Best Broadband option for price in Arklow.

FileNotFound

Right I have been using an O2 USb dongle for the past few months, I even managed to run the xbox through it (albeit a little laggy on occasion)

I am now however wanting to get a proper connection. there is no fibre BB available where i live so just DSL.

I can get Magnet BB only for 50 something euro (24mb), had them before but on fibre BB in a previous home, they were great but the 2 times i had to use customer care it was poor to say the least. So I am wary of using there less trustworthy DSL.

My other options seem to be eircom ngb or smart telecom (both 8mb lines).

The line is inactive and I have no idea what the true capability is or distance from the exchange here (anyone know where it is located?) So I suppose i am looking for anyone from the town who has any of the above, just to get there opinions on best option.

Also smart say they have contention of 1:1 does this even exist lol. And is ngb really any different from old eircom (so they make it more stable they say anyone actually got it)

Would be happy to hear from people and company reps, want to get something sooner rather than later.

Thanks in advance,

FNF

Cantona's Collars

Digiweb Metro is another option if you don't want a phoneline.

http://www.digiweb.ie/home/broadband/metro/index.html

Not sure how the DSL is in Arklow now,wasn't great before but I think some upgrade work has been done in the area.Maybe best to chat to your neighbours and see what their experience with their BB providers is.

FileNotFound

Cheers for the reply zerks

Any idea what kind of speeds i could expect with metro? I am living along south quay if this helps with better info.

Yeah eircom have started to advertise ngb here so I assume some upgrade has been made. The house I live in is only 10yrs old so the line to the house should be ok (assumption).

FNF

Cantona's Collars

I know a few people with Digiweb and they are happy with it,reception in Arklow depends on what part of the town you're in-best to contact them & they'll tell you if you can get it.There's no middle ground ala dongles,you either get a good service or nothing.

I found that download limits with Eircom NGB were very low.I personally went for Vodafones similar service which was cheaper and had a higher download limit.I rang them before ordering and by the next morning I got a call to tell me what my line could handle (it also helped that my neighbour had it too,so I kinda knew what to expect)

bealtine

FileNotFound wrote: »

Would be happy to hear from people and company reps, want to get something sooner rather than later.

Wicklow Broadband? http://www.wicklowbroadband.com/

FileNotFound

Cheers bealtine for the reply,

But If you can shed a bit more light on them that would be great lets face it unless its fibre the website info is almost obsolete.

I have been checkin one or 2 things out I now know I am less than 1km from the exchange and I wandered into the vodafone store to check out what they had and they are going to check the speed capability of my line.

Still more bias towards the magnet and smart options, trying to find out more about metro too (god damn why did I move to a small town with no fibre network lol)

Still if anyone has a service within this range of the exchange (the post office) and gets good quality speed and service feel free to post there name

Cheers,

FNF

bealtine

FileNotFound wrote: »

But If you can shed a bit more light on them that would be great lets face it unless its fibre the website info is almost obsolete.

There's very little fibre to the home anywhere in Ireland so you can forget about that for the next few years. Some in Dublin(very limited) and Wexford (again limited) but that's about it.

Wicklow BB is a wireless provider and that's about all I know about them

FileNotFound

Well after a lot of looking it appears my main choices are:

8mb, 60gb smart metro, for 40 odd euro pm, free set up

8mb, 350gb smart dsl ngb, for 40 odd euro pm, free set up

24mb, unlimited Magnet, 56 euro pm, 50euro installation cost.

3-8mb, 60gb vodafone, 40 euro, 20 euro for router, free set up.

Would love to know if anyone has magnet in the area and if they are getting anywhere near the speeds and how long it took them to get up and running. The 50 euro is for improving the line (so they say). being close to the exchange i should get little loss of speed due to line distance.

Just fear that if line needs improvement etc. that this could take a while to get done.

Vodafone and metro caps are a bit low, have to say the smart dsl seems the best option right now.

Cheers,

FNF.

number_1

FileNotFound wrote: »

...The line is inactive...

This is the most relevant part of your post. All other providers will tell you to get Eircom to activate the line. In order to do this you will enter a 12 month contract with Eircom.

So until 2013 you'll have a choice of Eircom DSL or a wireless provider. If you go for DSL you'd be able to switch over to a different provider in 12 months time.

FileNotFound

Hi number_1

This is no longer true, all say they will take care of activation, eircom technicians will be responsible fort it but on behalf of the company I will use.

Still hoping someone who has used magnet can comment on it!!

number_1

Until recently you could contact, for instance, Vodafone, order their product, and then they'd handle the reconnection process.

However there have been numerous posts on this website recently from users who report contacting (non-Eircom) ISPs and being told they have to go to Eircom for the reconnection.

If the situation has changed once again, then great. Don't assume you can though just because it was how things were done a short while ago.

FileNotFound

I was talking to vodafone, smart and magnet and all say they can do it (in the last 2 days) so I can only assume that there will be no need for eircom to get involved, or rather for me to get involved with eircom.

Still unable to make my mind up about whether or not to go with magnet as the idea of line upgrades and some things I have read make me fear this could take a very long time, the main reason I consider them is there is no contract meaning if I am unhappy with the service I can simply say goodbye to it.