Is it possible to choose which exchange I connect to?

CRM Ireland

Hi, Ive just registered with Boards because I feel like Im being told many different stories when I call Eircom on the phone.

I just moved house and have been trying to get broadband installed. On the NGB map, my house is extremely close to the border which seperates the Termonfeckin and Clogherhead exchanges. Clogherhead is enabled for up to 24mb and Termonfeckin is enabled for up to 8mb.

Because its in the countryside, there happens to be no house name or number, or street address. So when I was enquiring about what service I could receive, there was some confusion as it was impossible to determine exactly which house was mine as I didnt know the previous persons number or name who lived here. Eventually I was told the line should support 1mb. I asked how they knew this as they reported that some people in Callystown (where I live) are reporting speeds up to 17mb and some are getting 1mb. As Callystown isnt a large area, I wanted to know how there could be such a difference in service. I was told that it was due to varying factors such as line quality and the thickness of the walls in my house. I asked what the thickness of the walls had to do with it as the copper cable would be insulated and would have travelled miles to get to my house. I didnt get a clear answer at all, so I realised the sales team didnt know enough about it and I asked to be transferred to the technical support team who might inform me why I could be losing so much speed compared to everyone else.

Tech support said the wall thickness wasnt the issue, and it was actually due to the fact that as I was located near the border (exchange) some of the people down the road were connected to Clogherhead exchange, whereas my house was on the Termonfeckin exchange. Through some investigations the girl from tech support was able to find the previous number and account info of the previous occupants of my house, despite the line being disconnected a long time ago. She informed me that they had closed the account due to Eircom not being able to provide a reliable service on the line. That on occasion they had speed test results of 2.3mb down and 0.73up. However, they often got disconnected and eventually an engineer was sent out to investigate. The engineer tested the line and could find no fault at all, yet he was unable to get any connection of any speed when he tried.

I went back to the sales team and explained my concern over this matter, as I didnt want to start a 12 month contract for broadband if the service didnt work. I had been used to UPC 100mb all last year! The sales rep assured me that I would have 10 days to cancel the account without penalty after installation if I wasnt happy with it. So I decided I may as well go ahead and book it and see what speeds and reliability I could get.

Then out of the blue, as I was proceeding with the order, she stated she had great news and that I was able to choose which exchange to connect to. She said she had never seen this before, but that she had the option to select either TSNA (Termonfackin) or CHHA (Clogherhead). The prospect of geting onto the much nearer Clogherhead exchange where neighbours less than 0.5km away were getting 17mb speeds, I was delighted!

Anyway, I got off the phone and started thinking about this and I just didnt believe this would be possible as I assumed it would require another cable running from my house to the nearest house on the Clogherhead exchange. So doubting this, I called directly to tech support and asked them if I could choose an exchange. They informed me that this was nonsense and I couldnt choose an exchange.

I called sales again and explained all this to them, they told me that it wasnt possible to choose an exchange, but after me stating this was what I was previously told, they agreed to go through the sign-up process for me again and lo and behold, much to the surprise of the sales rep, they were once again given the option of choosing CHHA or TSNA.

So reassured, I took the day off work and waited for the engineer to call me. No call and a day of lost earnings. I phoned 2 days later and asked what was happening. I was told that the engineer stated he had tried to call me, but I didnt answer. I have a smartphone, all calls are logged and even if Im on the phone, it beeps to tell me someone else is calling and I get a text informing me I had a missed call. I didnt receive a call at all. So after all that waiting about, I had to wait another 10 days for the next available engineers visit.

He arrived yesterday. I went to the shop and met him and he followed me to my house. As we arrived in my drive, I enquired about the CHHA exchange. He said he saw the lines head in another direction a little further down the road, and that he didnt think it would be possible. He then said I would be connected to whatever exchange the line in my house was connected to, as there was no way Eircom would start running cables and erecting telegraph poles just for me on a standard install.

The phone number that I had been given by the sales team as my new number, was now changed as they had given me a number for the CHHA exchange, the engineer then gave me a different number which was connected to TSNA.

I called Eircom and enquired about all of this and this was the first time I learned that the engineer wasnt even installing broadband, he was just enabling a line and that no broadband order was even on my account! I couldnt believe it. This entire time, about 8 phonecalls back and forth, were all about my connection speed. When asked about which call packages I wanted, I had stated I didnt even want to use the phone as I have unlimited calls on my mobile. I had been expecting broadband straight away. After complaining about this, I was informed this is standard practice for a new line, as they are unable to tell what speed the line is capable of until its been activated. Then they do a prequal test and advise me on the quality of the line. What I dont understand, is surely its the exact same physical line that the last occupants here had? So its going to be the same pathetic service which cut off all the time causing them to cancel.

I have logged a complaint with Eircom and it takes 5 days to deal with. I cant even put an order in for ADSL at the moment because its the bank holiday weekend. I contacted Vodafone as they have staff working at the weekend and asked them to see what speed me line would support. The tech support rep told me that the number I gave him came back as "non standard delivery" and would expect speeds of up to 1mb. He said in his experience, it was likely to be 512kb and that it was highly probable that I would be faced with lots of problems.

Im so utterly gutted about this. I play online games everyday as part of a gaming clan and Ive just moved house and I dont think I will be able to continue doing so.

If Im close to another exchange which is much faster and more reliable, why have Eircom not connected the house here to that exchange, rather than have them on the periphery of another exchange which cannot provide me with a reliable service?

Can I have a definitive answer regarding it being possible to select which exchange Im on?

Regards

CRM

Sponge Bob

The answer is no. The people who may be able help are in the Drogheda Area Engineers HQ ( District Engineers) but there must be sufficient spare copper all the way back to the fast exchange and you really must try taking the entire boreen with you ...not certain houses willy nilly.

Someone I know in your position ( and getting nowhere) ordered a new line in a neighbours house and ran an extension cable from the neighbours house to their house. Worked just fine. Whats another 200m on a 2000m lne.

The guys who come out to your house are subbies and have no authority whatsoever. Nice lads but cannot get things changed from where they are.

CRM Ireland

I just went out and had a look. I followed the telephone cables, they are all on telegraph poles following the road, and I can see where the CHHA (Clogherhead) stops. I can also see the nearest house to it which is on the TSNA (Termonfeckin) exchange. There is exactly 450metres of field between the two wires. My actual house is 750metres away from the nearest house on CHHA exchange.

I would imagine all of the houses on the TSNA exchange next to me would also be experiencing an awful speed and quality of line. It doesnt mean anything that both exchanges are NGB enabled because the line quality is so bad. In my mind, I would imagine that they simply have to extend the CHHA cable run another 450metres and all of the houses at the edge of the TSNA exchange would be able to be switched over to CHHA and benefit from a much much faster broadband speed and have a reliable service. Im no engineer, perhaps there are other issues, but it makes sense to me!

How much would it cost Eircom to erect a few poles and install another 450 metres of cabling? At least as its in the countryside, they wouldnt have to dig a load of trenches!

Im serious with this enquiry, because it seems that Eircom could substantially improve the quality and experience of the service they provide their customers at a relatively small cost. Who should I take this to for an answer?

My first experience with Eircom so far has not been impressive, how they deal with this matter may change my opinion.

CRM Ireland

Here is a screenshot of my desktop. This is from the Eircom Wholesale site which Ive been using due to the NGB map being taken offline for further updates.

Ive selected the Clogherhead exchange and you can see its much closer than the Termonfeckin. The marker is at my house. The orange lines are the exchange boundaries. Ive also marked where the last house that is on the CHHA exchange is. The boundary lines are very accurate.

Sponge Bob

Lines follow roads not fields. You must take an entire road like that Callystown road on google maps and in one go. eircom must have enough copper in Clogherhead to facilitate this, they may have laid it for future developments. So you need to see if ducts are full to the edge of the existing CHH exchange area, etc.

CRM Ireland

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Lines follow roads not fields. You must take an entire road like that Callystown road on google maps and in one go. eircom must have enough copper in Clogherhead to facilitate this, they may have laid it for future developments. So you need to see if ducts are full to the edge of the existing CHH exchange area, etc.

I understand the lines follow the roads. I shouldve stated that I only used that marker as an indication as to where my house is on the map. I followed the line from Clogherhead and it stops at the house Ive marked on that same map. There is an area of no-mans land of 450 metres and then I come across the line which my house is connected to, the TSNA exchange.

How do I find out if the ducts are full, and what exactly does that mean? Im not going to start climbing poles, well not just yet anyway!

I wonder if its possible to have some kind of line of sight wireless to that area. Im on a slight hill, so I can see that house which is on the CHH(A?) exchange.

Sponge Bob

Cables will be ducted underground in Clogherhead, pull up a hatch and see if the ducts are full. If the ducts are full it will be difficult to connect your copper back in there.

Sponge Bob

I'd inspect this hatch first! > http://g.co/maps/qdt3q

CRM Ireland

What is in that hatch? How on earth do you know what this is and where it was to even link to it?

Sponge Bob

Start looking there, the ducting appears to come from Clogherhead. If it is full then........

CRM Ireland

Ive been on the phone to Eircom. Back and forth, etc etc. I may as well have been talking to the wall. They just state that Im not able to choose an exchange, regardless.

They said I could pay 120+euros for a brand new line to be installed all the way from my house to the exchange, but that I would have to pay for TWO lines as Id still need to keep this line which has exceptionally poor quality. Id still have no guarantee of broadband though, AND more importantly, its not to the CHH exchange, but the same TSNA exchange in Termonfeckin....

I explained repeatedly over and over and tried my best to get a reason as to WHY its not technically possible to get a different exchange, but no matter who I spoke to I just kept getting the same stock answer "You cant choose, its not technically possible".

I asked about getting some poles put up and running a new copper line from down the road.....ah its a waste of time even explaining it. Id have as much chance of someone from Eircom coming on here and giving me a reply to this request in THEIR forum that would explain it.

Sponge Bob

You don't sort these things out by phone, you go to Drogheda area engineer.

CRM Ireland

Now you tell me!

Where would I find such a place? In Drogheda obviously.....but where exactly?

Sponge Bob

In the place called "Drogheda aeh" on your exchange co ordinate spreadsheet.

Oceans12

Hi CRM I know the area well

You are unlikely to succeed in getting connected to Clogherhead exchange
Due to amount of work involved in moving / connecting existing cabling it's down to the planners in eircom And how they map out the connections , and also how the existing lines run they won't do it for one line...

How far by road from the Clogherhead exchange are you? It's beside the Garda station if I recall correctly


You have another possible option for broadband and that might be NET1 , I know there is an antenna for them on castlecoo hill so that might be an option

eircom: Mark

CRM Ireland wrote: »

Hi, Ive just registered with Boards because I feel like Im being told many different stories when I call Eircom on the phone.

I just moved house and have been trying to get broadband installed. On the NGB map, my house is extremely close to the border which seperates the Termonfeckin and Clogherhead exchanges. Clogherhead is enabled for up to 24mb and Termonfeckin is enabled for up to 8mb.

Because its in the countryside, there happens to be no house name or number, or street address. So when I was enquiring about what service I could receive, there was some confusion as it was impossible to determine exactly which house was mine as I didnt know the previous persons number or name who lived here. Eventually I was told the line should support 1mb. I asked how they knew this as they reported that some people in Callystown (where I live) are reporting speeds up to 17mb and some are getting 1mb. As Callystown isnt a large area, I wanted to know how there could be such a difference in service. I was told that it was due to varying factors such as line quality and the thickness of the walls in my house. I asked what the thickness of the walls had to do with it as the copper cable would be insulated and would have travelled miles to get to my house. I didnt get a clear answer at all, so I realised the sales team didnt know enough about it and I asked to be transferred to the technical support team who might inform me why I could be losing so much speed compared to everyone else.

Tech support said the wall thickness wasnt the issue, and it was actually due to the fact that as I was located near the border (exchange) some of the people down the road were connected to Clogherhead exchange, whereas my house was on the Termonfeckin exchange. Through some investigations the girl from tech support was able to find the previous number and account info of the previous occupants of my house, despite the line being disconnected a long time ago. She informed me that they had closed the account due to Eircom not being able to provide a reliable service on the line. That on occasion they had speed test results of 2.3mb down and 0.73up. However, they often got disconnected and eventually an engineer was sent out to investigate. The engineer tested the line and could find no fault at all, yet he was unable to get any connection of any speed when he tried.

I went back to the sales team and explained my concern over this matter, as I didnt want to start a 12 month contract for broadband if the service didnt work. I had been used to UPC 100mb all last year! The sales rep assured me that I would have 10 days to cancel the account without penalty after installation if I wasnt happy with it. So I decided I may as well go ahead and book it and see what speeds and reliability I could get.

Then out of the blue, as I was proceeding with the order, she stated she had great news and that I was able to choose which exchange to connect to. She said she had never seen this before, but that she had the option to select either TSNA (Termonfackin) or CHHA (Clogherhead). The prospect of geting onto the much nearer Clogherhead exchange where neighbours less than 0.5km away were getting 17mb speeds, I was delighted!

Anyway, I got off the phone and started thinking about this and I just didnt believe this would be possible as I assumed it would require another cable running from my house to the nearest house on the Clogherhead exchange. So doubting this, I called directly to tech support and asked them if I could choose an exchange. They informed me that this was nonsense and I couldnt choose an exchange.

I called sales again and explained all this to them, they told me that it wasnt possible to choose an exchange, but after me stating this was what I was previously told, they agreed to go through the sign-up process for me again and lo and behold, much to the surprise of the sales rep, they were once again given the option of choosing CHHA or TSNA.

So reassured, I took the day off work and waited for the engineer to call me. No call and a day of lost earnings. I phoned 2 days later and asked what was happening. I was told that the engineer stated he had tried to call me, but I didnt answer. I have a smartphone, all calls are logged and even if Im on the phone, it beeps to tell me someone else is calling and I get a text informing me I had a missed call. I didnt receive a call at all. So after all that waiting about, I had to wait another 10 days for the next available engineers visit.

He arrived yesterday. I went to the shop and met him and he followed me to my house. As we arrived in my drive, I enquired about the CHHA exchange. He said he saw the lines head in another direction a little further down the road, and that he didnt think it would be possible. He then said I would be connected to whatever exchange the line in my house was connected to, as there was no way Eircom would start running cables and erecting telegraph poles just for me on a standard install.

The phone number that I had been given by the sales team as my new number, was now changed as they had given me a number for the CHHA exchange, the engineer then gave me a different number which was connected to TSNA.

I called Eircom and enquired about all of this and this was the first time I learned that the engineer wasnt even installing broadband, he was just enabling a line and that no broadband order was even on my account! I couldnt believe it. This entire time, about 8 phonecalls back and forth, were all about my connection speed. When asked about which call packages I wanted, I had stated I didnt even want to use the phone as I have unlimited calls on my mobile. I had been expecting broadband straight away. After complaining about this, I was informed this is standard practice for a new line, as they are unable to tell what speed the line is capable of until its been activated. Then they do a prequal test and advise me on the quality of the line. What I dont understand, is surely its the exact same physical line that the last occupants here had? So its going to be the same pathetic service which cut off all the time causing them to cancel.

I have logged a complaint with Eircom and it takes 5 days to deal with. I cant even put an order in for ADSL at the moment because its the bank holiday weekend. I contacted Vodafone as they have staff working at the weekend and asked them to see what speed me line would support. The tech support rep told me that the number I gave him came back as "non standard delivery" and would expect speeds of up to 1mb. He said in his experience, it was likely to be 512kb and that it was highly probable that I would be faced with lots of problems.

Im so utterly gutted about this. I play online games everyday as part of a gaming clan and Ive just moved house and I dont think I will be able to continue doing so.

If Im close to another exchange which is much faster and more reliable, why have Eircom not connected the house here to that exchange, rather than have them on the periphery of another exchange which cannot provide me with a reliable service?

Can I have a definitive answer regarding it being possible to select which exchange Im on?

Regards

CRM

Hi CRM Ireland

I have been speaking eircom broadband networks regarding your issue I was advised that eircom determine set grids in an area and connect address' to that exchange to try and insure eircom broadband is available to as many people within an area as possible. Unfortunately no matter how the grids are laid out, there are always going to be people who are assigned to an an exchange that may not be the closest exchange to an address or area. Which is why eircom do not move or assign customers to different exchanges.

You may feel that your request is relatively straight forward. However I hope you appreciate that if we action your request then other customers may look to also be move to a different exchange in an effort to improve there broadband service and speed.

If these request were accepted that would compromise the existing exchange and network lay out. Which may affect how may customers we can offer the broadband service.

Therefore eircom don't take requests from customers looking to move exchanges I'm afraid.


Thanks, Mark

chris2008x

Move your house :P

Sponge Bob

eircom: Mark wrote: »

I have been speaking eircom broadband networks regarding your issue I was advised that eircom determine set grids in an area and connect address' to that exchange to try and insure eircom broadband is available to as many people within an area as possible.

"Set Grids" as you say are more than a bit simplistic Mark.

eircom simply builds and provisions bundles of 50 100 or 200 lines in a single cable to a particular area and does so in a duct or on a pole. These break down to D and E sides.....meaning exchange and subscriber sides of a cabinet usually. D sides can be pulled back to a different E side on occasion. Customer services have no access to this data and central planners rely on a GIS system to show what is where.

I still recommend the OP talks to the Area Engineer who is the key local planner. I have seen plenty of output from the eircom central planning GIS which is frankly by far the worst GIS output of any significant national network. Safe to say it is difficult for anyone to 'plan' adequately off it.....cable runs registered in the middle of fields etc....and no the road wasn't realigned since but the data input is evidently really crap.

I'll PM him a method to get the information available to these poor "planners" if he asks. He can take the output up with the Area Engineer...even if only to correct it.

CRM Ireland

Thanks Eircom:Mark. Although your answer doesnt in help my cause, its at least the best effort at actually trying to answer my query.

Ive still to hear back from the Eircom team regarding the complaint that I logged to explain why I was lied to during the sign-up process. That is an entirely different matter though and will be dealt with seperately.

Im delighted that Sponge Bob has been active in this thread, he obviously has some insight into the technical aspects of the network, and its precisely this information that I was seeking when on the telephone. Ive no problem with Eircom reps admitting they dont know or understand something, but for a simple "Its not technically possible" reply repeatedly just serves to infuriate their clients.

I will absolutely take this up with the Area Engineer as SB suggested, even if the chances are extremely remote, at least I will feel that I have exhausted every option before cancelling everything with Eircom and trying to seek an alternative provider. In all honesty, alternative providers are not offering much either, I download a lot of data and play games online most days. Wireless options and sat have disgusting fair use policies and serve to be of no use to me at all.

Sponge Bob, can you provide me with a method to get the information available to the planners. This is me officially asking.

Sponge Bob

Net1 are an excellent provider and can do 5mb up and 5mb down.

But the thread is not about Net1 but about how to manage optimising copper bundles.

chris2008x

If Spongebob is right NET1 does sound like really good value. No download caps.

Oceans12

CRM Ireland wrote: »

Sponge Bob, can you provide me with a method to get the information available to the planners. This is me officially asking.

hi sponge bob can you give me this info also. thanks

also how do i get the name of the head area engineer in Drogheda?

thanks

Sponge Bob

Go to the HQ and ask, it is on the Donore Road.

also read. Maybe PM To Be Confirmed who posted below...and knows things.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055689932

eircom: Mark

CRM Ireland wrote: »

Thanks Eircom:Mark. Although your answer doesnt in help my cause, its at least the best effort at actually trying to answer my query.

Ive still to hear back from the Eircom team regarding the complaint that I logged to explain why I was lied to during the sign-up process. That is an entirely different matter though and will be dealt with seperately.

Im delighted that Sponge Bob has been active in this thread, he obviously has some insight into the technical aspects of the network, and its precisely this information that I was seeking when on the telephone. Ive no problem with Eircom reps admitting they dont know or understand something, but for a simple "Its not technically possible" reply repeatedly just serves to infuriate their clients.

I will absolutely take this up with the Area Engineer as SB suggested, even if the chances are extremely remote, at least I will feel that I have exhausted every option before cancelling everything with Eircom and trying to seek an alternative provider. In all honesty, alternative providers are not offering much either, I download a lot of data and play games online most days. Wireless options and sat have disgusting fair use policies and serve to be of no use to me at all.

Sponge Bob, can you provide me with a method to get the information available to the planners. This is me officially asking.

Hi CRM Ireland,

Again I am sorry I could not get back the outcome or options you were hoping for, I see the complaint was logged with eircom on the 04/05/12. There is a lead time of 10 working days for any official complaint.

However I have been advised a manager is looking into it and will be back to you soon.

Thanks, Mark

CRM Ireland

eircom: Mark wrote: »

Hi CRM Ireland,

Again I am sorry I could not get back the outcome or options you were hoping for, I see the complaint was logged with eircom on the 04/05/12. There is a lead time of 10 working days for any official complaint.

However I have been advised a manager is looking into it and will be back to you soon.

Thanks, Mark

I called to see what the outcome of my complaint was on Thursday 17th May. I was informed that my complaint was logged on the 9th of May. When I said it wasnt and that it was the 4th and who it was with.ref number etc, the rep hung up on me. I called back again and spoke to someone else and I asked to be put straight to complaints without giving any info as I had been hung up the last time as I caught ANOTHER rep misinforming (some might say lying through their teeth!) me.

I got transferred to JP Waters (I think that was his name) who was very polite and informed me that it was indeed the 4th and that as there was a bank holiday, it would be on Friday 18th I would receive a call. He gave me the direct number for complaints, although he assured me that I wouldnt need it as he would make sure that I was called the next day. Friday has came and went and Ive still not heard from Eircom. I still have not received my router or ANY correspondance from Eircom in the post either. I just happen to have an old Eircom router in this house which Im using now on the Termonfeckin exchange.

The service is poor. Speedtest results below. This was the result of several speedtests and this was the best I could get. First time over 1mb! Its 2012 for goodness sake. My ping is around 80-90 while playing Battlefield 3 on UK servers, but it spikes up to 800-1000 for several moments, sometimes for as long as 30 seconds, which makes the games totally unplayable.

Im very much looking forward to hearing what excuses I get on Monday when this will most likely be addressed. I did receive an email from Eircom in the meantime, a quick survey to provide feedback on my experience with Eircom! For the first time in my life, I participated in that survey. I gave full and frank details.



Just for fun, here was a typical speedtest result I had from UPC before I moved here. I even had speeds of 105Mb down!

http://speedtest.net/result/1815940214.png

CRM Ireland

Im just off the phone to Eircom. Still no answer to my complaint. I was told it would be "escalated" as Id not been contacted within the 10 days. I advised that I had been told the complaint was already escalated, and queried on how many levels of escalation there are.

Im told I will be contacted in a few days. I wont hold my breath. I also asked if the matter had been investigated and if they had just not gotten round to informing me of the outcome. I was told that it had NOT been investigated at all. I could hardly believe it. Every agent I speak to on the phone is very nice, well mannered and apologetic, but that counts for nothing when they are not taking genuine customer complaints seriously.

So far, the only positive thing I can report about Eircom is the speed in which they answer their phone. Ive used several numbers now and all have been answered fairly promptly.

Im going back to speak to Comreg now as the 10 days is up.

Oceans12

CRM Ireland wrote: »

Im just off the phone to Eircom. Still no answer to my complaint. I was told it would be "escalated" as Id not been contacted within the 10 days. I advised that I had been told the complaint was already escalated, and queried on how many levels of escalation there are.

Im told I will be contacted in a few days. I wont hold my breath. I also asked if the matter had been investigated and if they had just not gotten round to informing me of the outcome. I was told that it had NOT been investigated at all. I could hardly believe it. Every agent I speak to on the phone is very nice, well mannered and apologetic, but that counts for nothing when they are not taking genuine customer complaints seriously.

So far, the only positive thing I can report about Eircom is the speed in which they answer their phone. Ive used several numbers now and all have been answered fairly promptly.

Im going back to speak to Comreg now as the 10 days is up.

to be honest, you are wasting your time, you wont achieve anything with eircom, your line goes to termonfeckin along poles by the road, broadband will always be hit and miss, they wont move you to nearest exchange,

however, you are in a good location for other fast reliable alternatives, have you had a look at www.airspeed.ie, dont know what your budget is...

its 2012, and Ireland's broadband infrastructure is a total mess.....

you best bet is to contact the CEO's escalation manager,

chris2008x

Listen to Oceans advice you will get nowhere with eircom maybe just a cancellation of the contract due to mis-selling but to be fair to them they had no idea what exchange you are on (though that customer service agent should be sacked) and they aren't obliged to provide you with broadband regardless of what exchange you are close to. If you lived in Dublin (course you would choose UPC, but imagine if no other provider existed) and your line was one of the unlucky ones (this does happen to lines in Dublin/Cork) although they are obliged to provide you a phone service, under the USO the minimum internet speed they can provide you with under law is 28.8kbps ie 1995 Nigerian dial up speed. It is a mess some exchanges are 15 years behind. Pre privatisation the late 1990s Telecom Éireann's network was one of the most modern in the world certainly in Europe. Look at it now.

Btw eircom is like a little mistress to comreg I seen other networks/telecom's get really harsh fines. Eircom seems to get away with a lot. Also given that in most towns, say Thurles UPC 100mb etc yet all the government buildings and state funded schools use Eircom even though it's dearer/slower. Pretty much tells you the state doesn't give a ****e.

eircom: Ant

CRM Ireland wrote: »

I called to see what the outcome of my complaint was on Thursday 17th May. I was informed that my complaint was logged on the 9th of May. When I said it wasnt and that it was the 4th and who it was with.ref number etc, the rep hung up on me. I called back again and spoke to someone else and I asked to be put straight to complaints without giving any info as I had been hung up the last time as I caught ANOTHER rep misinforming (some might say lying through their teeth!) me.

I got transferred to JP Waters (I think that was his name) who was very polite and informed me that it was indeed the 4th and that as there was a bank holiday, it would be on Friday 18th I would receive a call. He gave me the direct number for complaints, although he assured me that I wouldnt need it as he would make sure that I was called the next day. Friday has came and went and Ive still not heard from Eircom. I still have not received my router or ANY correspondance from Eircom in the post either. I just happen to have an old Eircom router in this house which Im using now on the Termonfeckin exchange.

The service is poor. Speedtest results below. This was the result of several speedtests and this was the best I could get. First time over 1mb! Its 2012 for goodness sake. My ping is around 80-90 while playing Battlefield 3 on UK servers, but it spikes up to 800-1000 for several moments, sometimes for as long as 30 seconds, which makes the games totally unplayable.

Im very much looking forward to hearing what excuses I get on Monday when this will most likely be addressed. I did receive an email from Eircom in the meantime, a quick survey to provide feedback on my experience with Eircom! For the first time in my life, I participated in that survey. I gave full and frank details.



Just for fun, here was a typical speedtest result I had from UPC before I moved here. I even had speeds of 105Mb down!

http://speedtest.net/result/1815940214.png

Hi CRM Ireland,

Thank you for your post.

Let me know if I can advise you with an eircom broadband issue. Please confirm by PM your eircom phone, or eircom Account, number so I can check this with Technical Support.

Best wishes,
Ant

MajorMax

CRM Ireland wrote: »

Hi, Ive just registered with Boards because I feel like Im being told many different stories when I call Eircom on the phone.

I just moved house and have been trying to get broadband installed. On the NGB map, my house is extremely close to the border which seperates the Termonfeckin and Clogherhead exchanges. Clogherhead is enabled for up to 24mb and Termonfeckin is enabled for up to 8mb.

Because its in the countryside, there happens to be no house name or number, or street address. So when I was enquiring about what service I could receive, there was some confusion as it was impossible to determine exactly which house was mine as I didnt know the previous persons number or name who lived here. Eventually I was told the line should support 1mb. I asked how they knew this as they reported that some people in Callystown (where I live) are reporting speeds up to 17mb and some are getting 1mb. As Callystown isnt a large area, I wanted to know how there could be such a difference in service. I was told that it was due to varying factors such as line quality and the thickness of the walls in my house. I asked what the thickness of the walls had to do with it as the copper cable would be insulated and would have travelled miles to get to my house. I didnt get a clear answer at all, so I realised the sales team didnt know enough about it and I asked to be transferred to the technical support team who might inform me why I could be losing so much speed compared to everyone else.

Tech support said the wall thickness wasnt the issue, and it was actually due to the fact that as I was located near the border (exchange) some of the people down the road were connected to Clogherhead exchange, whereas my house was on the Termonfeckin exchange. Through some investigations the girl from tech support was able to find the previous number and account info of the previous occupants of my house, despite the line being disconnected a long time ago. She informed me that they had closed the account due to Eircom not being able to provide a reliable service on the line. That on occasion they had speed test results of 2.3mb down and 0.73up. However, they often got disconnected and eventually an engineer was sent out to investigate. The engineer tested the line and could find no fault at all, yet he was unable to get any connection of any speed when he tried.

I went back to the sales team and explained my concern over this matter, as I didnt want to start a 12 month contract for broadband if the service didnt work. I had been used to UPC 100mb all last year! The sales rep assured me that I would have 10 days to cancel the account without penalty after installation if I wasnt happy with it. So I decided I may as well go ahead and book it and see what speeds and reliability I could get.

Then out of the blue, as I was proceeding with the order, she stated she had great news and that I was able to choose which exchange to connect to. She said she had never seen this before, but that she had the option to select either TSNA (Termonfackin) or CHHA (Clogherhead). The prospect of geting onto the much nearer Clogherhead exchange where neighbours less than 0.5km away were getting 17mb speeds, I was delighted!

Anyway, I got off the phone and started thinking about this and I just didnt believe this would be possible as I assumed it would require another cable running from my house to the nearest house on the Clogherhead exchange. So doubting this, I called directly to tech support and asked them if I could choose an exchange. They informed me that this was nonsense and I couldnt choose an exchange.

I called sales again and explained all this to them, they told me that it wasnt possible to choose an exchange, but after me stating this was what I was previously told, they agreed to go through the sign-up process for me again and lo and behold, much to the surprise of the sales rep, they were once again given the option of choosing CHHA or TSNA.

So reassured, I took the day off work and waited for the engineer to call me. No call and a day of lost earnings. I phoned 2 days later and asked what was happening. I was told that the engineer stated he had tried to call me, but I didnt answer. I have a smartphone, all calls are logged and even if Im on the phone, it beeps to tell me someone else is calling and I get a text informing me I had a missed call. I didnt receive a call at all. So after all that waiting about, I had to wait another 10 days for the next available engineers visit.

He arrived yesterday. I went to the shop and met him and he followed me to my house. As we arrived in my drive, I enquired about the CHHA exchange. He said he saw the lines head in another direction a little further down the road, and that he didnt think it would be possible. He then said I would be connected to whatever exchange the line in my house was connected to, as there was no way Eircom would start running cables and erecting telegraph poles just for me on a standard install.

The phone number that I had been given by the sales team as my new number, was now changed as they had given me a number for the CHHA exchange, the engineer then gave me a different number which was connected to TSNA.

I called Eircom and enquired about all of this and this was the first time I learned that the engineer wasnt even installing broadband, he was just enabling a line and that no broadband order was even on my account! I couldnt believe it. This entire time, about 8 phonecalls back and forth, were all about my connection speed. When asked about which call packages I wanted, I had stated I didnt even want to use the phone as I have unlimited calls on my mobile. I had been expecting broadband straight away. After complaining about this, I was informed this is standard practice for a new line, as they are unable to tell what speed the line is capable of until its been activated. Then they do a prequal test and advise me on the quality of the line. What I dont understand, is surely its the exact same physical line that the last occupants here had? So its going to be the same pathetic service which cut off all the time causing them to cancel.

I have logged a complaint with Eircom and it takes 5 days to deal with. I cant even put an order in for ADSL at the moment because its the bank holiday weekend. I contacted Vodafone as they have staff working at the weekend and asked them to see what speed me line would support. The tech support rep told me that the number I gave him came back as "non standard delivery" and would expect speeds of up to 1mb. He said in his experience, it was likely to be 512kb and that it was highly probable that I would be faced with lots of problems.

Im so utterly gutted about this. I play online games everyday as part of a gaming clan and Ive just moved house and I dont think I will be able to continue doing so.

If Im close to another exchange which is much faster and more reliable, why have Eircom not connected the house here to that exchange, rather than have them on the periphery of another exchange which cannot provide me with a reliable service?

Can I have a definitive answer regarding it being possible to select which exchange Im on?

Regards

CRM

No

CRM Ireland

Thanks for all the input everyone.

I had a call from Eircom yesterday to deal with my complaint. I was officially advised that I should never have been informed I could select my exchange and that the sales rep would be warned and advised on the correct information to provide customers.

I was offered to have my service free for 3 months as a way to compensate me for the hassle. This would be applied as a credit to my account. Ive still to receive my router from Eircom, so I asked him to make sure it gets sent out to me and I will try the service with the new router. Im using one which was here already. I explained that I mainly want broadband to play online games and that currently my pings were generally steady at 80-90 on UK servers, but spiked up to 800-900 at times. So I asked for him not to apply the 3 months free to my account until I receive my new router and trial the service then. Its not going to make any difference I guess, a router is a router! When I get the new router and the ping remains the same, then I will be allowed to cancel the contract without any penalty. I will then go to Net1 as their pings are much lower.

Im really dissapointed in the outcome, but at least I wont be stuck paying for something which doesnt fulfill my needs. Just for anyone wondering, if it was for simply viewing websites, then the 1.05mb Im getting isnt all that bad. Its obviously not as fast as it could be, but for the vast majority of sites, then its fine. Its not great with youtube or for streaming obviously.