So this is broadband?

CelticTigress

NBS has finally found its way to where I live (in north west Donegal). I found the ad card in a shop in nearby village and rang to enquire. Mast is already up and running in that village but not in range but the village nearest to where I live apparently has a mast which is up, but not "fully live" yet.

So the man comes round and sets up a demo and it works... sort of. The upshot is we have signed up mainly because my husband finds it useful for Skype calls and it's good enough for that. But for ordinary surfing on my desktop it's really not that great. A lot of the time I just disconnect it and reconnect using the ISDN which at least has the benefit of not dropping out.

It's been explained to me that the mast needs to get full power and more "cells" after which time I suppose it might get better, but of course it means that Eircscam are never going to upgrade my telephone exchange now.... not that I think they ever had any intention of doing so.

So after 8 years waiting... this is as good as it gets?

IsThisTaken

You would have had broadband by now if the idiots in FF had not sold Telecom Éireann.

drunkmonkey

Have you called 3 yet? Sounds like you need to go through the motions with tech support.

Have you got the repeater or engineers out ?

CelticTigress

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Have you called 3 yet? Sounds like you need to go through the motions with tech support.

Have you got the repeater or engineers out ?

I haven't called them yet. Do I need to? The guy did tell me our mast wasn't "fully live" yet and I suppose it might improve when it does so - but I've no way of knowing when that's going to happen.

What's a repeater?

drunkmonkey

t next weekhis is where the fun begins, you will get sorted but your going to have to play the game.

You need to call the NBS help line, 1913 then I think its option 4 then option 2.

Your going to get through to tech support in Mumbai, there going to get you to troubleshoot the problem, it might seem pointless some of the things there going to get you to try but play along.
Once you've satisfied phone support there is a problem they will more than likely send you a repeater/booster to increase the reception in the house.
When you get that and if its still not working the next step is they send out engineers to do a site survey and maybe install an external booster or a satellite service.

Call them tomorrow and get the ball rolling. Be patient and follow through everything with support and you should be in a better position this time next week.

watty

No matter what the OP does it won't be Broadband. You know it.

The so called "repeater" is mostly a placebo.

Also even if you don't get minimum NBS specs it's like getting blood from a stone to get the Satellite Upgrade.

Even then unless you know the spec you will be fobbed of with a retail package that doesn't have NBS contention or Cap (both MUCH worse).

The "problem" is that's mobile and INHERENTLY can't deliver NBS specs, and never will.
Always on
1.2Mbps min speed.
http://www.techtir.ie/comms/mobile-vs-fixed
also see NBS and 3 Ireland side panel here http://www.wattystuff.net/

See how RUBBISH 3G/HSPA (the NBS is just 3's Mobile Phone system) is for Fixed Data use here http://www.radioway.info/comparewireless/

You will certainly need to keep hounding 3, write to 3, Analysys Mason and Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

Put everything in Writing to all three of them, by registered post.

3 is getting a lot of money (from taxpayer) simply to rollout a Mobile phone network for this charade. Do not accept an iota less than the NBS specs.

CelticTigress

I want to find out first if this mast is "fully live" or not. The website is useless. It shows my area - and the other nearby village - as "non-NBS areas."

watty

If you connect, it's live.

kevinmcc

Where exactly are you? If it's Culdaff/Gleneely, 3 have masts fully up and running in both places now.

CelticTigress

It's Gleneely, if that's what they call fully up & running then I'm less than impressed.

kevinmcc

I am using the mast in Culdaff. When they first put it up it had issues with disconnecting and the mast actually went down for a few days until I managed to reach someone based in Ireland who works for 3. There may be an issue with the Gleneely mast, but due to the fact that there is likely not many people using it, and it being extremely hard to have anything escalated by 3's team in India, they may not even be aware.

I'd really like to see eircom upgrade the Gleneely/Culdaff exchanges but that will likely never happen. I also do not like the FF Councillor who has continually been in the local press about these masts, calling it broadband, as it is far from!

CelticTigress

You mean Charlie Mc? At least he went and actually did something about it and followed it up. He lives just up the road from me so he probably was needing it just as badly as I was.

Culdaff apparently has been fully up & running but Phil, the 3 Rep who came out to sign us up, said they hadn't quite fully set up the Gleneely one yet.

kevinmcc

Yeah but under the NBS, three had to setup a mast in Culdaff. Gleneely is not part of the NBS but was given a mast by three, maybe Charlie had something to do with that. The mast in Gleneely is definitely up, I can receive 3G signal from it when in Gleneely, also the papers did state it was live. Did 3 send you out an engineer? I'm amazed if they did, because they will only usually send it out if you reside in a NBS area i.e. Portaleen, Glengad area.

CelticTigress

I get a signal it's just pathetically weak and often drops out.

So, Eirscam won't upgrade our exchange because we are being served by 3
and thus supposedly covered under NBS.

But there is a 3 mast I won't get help with from 3 because I'm not in an NBS area.

I'm fooked.

kevinmcc

sounds like there is an issue with the mast. 3 have a rep on boards now. go to http://www.boards.ie/three there is an irish rep there who may be of more help. I often had disconnects when the mast at Culdaff went up, tech support are useless, I had to continiously contact their irish staff to get it sorted. Before that I had issues with their mast in Carndonagh going down, it would go down for a few days, and they have so little users even there that tech support again told me it was my issue, until that it is, their irish staff confirmed it was indeed down.

People resident in North Donegal definitely have a bad deal, with 3 being many peoples only option. I think if they moved their tech support to Ireland it would help, they are just clueless when it comes to more serious tech issues.

clohamon

CelticTigress wrote: »

I get a signal it's just pathetically weak and often drops out.

So, Eirscam won't upgrade our exchange because we are being served by 3
and thus supposedly covered under NBS.

But there is a 3 mast I won't get help with from 3 because I'm not in an NBS area.

I'm fooked.

If you're outside the NBS you could wait for the RBS (Rural Broadband Scheme) which is due to be announced before the end of the year. It might mean you could apply for a satellite, but the qualifying T&Cs have not been set out in detail yet.

drunkmonkey

This is the NBS coverage map as you can see your no where near a green area.


This is the indoor/outdoor mobile broadband coverage map around you, again there is no light blue area where you are so the mobile broadband is not suitable for home use. There's just no reception there.


These aren't phone coverage maps they only refer to broadband/midband.

Your not in an NBS area, You've hardly any coverage, you should return the modem asap and get a refund as it's not going to work for you regardless of what the door to door sales guy told you.

watty

you should return the modem asap and get a refund as it's not going to work for you regardless of what the door to door sales guy told you.

They pretty much ARE phone coverage maps. The actual Data coverage is ALWAYS worse than phone coverage as it needs a MUCH better signal for better than dialup speed.

3 Coverage Maps are always very optimistic.

Also 3 only has a mobile phone licence. They break terms of their 3G licence if they have Data on a mast without voice.

drunkmonkey

watty wrote: »

They pretty much ARE phone coverage maps

They don't show the 2G coverage, Have to say phone reception wise I find them excellent, never ever stuck for reception bar the time I lost the run of myself and got an iphone, I don't own a midband thingy.

I've driven a few of the maps, there pretty accurate.

clohamon

watty wrote: »

3 Coverage Maps are always very optimistic.

The Vodafone maps seem to have gone mad lately as well . Very crude polygons and nearly universal "up to 7.2Mb/s"

Have a look at the amazing shrinking polygon as you zoom in on Inishowen.

watty

drunkmonkey wrote: »

They don't show the 2G coverage, Have to say phone reception wise I find them excellent, never ever stuck for reception bar the time I lost the run of myself and got an iphone, I don't own a midband thingy.

I've driven a few of the maps, there pretty accurate.

You have network operator grade calibrated gear? Ordinary Dongle and phone signal measurements are not accurate. An iPhone is famously inaccurate on signal levels.

3 don't have a GSM/2G licence. They ONLY have a 3G phone licence. So it would be really really strange if ANY 3 coverage map showed 2G coverage.

drunkmonkey

watty wrote: »

3 don't have a GSM/2G licence.

No but Vodafone do, and that's where 3's 2G coverage comes from along with GPRS data when your outside of 3's 3G Network.

The phone maps show coverage everywhere, Their mobile broadband modems don't roam on 2G. Hence the different maps.

Here's the 2G for the same area:


Put all the maps together and that's pretty good phone coverage.

kevinmcc

That three coverage map is not up to date. There is a 3 mast in Gleneely that was not updated yet to reflect that.

watty

drunkmonkey wrote: »

No but Vodafone do, and that's where 3's 2G coverage comes from along with GPRS data when your outside of 3's 3G Network.

The phone maps show coverage everywhere, Their mobile broadband modems don't roam on 2G. Hence the different maps.

Anyone can have deal with anyone.

That is not real 3 coverage. It's only coverage in sense of Just Mobile or Tesco or Anpost.


The deal with vodafone could end any time. They should publish maps of their coverage. I would say the Mobile maps are their real phone coverage for 3G and are very very optimistic for data. Not at all indicative of indoor 1Mbps signal.

You only get 14kbps to 240kbps if you roam on 2G anyway.

Also voice quality is poorer on GSM (2G) than 3G.

If all those 3G maps are taken as 3G voice coverage and shrunk by half for reasonable Data coverage it would be honest.

drunkmonkey

watty wrote: »

That is not real 3 coverage.
.

It is very real, it's not make up coverage, it's excellent coverage. Ireland biggest 3G network backed up by the Ireland's biggest 2G network. I don't see how you can slate their phone coverage.

You can't compare 3 to Postphone, Just Mobile, Tesco who are just MVNO's working on Vodafone's & o2's 2G network only. There nothing like each other.

I've been with Voda & o2, before moving to 3, I really think you've a pretty lob sided view of their phone coverage.

You've 2G talk, text and data coverage, 3G talk text and data coverage. What more do you need on your mobile? There a phone company first and foremost.

watty

Thankyou, exactly. They (nor eircom as they were going to mostly use Meteor) should not have got NBS contract.

They certainly are not a real ISP and don't have ANY Broadband products.

It's not 3G voice coverage, thus misleading. 3 is equivalent to an MVNO when you roam on Vodafone, and who knows how long that will last. They should have two maps. One for 3G voice (their own network) and one including Roaming.

In fact the so called data map is one of those two maps. It's optimistic even for 3G voice due to Cell Breathing and not really a Data coverage map at all.

CelticTigress

We get pretty good Voda voice phone coverage but when I tried their 3G dongle I got even less signal than I do on 3.

That's why I'm actually quite amazed it works at all. In different parts of the house it's a little better, but I never get beyond one "pip" (out of 5). Best spot in the house is still only two.

Where can I check my speed?

watty

Best way is to download Linux from ftp.heanet.ie

Try Galway server on www.speedtest.net. Do many tests over a 5 hr period from 4pm to 9pm
www.speedtest.net will* "remember them" but you can save the links in notepad.
(*not sure if this is true on shared IP)

A single speed test on 3G is meaningless as it can vary so much.


Public Speed tests are only a rough guide

watty

drunkmonkey wrote: »

It is very real, it's not make up coverage, it's excellent coverage. Ireland biggest 3G network backed up by the Ireland's biggest 2G network. I don't see how you can slate their phone coverage.

3 has started to switch off roaming onto Orange's 2G network in locations where it reckons its own coverage makes the 2G partner redundant.

Or to save money...
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/11/08/3uk_orange_roaming/

3 is adamant that the number of customers left without connectivity is tiny, though that minority is a vocal one. 3 tells us it's only switched off the roaming agreement in places where its own (3G) coverage is comprehensive.

But they would say that wouldn't they

beckysneads

CelticTigress wrote: »

NBS has finally found its way to where I live (in north west Donegal). I found the ad card in a shop in nearby village and rang to enquire. Mast is already up and running in that village but not in range but the village nearest to where I live apparently has a mast which is up, but not "fully live" yet.

So the man comes round and sets up a demo and it works... sort of. The upshot is we have signed up mainly because my husband finds it useful for Skype calls and it's good enough for that. But for ordinary surfing on my desktop it's really not that great. A lot of the time I just disconnect it and reconnect using the ISDN which at least has the benefit of not dropping out.

It's been explained to me that the mast needs to get full power and more "cells" after which time I suppose it might get better, but of course it means that Eircscam are never going to upgrade my telephone exchange now.... not that I think they ever had any intention of doing so.

So after 8 years waiting... this is as good as it gets?

I must say that this is a sloppy service. You just have to wait till ISDN service offers comes back in your area.

Cabaal

IsThisTaken wrote: »

You would have had broadband by now if the idiots in FF had not sold Telecom Éireann.

This is based on what crazy reality?