart seem to be the best value - the 3MB package is €42 and the 7MB package works out at €46 a month incl line rental - I'm already paying €50 for the 1MB with Eircom so either of those sound good. I'm a moderate user - regular web, some downloading, bit of Xbox Live.

Before I take the plunge, is there anything that I should be aware of re Smart? I searched this forum and the reviews/reaction seem to be mainly positive but I don't know anyone who has Smart BB so asking on here is my best bet. Also, will they do all the switching for me, or will I have to call up and cancel with Eircom and then be without broadband for a while while Smart connect me?

the_law

Technically I found Smart a great service. They block port 25 for dynamic IPs, so you have to use their SMTP server. If you just use webmail (as I do) then it's a non-issue.

They have a great support forum with some really solid admins who always try to get the best out of everyone's line.

However, they've apparently introduced a 170GB traffic cap. When I was on Smart I'd regularly do 350GB and no worries - so I have to say I wouldn't use them again with that in place. Shame, as otherwise it's the best service going.

Edit: what exchange/area are you in? Smart have some exchanges where they have installed their own equipment, allowing them complete control of the line. You can tell by putting your phone number in the Smart line checker on their site... if you have qualified for 'nationwide bitstream' products, then that's just eircom ADSL re-sold by Smart. But cheaper.

6ix

Thanks for your help - I was wondering about that. I qualified for the "nationwide bitstream" products as opposed to the other one (can't remember the name!) and I didn't understand the difference. Tbh, I'd prefer pay around €25-30 a month all in for a 2/3MB line, but seeing as I'm going to have to pay €40+ I may as well have a 7MB instead of a 1MB.

I think I'm on Rathmines exchange. The 170GB cap wouldn't bother me personally, I only download small bits here and there, would never hit that much.

the_law

I'm in Rathmines too, Smart haven't unbundled that exchange. UPC did enable my house just the other week - I was going to get Magnet otherwise. Their cheapest offering is 10 meg at around 55 I think. That might be out of your budget, but if you are further away from the exchange (it's in Rathmines post office) or your line is poorer Magnet's ADSL2+ should get you your full 10, whereas Eircom's(bitstream) 7.6 is the limit of ADSL(1) technology, so you might end up a bit lower.

One way to find out is to access your eircom router (192.168.1.254?) and check the line attenuation and SN margins... There are graphs available online that'll show you what speed you'll get.

6ix

I live toward the Rathmines end of the Rathgar Road. My line attenuation is 25/12 DB, not sure where the SN margin is.

When you say they haven't unbundled it - you mean their full service isn't in Rathmines - but they do resell the Eircom broadband? I'm sure Magnet is good, but I'd prefer to go down in price if I am changing.

the_law

I'd say that attenuation would be fine with the ADSL (eircom bitstream) service. See http://surispace.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/internode-adsl2-distance-thumb1.jpg for what I'm talking about, you're the blue curve on Eircom/Smart, or the green curve on Magnet (or Smart in a Smart area).

Basically you're not going to lose any speed off the 7.6 because your line is too long. It could be noisy (that's where the SN margins come in) but I'd be surprised if you had problems. I'd go with the Smart/Eircom in this case, you won't need any more than that. Don't cancel Eircom until you've spoken to Smart to find out what you have to do... used be that Smart tell Eircom to transfer the line, and you cancelling only confuses them.

If you're mad mad into gaming, the 3 meg is better as there's less interleaving so slightly better pings... but I don't think you'd ever notice it.

Magnet: Rory

6ix wrote: »

I live toward the Rathmines end of the Rathgar Road. My line attenuation is 25/12 DB, not sure where the SN margin is.

When you say they haven't unbundled it - you mean their full service isn't in Rathmines - but they do resell the Eircom broadband? I'm sure Magnet is good, but I'd prefer to go down in price if I am changing.

We offer the full ADSL2+ service off the Rathmines exchange, currently I am not aware of any other DSL provider offering a faster service for residential customers in that area. As the previous poster said the service is 55 for up to 10Mb and 65 for up to 24Mb.

If you do not reach a specific speeds (3Mb) the price is discounted to 50 euro.

6ix

Thanks Rory. If I had another person to share the cost, I'd go with Magnet, as there are glowing reviews all over the place. As it is, I'm just using it for browsing/Xbox Live/occasional downloads, so I really can't justify a cost increase at the minute!

I actually have a choice between Vodafone/Smart - both of their 3MB are around €40... There's probably no difference though, if they're both reselling Eircom. Does anyone have any advice?