Eircom eFibre VDSL/FTTC rollout – plans to reach 1.6m premises by mid 2016

red_bairn

Sponge Bob wrote: »

The big reels of Orange Stuff (=Subduct) is the first sign that something is happening.

Do they start that from where the Exchange is situated?

Sponge Bob

red_bairn wrote: »

Do they start that from where the Exchange is situated?

Yes, there are 24 fibre pairs out to each cab from an optical distibution frame in the old exchange.

bk wrote: »

Interesting, in the Eircom/Huawei video above, an Eircom person mentions they are planning to install 5,000 cabs over the next two years!!.

I understand it is 7500 cabinets now Search the thread for that number as it came up a few months back as 7500 or 7,500.

5000 cabinets would be just shy of 1m ports and every cabinet would have to be fully populated for them to make their 'target'. FTTP will be limited to 10s of 1000s of drops.

Solair

Sponge Bob wrote: »

It has been in a quagmire in Comreg since about 2009 .

Once you roll out Vectored ADSL you kill off LLU, end of.

As eircom are not giving everybody VDSL in some areas ( small cabs and underground splits) some will continue to rely on LLU from their old exchange as their cable will not connect back to a VDSL Cabinet. That will be fun too.....even slap bang in the middle of Dublin.

That actually won't make any difference, as you could quite happily provide ADSL2+/ADSL to customers who aren't served by VDSL2 cabinets without messing up vectoring.

1) Each cabinet usually has its own cable with a large number of pairs and you'd only need to worrying about vectoring across that cable bundle. So, you could remove ADSL2+ services from cables that were feeding lines to VDSL2 cabinets.

2) Even if that weren't possible, the POTS line comes in to the cabinet through filters, so it should remove any line noise before adding the VDSL2 signals, so basically even if some ADSL2+ crosstalk bled onto the wires, it wouldn't make any difference provided it wasn't passing through the VDSL2 cabinet and going out in the same bundle of pairs.

It looks like G.Vector should solve the subloop unbundling issue as you can just run a connection between the two compatible DSLAMs (eircom + other operator) and they will be able to co-ordinate their vectoring.

The equipment suppliers are well aware of the need to have competitive access as most countries have the same kind of set up we do in Ireland with multiple players and possible sub loop LLU operators etc.

So, in theory BT or whoever could basically install another cabinet beside the eircom one and sync with the vectoring and then supply its own customers.

The bigger issue I would see is maybe one or more of the LLU operators saying they weren't playing ball with the vectoring as they've invested a lot in unbundling exchanges and their equipment's being rendered useless.

red_bairn

Possibly this could be beneficial to the fibre network:

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/comms/item/32213-cloud-valley-plan-to-make/

Sponge Bob

red_bairn wrote: »

Possibly this could be beneficial to the fibre network:

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/comms/item/32213-cloud-valley-plan-to-make/

Ehm, yeah.

http://siliconrepublic.com/digital-21/item/26778-build-and-theyll-dot-com

Hodnett has also joined forces with Neil Leyden, winner of the president’s ‘Your Country, Your Call’ competition in 2010 to build the International Digital Services Centre (IDSC), which could smooth the way for future digital industries coming to Ireland. As a non-executive director along with entrepreneur, philanthropist and venture capitalist Bill Liao, one of the key pillars of the IDSC will be to remove the bureaucratic and administrative frictions internet firms and entrepreneurs may encounter when arriving in Ireland.

In Dublin.

red_bairn

Soon Google will own their souls. :pac:

irishgeo

any word on the other operators launching?

aindriu80

hi

I see Monaghan listed in Eircom's phase IV roll out. I am with Sky at the moment and getting around 1Mb and thinking of moving back to Eircom. I am wondering can I get the new fibre broadband and whats the price involved ? Also will third parties like Sky have access to Eircom's fibre ?

red_bairn

aindriu80 wrote: »

hi

I see Monaghan listed in Eircom's phase IV roll out. I am with Sky at the moment and getting around 1Mb and thinking of moving back to Eircom. I am wondering can I get the new fibre broadband and whats the price involved ? Also will third parties like Sky have access to Eircom's fibre ?

No prices shown until after May 20th. Yes.

Sponge Bob

Yes, dont know price yet and yes. best make sure there is a cabinet near you, see the map below.

MikeSat

Just saw on RTE advert for Eircom Fibre, free Upgrade for Eircom customers as we already knew, but only up to 50 mgs so if you need faster,70 mgs as advertised get out your cheque book.

mickeyboymel

Saw a few suits from K&N in small vans round Mullingar today inspecting recent installations of cabinets with clipboards, could this be some sort of sign off/handover of the installation phase?

aindriu80

red_bairn wrote: »

No prices shown until after May 20th. Yes.

I am going to soldier on with Sky until May 20th and see if Sky will offer something better than 1mb or maybe Eircom will be the better option

I don't see any map to check if I am on the right cabinet.

Sponge Bob

aindriu80 wrote: »

I don't see any map to check if I am on the right cabinet.

http://bit.ly/10834qE

aindriu80

Sponge Bob wrote: »

http://bit.ly/10834qE

Thanks, I'm about 20 meters from one of those flags @54.248379,-6.970482

They are promising 50Mb to begin with ? wow that would be awesome if it doesn't cost too much.

arctan

neddynasty

MikeSat wrote: »

Just saw on RTE advert for Eircom Fibre, free Upgrade for Eircom customers as we already knew, but only up to 50 mgs so if you need faster,70 mgs as advertised get out your cheque book.

Only up to 50mgs!!! I'm outraged. In protest I think I'll refuse the free upgrade and stick with my 2mb connection!!

Liamario

http://www.eircom.net/efibre/

Sponge Bob

OK, so if you are (typically) on the 8mbit or 24mbit bundles costing c.€50-60 a month you get an up to 50mbit VDSL install and modem for free ( and an 18 month contract I hear with the first 6 months at the current price and no visibility beyond 6 months on the price for the 12 months following )

This implies the up to 70mbits product will cost MORE than the highest current bundle which is the ultimate for €60 a month, thats up to 24mbits and unlimited offpeak landline calls bundle inc VAT as it is residential. Lots are on the regular 8mbit package for €50 a month because of distance ....eg living in a Burb in Letterkenny or Sligo and too far out for 24mbits.

based on the lack of price guarantee other than you pay €50 or €60 for the first 6 months the implication to me is that

1. The pricing for up to 50 mbits bundles will synchronise at around €60 a month for both packages in early 2014.

2. Up to 70mbit bundles with eircom will cost around €70 a month from day 1 as a new product.

Will they continue with the crazy data cap of 250Gb a month that they had for the trial period in S Dublin too or will they synchronise with UPC at 500Gb a month ...currently in abeyance as SKY are making a nuisance of themselves????

Everyone else will price off eircom so the best 'up to' 50 mbit deals will come in around €50 a month and the best 'up to' 70 mbit deals at around €60.

There, I don't have to go into a tedious all day meeting with the dopey morkeshing types, all sorted.

red_bairn

arctan wrote: »

ah jaysus Arctan, ye could at least give it a lick o' paint.

CraigSmith_IO

Sponge Bob wrote: »

OK, so if you are (typically) on the 8mbit or 24mbit bundles costing c.€50-60 a month you get an up to 50mbit VDSL install and modem for free ( and an 18 month contract I hear with the first 6 months at the current price and no visibility beyond 6 months on the price for the 12 months following )

This implies the up to 70mbits product will cost MORE than the highest current bundle which is the ultimate for €60 a month, thats up to 24mbits and unlimited offpeak landline calls bundle inc VAT as it is residential. Lots are on the regular 8mbit package for €50 a month because of distance ....eg living in a Burb in Letterkenny or Sligo and too far out for 24mbits.

based on the lack of price guarantee other than you pay €50 or €60 for the first 6 months the implication to me is that

1. The pricing for up to 50 mbits bundles will synchronise at around €60 a month for both packages in early 2014.

2. Up to 70mbit bundles with eircom will cost around €70 a month from day 1 as a new product.

Will they continue with the crazy data cap of 250Gb a month that they had for the trial period in S Dublin too or will they synchronise with UPC at 500Gb a month ...currently in abeyance as SKY are making a nuisance of themselves????

Everyone else will price off eircom so the best 'up to' 50 mbit deals will come in around €50 a month and the best 'up to' 70 mbit deals at around €60.

There, I don't have to go into a tedious all day meeting with the dopey morkeshing types, all sorted.

FUP is now 500gb with eircom...

"eircom net Next Generation Broadband Regular 8Mb: the ADSL service which provided the Customer with unlimited hours per monthly billing, unlimited traffic allowance subject to fair usage of 500GB." - http://www.eircom.net/policy/

Solair

Realistically, eircom will have to be price competitive with UPC or they might as well not install this stuff at all.

I can 100% guarantee you that UPC will keep a 50mbit/s to 100mbit/s lead on eircom's top speed for the foreseable future until eircom move customers to FTTH (fibre to the home) instead of VDSL.

They can't come in with a product that's more expensive than UPC's 100mbit/s service and absolutely not more expensive than their 150mbit/s service.
If they do, they'll achieve absolutely no win-back and customers will continue to jump ship.
Eircom also need to realise (and I think that they do) that the other operators using their network aren't competitors in the same way as UPC is.

If someone switches to UPC, ceases their eircom line there's a serious possibility they'll never come back unless there's a very big incentive to.

If someone switches to say Magnet or Vodafone, eircom is getting revenue from the line and the wholesale product and eircom retail can still easily continue to market products to those homes and switching's simple.

eircom isn't allowed to have a higher pricing model in areas without UPC coverage, so if they want to keep their customers in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, etc they'll have to compete head-to-head with UPC's pricing and those prices will apply nationally.

Most of Ireland's population lives in those urban centres and most of the country's spending power is there, so they're not really able to just become the high price rural fast broadband alternative and expect to survive.

---

Also, I would think that UPC is now a more trusted brand for broadband than eircom is because it has consistently reliable technology and speeds and most people have had good experiences. So, it's not like eircom has some kind of branding premium as the trusted old-world brand or something like that.
Although it probably does pick up some of the 'awl-wan' market who still think they get broadband from P&T.

It's the same in the UK with BT and Virgin too.

UPC's top tier product is very much the S-Class Merc of the residential broadband world in Ireland.
Eircom can't really offer a Ford Mondeo at the same price and expect to see people switching over.
Their slower DSL services are only in the second-hand Fiat Punto levels in many areas.

Basically, they'll have to either be slightly cheaper than UPC or just accept that they can't win-back customers and UPC areas and hope that they pick up enough in areas that UPC missed out on coverage in in urban areas and in towns that don't have any cable.

My guess is that it'll be about €40 to €50 / month.
That or they'll have to throw some very nice goodies in to attract customers e.g. IPTV with a surprising range of good sports and movies or something like that or unlimited international calls.

They'll definitely have a quad-play offering though, as will Vodafone.

arctan

red_bairn wrote: »

ah jaysus Arctan, ye could at least give it a lick o' paint.

not my job

Sponge Bob

Arctan, do the rooftop extension modules for the cross connect cables to the VDSL cabs go in before the plinth is dug or after or at the same time??

They are easy to spot when one is mapping. The fresh paint on top gives them right away.

Solair

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Arctan, do the rooftop extension modules for the cross connect cables to the VDSL cabs go in before the plinth is dug or after or at the same time??

They are easy to spot when one is mapping. The fresh paint on top gives them right away.

In Cork, it seems to be whenever's handy. I've seen them go in a few days/weeks ahead, at the same time and even after the VDSL2 cabinet.


@Arctan : Will they be replacing those white cabinets with the standardised green one, or will they be used for VDSL too? I've seen a good few VDSL cabs next to a taller, whiteish coloured plastic distribution box.

I noticed in this area they replaced a lot of the older green cabinets with significantly larger ones before the VDSL2 cabinets arrived.

ElNino

Solair wrote: »

Realistically, eircom will have to be price competitive with UPC or they might as well not install this stuff at all.

I can 100% guarantee you that UPC will keep a 50mbit/s to 100mbit/s lead on eircom's top speed for the foreseable future until eircom move customers to FTTH (fibre to the home) instead of VDSL.

They can't come in with a product that's more expensive than UPC's 100mbit/s service and absolutely not more expensive than their 150mbit/s service.
If they do, they'll achieve absolutely no win-back and customers will continue to jump ship.
Eircom also need to realise (and I think that they do) that the other operators using their network aren't competitors in the same way as UPC is.

If someone switches to UPC, ceases their eircom line there's a serious possibility they'll never come back unless there's a very big incentive to.

If someone switches to say Magnet or Vodafone, eircom is getting revenue from the line and the wholesale product and eircom retail can still easily continue to market products to those homes and switching's simple.

eircom isn't allowed to have a higher pricing model in areas without UPC coverage, so if they want to keep their customers in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, etc they'll have to compete head-to-head with UPC's pricing and those prices will apply nationally.

Most of Ireland's population lives in those urban centres and most of the country's spending power is there, so they're not really able to just become the high price rural fast broadband alternative and expect to survive.

---

Also, I would think that UPC is now a more trusted brand for broadband than eircom is because it has consistently reliable technology and speeds and most people have had good experiences. So, it's not like eircom has some kind of branding premium as the trusted old-world brand or something like that.
Although it probably does pick up some of the 'awl-wan' market who still think they get broadband from P&T.

It's the same in the UK with BT and Virgin too.

UPC's top tier product is very much the S-Class Merc of the residential broadband world in Ireland.
Eircom can't really offer a Ford Mondeo at the same price and expect to see people switching over.
Their slower DSL services are only in the second-hand Fiat Punto levels in many areas.

Basically, they'll have to either be slightly cheaper than UPC or just accept that they can't win-back customers and UPC areas and hope that they pick up enough in areas that UPC missed out on coverage in in urban areas and in towns that don't have any cable.

My guess is that it'll be about €40 to €50 / month.
That or they'll have to throw some very nice goodies in to attract customers e.g. IPTV with a surprising range of good sports and movies or something like that or unlimited international calls.

They'll definitely have a quad-play offering though, as will Vodafone.

I hope you are right but Eircom have a monopoly in a lot of the country outside Dublin where UPC only provide MMDS.

Solair

ElNino wrote: »

I hope you are right but Eircom have a monopoly in a lot of the country outside Dublin where UPC only provide MMDS.

There are even plenty of parts of Dublin & Cork city in that situation too. Areas that never got cabled (including parts of Dublin 1)

Sponge Bob

Solair wrote: »

. Areas that never got cabled (including parts of Dublin 1)

And Merrion Square with the Dáil at its western end, MMDS or nothing.

aindriu80

The new faster broadband is of course welcome but the new prices aren't. I paid €55/month for a 6Mb line (real speeds) with Eircom and I don't really see the sell of better speeds with a bigger price. In general they have to drop the price of broadband, the single biggest problem here is the price of line rental.

red_bairn

aindriu80 wrote: »

The new faster broadband is of course welcome but the new prices aren't. I paid €55/month for a 6Mb line (real speeds) with Eircom and I don't really see the sell of better speeds with a bigger price. In general they have to drop the price of broadband, the single biggest problem here is the price of line rental.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I haven't seen any prices quoted for Eircom's future setup.