3mb versus 8mb NGB broadband

chops018

Hi all,

I currently have 3mb broadband with eircom and usually hit speeds of 2.7 mb.
It's 29.99 a month.

But i saw on their website that 8mb NGB broadband is also 29.99 a month.

Would this be a better option seeing as it's the same price??
Seeing as im gettin 2.7 mb on a normal 3mb connection would i hit 7mb and over on this 8mb connection??
Lastly, do they have to send you out a new router or can your old one be used??

Thanks.

eezarthegreat

chops018 wrote: »

Hi all,

I currently have 3mb broadband with eircom and usually hit speeds of 2.7 mb.
It's 29.99 a month.

But i saw on their website that 8mb NGB broadband is also 29.99 a month.

Would this be a better option seeing as it's the same price??
Seeing as im gettin 2.7 mb on a normal 3mb connection would i hit 7mb and over on this 8mb connection??
Lastly, do they have to send you out a new router or can your old one be used??

Thanks.

If I were you I'd enquire about a free upgrade. My family home was upgraded to NGB for free as was the majority of lines in my area.

Play the fool, ring them and ask

jor el

You'll be ported to NGB as soon as it's available. It could be that you're already on it, but your line is only capable of 3Mbps.

chops018

jor el wrote: »

You'll be ported to NGB as soon as it's available. It could be that you're already on it, but your line is only capable of 3Mbps.

so if im already ported but my line is only 3mb and i ring them will they upgrade the line to 8mb for free seeing as it is advertised online??
also the router stays the same im assuming yea?

jor el

chops018 wrote: »

so if im already ported but my line is only 3mb and i ring them will they upgrade the line to 8mb for free seeing as it is advertised online??
also the router stays the same im assuming yea?

No, if you're already on NGB, then 2.7Mbps is all your line can handle. This can more than likely never be fixed.

You should contact them to see what the case is anyway.

DECEiFER

chops018 wrote: »

so if im already ported but my line is only 3mb and i ring them will they upgrade the line to 8mb for free seeing as it is advertised online??
also the router stays the same im assuming yea?

No, it doesn't quite work that way. Depending on the quality of the copper between your home and the exchange and the distance from your home to the exchange, you may be only capable of 3Mb. You would need to post your line stats (Noise Margin/SNR Margin and Line Attenuation), which can be obtained in your Eircom router so we can give you an indication of what speeds your line is capable of.

I'd still ring Eircom up, as they'd know for sure if you were on NGB or not. I can also happen that your line stats are capable of more than 3Mb and Eircom keep you synced lower for God knows what reason (€€€).

So, please post your line stats first of all. Then give Eircom a call.

chops018

jor el wrote: »

No, if you're already on NGB, then 2.7Mbps is all your line can handle. This can more than likely never be fixed.

You should contact them to see what the case is anyway.

well when i first got eircom i had 1mb got around 700kbps.... then upgraded to 3mb nearly always get 2.6 or 2.7mb.

what im wondering is if i got ngb would it give me faster speeds??

and is there a difference in it? a lot of people dont believe there is, but if i got it and still only got 2.7mb would this mean it would be like i never changed at all?

Boxoffrogs

chops018 wrote: »

well when i first got eircom i had 1mb got around 700kbps.... then upgraded to 3mb nearly always get 2.6 or 2.7mb.

what im wondering is if i got ngb would it give me faster speeds??

and is there a difference in it? a lot of people dont believe there is, but if i got it and still only got 2.7mb would this mean it would be like i never changed at all?

It's probably worth going online first to check whether NGB is in your area, there are maps that show this;

http://www.ngb.ie

It's my understanding that when it is available in your area, they will automatically migrate you. You will usually receive a letter advising you of this first.

DECEiFER

chops018 wrote: »

well when i first got eircom i had 1mb got around 700kbps.... then upgraded to 3mb nearly always get 2.6 or 2.7mb.

what im wondering is if i got ngb would it give me faster speeds??

and is there a difference in it? a lot of people dont believe there is, but if i got it and still only got 2.7mb would this mean it would be like i never changed at all?

I'm not an NGB user so I can't say anything about the quality of the service itself. But, if you were able to get the 8Mbps sync and speeds, then yes, you'd notice - particularly during HD streaming (YouTube et al.).

Again, you'd need to post your stats and give them a call to see where you stand. At the very least, if you post your stats, we can better inform you.

chops018

DECEiFER wrote: »

I'm not an NGB user so I can't say anything about the quality of the service itself. But, if you were able to get the 8Mbps sync and speeds, then yes, you'd notice - particularly during HD streaming (YouTube et al.).

Again, you'd need to post your stats and give them a call to see where you stand. At the very least, if you post your stats, we can better inform you.

Don't know why the server is Limerick, I'm nearer Dublin ???? this is what i got:

chops018

diddledum wrote: »

It's probably worth going online first to check whether NGB is in your area, there are maps that show this;

http://www.ngb.ie

It's my understanding that when it is available in your area, they will automatically migrate you. You will usually receive a letter advising you of this first.

it is available in my area, i rang them, but i wasnt upgraded.
the guy reassured me that the lowest i would ever hit would be 3mb. He reckoned with the upgrade I would get a lot higher though. He said I would get speeds from 3mb up to 8mb.

He said that I should go ahead with it as the upgrade is free and there is no extra cost on the monthly bill.

DECEiFER

chops018 wrote: »

this is what i got:

Sorry, that's not what I was asking for. Inside your router you'll see Noise/SNR Margin and Line Attenuation, expressed as dB, for the downlink and uplink. That's what we'd need.

If you're using the Eircom router, get into it by going to: http://192.168.1.254

chops018

DECEiFER wrote: »

Sorry, that's not what I was asking for. Inside your router you'll see Noise/SNR Margin and Line Attenuation, expressed as dB, for the downlink and uplink. That's what we'd need.

If you're using the Eircom router, get into it by going to: http://192.168.1.254

sorry,

12/7 dB line attentuation.

Speed 3072/384 (kbps).

DECEiFER

chops018 wrote: »

sorry,

12/7 dB line attentuation.

Speed 3072/384 (kbps).

Not bad at all. You should be capable of more than 3Mb, but what about the SNR Margin? I think you have to go into:

Expert Mode > DSL > Stats

From what I remember, that's where you'll find it.

chops018

DECEiFER wrote: »

Not bad at all. You should be capable of more than 3Mb, but what about the SNR Margin? I think you have to go into:

Expert Mode > DSL > Stats

From what I remember, that's where you'll find it.

Thanks for all your help!!

SN Margin (dB) 14.50 (downstream) 28.00 (upstream)

DECEiFER

chops018 wrote: »

Thanks for all your help!!

SN Margin (dB) 14.50 (downstream) 28.00 (upstream)

The 14.5 doesn't leave you with a massive amount of headroom, though achieving more than 3Mb shouldn't be a problem. Sometimes the margin will fluctuate depending on the time of day, so maybe keep checking back to see if it goes lower or higher. I'd say give Eircom a call, if only to ask them when you'll be automatically upgraded to NGB ahead of getting the letter as previously mentioned.

chops018

DECEiFER wrote: »

The 14.5 doesn't leave you with a massive amount of headroom, though achieving more than 3Mb shouldn't be a problem. Sometimes the margin will fluctuate depending on the time of day, so maybe keep checking back to see if it goes lower or higher. I'd say give Eircom a call, if only to ask them when you'll be automatically upgraded to NGB ahead of getting the letter as previously mentioned.

cheers for all the help.

yeah i gave them a call, it's available in my area to order now, but the automatic upgrade will not be for a while.
I went ahead with it as to upgrade was free and the bill every month is the same.
He assured me that I will not go under 3mb and he said i should hit higher than it. Once i don't go under the 3mb i'll have no complaints. Although i am hoping to hit the likes of 5 or 6mb.

Thanks again.

DECEiFER

chops018 wrote: »

cheers for all the help.

yeah i gave them a call, it's available in my area to order now, but the automatic upgrade will not be for a while.
I went ahead with it as to upgrade was free and the bill every month is the same.
He assured me that I will not go under 3mb and he said i should hit higher than it. Once i don't go under the 3mb i'll have no complaints. Although i am hoping to hit the likes of 5 or 6mb.

Thanks again.

No bother. Best of luck with it!

hargo

i'm in a similar situation with vodafone and my stats are as below but i don't know what they mean.
Upstream Downstream
CurrRate(kbps) 379 3072
MaxRate(kbps) 860 3768
NoiseMargin(dB) 20.6 6.3
Attenuation(dB) 63.0 34.3
Power(dBm) 13.0 0.0


speed test below


Is my line capable of higher speeds?

chops018

hargo wrote: »

i'm in a similar situation with vodafone and my stats are as below but i don't know what they mean.
Upstream Downstream
CurrRate(kbps) 379 3072
MaxRate(kbps) 860 3768
NoiseMargin(dB) 20.6 6.3
Attenuation(dB) 63.0 34.3
Power(dBm) 13.0 0.0


speed test below


Is my line capable of higher speeds?

I'm not fully sure what the stats you posted up mean or if you are capable of better speeds but quote DECEiFER above and he will get an e-mail, i'm sure he will be able to help you as he was great in helping me.

DECEiFER

hargo wrote: »

i'm in a similar situation with vodafone and my stats are as below but i don't know what they mean.
Upstream Downstream
CurrRate(kbps) 379 3072
MaxRate(kbps) 860 3768
NoiseMargin(dB) 20.6 6.3
Attenuation(dB) 63.0 34.3
Power(dBm) 13.0 0.0


speed test below


Is my line capable of higher speeds?

Sorry dude, not a hope. If those stats are the best you can get, then you're lucky to be synced on 3Mbps as it is with the Signal to Noise Margin and Line Attenuation/Noise. Your upload throughput is slacking too. That 6dB SN Margin you have is borderline, normally people that low would experience regular connection drops.

Do you know how far away from the exchange you are? It could be distance or the quality of the copper that's causing those stats.

hargo

Thanks DECEiFER for the input. I think i'm about 4/5 km from exchange and yea my connection does keep droping. I'm on the Dublin rd in Drogheda and the exchange was NGB enabled but no great help here.

DECEiFER

hargo wrote: »

Thanks DECEiFER for the input. I think i'm about 4/5 km from exchange and yea my connection does keep droping. I'm on the Dublin rd in Drogheda and the exchange was NGB enabled but no great help here.

What about UPC, are they in your area? Cable isn't rate adaptive.

jay93

DECEiFER wrote: »

What about UPC, are they in your area? Cable isn't rate adaptive.

Theres no cable from UPC at all around drogheda at the mo so UPC isnt really an option would like to see them hurry their slow asses up and get drogheda enabled its one of the biggest towns in ireland and still UPC havnt set up there yet very lame of UPC not to cable the area:(:rolleyes:

DECEiFER

jay93 wrote: »

Theres no cable from UPC at all around drogheda at the mo so UPC isnt really an option would like to see them hurry their slow asses up and get drogheda enabled its one of the biggest towns in ireland and still UPC havnt set up there yet very lame of UPC not to cable the area:(:rolleyes:

I'm in the same boat here in Tralee. I have no love for the place, it's not my home town. In-fact, my home town is smaller (Shannon), and UPC cabled it in 2008. That was probably due to its proximity to Limerick City, though.

jay93

DECEiFER wrote: »

I'm in the same boat here in Tralee. I have no love for the place, it's not my home town. In-fact, my home town is smaller (Shannon), and UPC cabled it in 2008. That was probably due to its proximity to Limerick City, though.

its a disgrace to be honest ive barely even seen them enable more areas and drogheda should be top of the list with the ammount of people on DSL in the town the exchanges are struggling i live about 5mins out the road from the town in a big enough village .there is no wirelss from digiweb metro or the likes.only options here and in drogehda town is DSL mobile Broadband which all providers cover the area that im in with full 3G coverage but congestion is a killer on o2 vodafone 3 and meteor seems to be ok tough.i just cant wait for UPC its so annoying they offer 30mb for 47 a month isnt it witout their tv service,line rental alone is 26 euro complete ripp off..
ah to bad if you were still in shannon you would have the joys of using UPC :D i havnt even ever used a UPC connection as i dont know anyone with it altough my mobile bb can hit about 600kb/s from 10pm onwards its still nothing comapred to UPC'S 3 MB/S download rate also the 250GB cap would be great for me as i download alot really dont have much options around here :rolleyes:

DECEiFER

UPC are having problems all around the country. It's hit and miss depending on what area you're living in. Signal issues are the cause so I'm told, been banging on at them to fix the damn thing in my parents' house. The multi-room TV box is even missing a load of channels on the same group (3e, ITV 2, etc.), where the main box is fine. I need to keep on at them as my mother isn't confident enough to do it on her own.

jay93

I've been hearing that alright that UPC are having issues over most the country right now altough i would like to get their service i wouldnt like to get it then it not work properly that would be very annoying.
they can be fairly dodgy with their tv service alright we had to switch over to sky because it was going on and off alot this was the time chorus was around so dont know if it has improved since then,
i always had to ring for my mother as they would fob her off the whole time but id get on the phone to them and it wouldnt be long before they got the tv stations going again

Sepulchrave

Must say I am happy I came across this thread.

I have Eircom 3mb broadband as well. Or at least that is what Eircom has told me. When we originally got the broadband, it was a 2mb package. But then Eircom changed their packages, and the 2mb became 3mb, and the 2mb was nowhere to be found. They were however the same price, so we went about upgrading to the 3mb. We got a response from Eircom saying that we already had the 3mb package so there was nothing to to.

I was never sure really to believe this, because before the package was changed, and we tried to upgrade, the speed on the router is reported as 2048/256 (kbps). To this day, that speed is still reported, it has never changed. So I highly doubt I actually have 3mb broadband.

So we recently wanted to upgrade to the 8mb NGB, since again we could do it for the same price. I checked out the coverage map, and my house is in the yellow area. I also entered my account number, and phone number, and it said congratulations NGB is available blah blah blah.

So we made a request to upgrade to the NGB, so I assume we are still waiting for the exchange to be upgraded.

For the record, I am in Cork, and my local exchange is Ballincollig, we are maybe 5km away from it.

So I was reading through this thread and I noticed all the details about line attenuation and what not. Looking at my own stats I am not sure they are very good, so I thought if I post them maybe could someone advise me if the current speeds I get are the maximum my line has to offer: (Download/Upload)

Max Allowed Speed (kbps) 2048/256
SN Margin (dB) 12.00/24.00
Line Attenuation (dB) 60.00/31.50
CRC Errors 13614/45

Speedtest:



I would be grateful for any input.

Best Regards.

moonshadow

Downstream Upstream
Max Allowed Speed (kbps) 480 384
SN Margin (dB) 13.50 14.00
Line Attenuation (dB) 39.50 26.00
CRC Errors 0 31

---

Im so jealous of you guys this is what i have to put up with,im based just outside Drogheda and paying for 3 mg with eircom,so share the knowlege is there anything i can do?

maninaskirt

moonshadow wrote: »

Downstream Upstream
Max Allowed Speed (kbps) 480 384
SN Margin (dB) 13.50 14.00
Line Attenuation (dB) 39.50 26.00
CRC Errors 0 31


Hi, your only syncing at 0.48Mb rather than 3Mb, you have an issue there, I suggest you follow post 6 from this page http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055167684, if you have resolved any issue or made any improvement you will see the 480 sync rise, hopefully to 3072, HTH.