Digiweb Metro Express 30MB issues

cunnijo

Hi folks

Has anyone recently signed up to or upgraded to Digiweb's Metro Express 30MB service? If so are your download speeds reflecting this? I ask because I have done so earlier this yea and the speeds are no where near. So if anyone has/had similar experiences please let me know what their situation is and if there is any outcome to it.

Thanks

dazdrog

any chance of a few speedtests? am waiting on digiweb to upgrade my area for the 30mb package

cunnijo

Hi Dazdrog

It could be a while before they get to your area, as it seems they are having some issues with the network since the upgrade according to technical support. As for some speedtests here are some of the speeds that I have been getting from the Naas base station since I upgraded as well as some before. The before figures will possibly be more familier to you.

Since the upgrade










and before the upgrade







I hope this helps.

Also in the first week or so after the upgrade the transfer rate when downloading from a site (e.g Microsoft, AMD) was 3.2 - 3.5Mb/sec Now I will be lucky if I reach 1.45Mb, whereas before the upgrade the transfer rate was mostly between 870 - 963kb/sec allowable for a 8Mb service.

Cunnijo

dazdrog

the last 2 or 3 days my connection has been playing up, the modem keeps disconnecting with all lights switching off for a second, then the modem boots up and connects only to lose connecting again and start the process over again. once that calms down and the connection becomes more stable i receive speeds like this



and one from now


while normally my results are like these




im hoping these poor speeds are down to them doing upgrades

cunnijo

Hi dazdrog

It seems you too are now having the same issues as I am and you are still on Metro Home 8Mb (the one I never had a speed issue with and they offered to put me back on). But your modem restarting iitself is a bit of concern. It will be interesting to find out what technical support say on this should you get in contact with them.

Regards technical support I have since contacted them to see if they are still using the same modem (Thompson THG520) or have they changed to a newer one and I await their reply. If they have I will probably ask them to change it to see if that will make any difference. If not UPC are a possible option for me being in Naas town and it is currently being seriously considered. If UPC is an option for you I would suggest you serious consider looking at them too if the posts on this site are anything to go by.

John

dazdrog

my modem is also a THG520 warranty sticker stating a date of the 5/2007, ive only had it 2 years mind.

speeds have returned to normal for me at the min

cunnijo

HI dazdrog

I contacted technical support to see if they changed the modems but it seems they still are using the now seems old and out of date THG520, shame that. If they plan to go any higher than 30Mb (to compete with UPC) then they will probally have no choice but to.

Good to see you're back to full service. Finally after over a month they finally seem to have sorted the issue with Metro Express and my speeds are now more realistic (see below). Download speeds are more apt at 3.30Mb/sec transfer rate, as against 600Kb/sec to 1.45Mb/sec for the last month. While I was on the Metro Home 8Mb my transfer rate was betewwn 880-950Kb/sec (appropiate to the speed) on a constant basis.







Hopefully you will not have to wait too long for Metro Express to be activated in your area. It is well worth the extra €5p.m approx. Now that your speeds are back to where they should be maybe you could give customer services a call on freefone 1918. It may be possible it has already been done. I nearly forgot to mention you get the first 3 months @ €29.95 and a free Zyxel NBG 416N wi fi router/access point when you upgrade. Nice touch?

John

dazdrog

those speeds look tasty, ill defo be getting onto them in the coming days but according to their live help its still not available. wouldnt really need the router as i already have a linksys wrt54g, so that will do the job for me

cunnijo

No probs. Anything for free, especially from Digiweb should be grabbed with both hands. Even though I connect direct to the modem from my PC I took the free Zyxel anyway as it is part of the upgrade. It is still sitting at home sealed in its box and maybe some day I might use it. Don't bother with the online chat. Sometimes they seem not to know what is happening Talk to Helen or Ciaran in customer care if you want to get somewhere as its them who can deal with the upgrade for the existing loyal customers.

John

smelly sock

Sorry for digging this up guys,

Looking at getting this myself. One question though,

While you are within your download limties do they thottle peer to peer file sharing? (bit torrent downloads etc?

Thanks,

Zero-Cool

Hey lads,

I just had an online chat with Smart Broadband who said I can avail of the Metro Express package (I think Digiweb are the sister site of Smart) 30mbs dl, 100gb limit, 30:1 contention rate but they said the download speed should never drop below 60% so the speed shouldn't drop below 15mbs. it's €45 a month, €30 a month for first 3 months. Free installation, free wifi modem.

This all sounds really good although I thought 30:1 contention rate at full contention meant I would only get 1mbs?

Anyway, anyone using this at the moment and find it good?

Just moved out the country and this seems the best deal I can find.

loyatemu

I'm using it (off the Bray mast) and its pretty good

• generally get around 25Mb/s down, 1Mb/s up
• the limit is actually 120GB per month (this is a rolling month)
• ping time around 20ms
• I have the phone service as well, which is fine, though I don't use it much

I thought 30:1 contention rate at full contention meant I would only get 1mbs?

only if every user is downloading at full tilt at the same time - in practice contention rarely works like this

Zero-Cool

Thanks man. I noticed on their site that when I put in my address, it says Metro not available, only Satelite but the operator said since I am 9km's from Limerick city, I can still get it. That probably means I am just inside the distance to the node and I wonder how that would affect the speed. Wouldn't mind if I was on even 10mbs. Would be handy if I could test it out before entering into a contract.

Mc Love

I am also interested in getting this as I work from home. Currently getting a measly 1.73 mb from Eircom!! Any improvement on that would be a bonus.

It really is annoying though as I am just outside catchment area for the UPC fiber connection and anything better than eircom provide so Digiweb might be a better alternative.

cunnijo

Mc Love wrote: »

I am also interested in getting this as I work from home. Currently getting a measly 1.73 mb from Eircom!! Any improvement on that would be a bonus.

It really is annoying though as I am just outside catchment area for the UPC fiber connection and anything better than eircom provide so Digiweb might be a better alternative.

Hi

A lot will depend on your location and more importantly that you have clear line of sight with the closest basestation. The maxinum range for each basestation is approx 10-15km normally, but check you area on Digiweb's website http://www.digiweb.ie or alternatively contact them on freefone 1800 285828.

Zero-Cool

A Digiweb operator told me yesterday that an engineer will test the signal before install and if it is too weak, he won't install it and I won't be charged. Might be worth giving it a go. Having awful problems with Eircom/Sky broadband because of a rural address and a new line needed to be installed.

Zero-Cool

Took the plunge and ordered Metro Express. Engineer will carry out a line test first so will see how that goes. Bit worried about the high trees just across the road from me though. Would be great if it worked out.

Zero-Cool

Engineer was out today, no signal from the base station, no chance of getting it. Signed up to Eircom instead.

delito

I've this about a year now, rarely see 20mb never mind 30mb. Its usually floating around 12mb.

dazdrog

works grand for me

cunnijo

Works fine for me too.

Dazdrog. Quick question for you. What is your transfer rate when you are downloading something?

dazdrog

on average 3-4mbs

SnipSnop

dazdrog wrote: »

on average 3-4mbs

Mad.. I am on 30 as well (business version) and dont think I have ever seen it higher than 1.8mbs..

cunnijo

Soerenlp wrote: »

Mad.. I am on 30 as well (business version) and dont think I have ever seen it higher than 1.8mbs..

At least I'm not alone on this. However since last week my connection has completely collapsed and my transfer rates now do not exceed 120Kb/sec. My download speeds went from


to

Also can I ask what downstream frequency is being displayed on the Initlal Scan screen in the modem's admin console. To access enter http://192.168.0.1 on your browser, type "admin" as password and go to Initial Scan on main page. The more replies I can get on this would be appreciated.

Regards

SnipSnop

cunnijo wrote: »

At least I'm not alone on this. However since last week my connection has completely collapsed and my transfer rates now do not exceed 120Kb/sec. My download speeds went from


to

Also can I ask what downstream frequency is being displayed on the Initlal Scan screen in the modem's admin console. To access enter http://192.168.0.1 on your browser, type "admin" as password and go to Initial Scan on main page. The more replies I can get on this would be appreciated.

Regards

You sure you have not gone over your limit?
Try and go to http://mytraffic.digiweb.ie/ and have a look.

cunnijo

Soerenlp wrote: »

You sure you have not gone over your limit?
Try and go to http://mytraffic.digiweb.ie/ and have a look.

Hi

I've checked that and I am no where near the 100GB allowance and for that matter have never been. It is currently showing under 17GB and usually never goes above that. I do some video streaming using Netflix and YouTube for example as well as downloading updates and I generally do not use torrents.

Regards

SnipSnop

What I will say is that lately (in the last 6 months) my connection turns to crap around 5-6PM and will then only start working at full speed again around midnight. 1 minute everything works fine, then the next normal websites times out.. Clearly a contention issue.

I have been onto support a number of times regarding this, and have been told they are doing some upgrade on the system this month.
We will see if it helps.
Just painful being down with one of my mates(who is on UPC fibre) and seeing how broadband really should work.

cunnijo

Hi Soerinip

Mind me asking which base station area are you linked to? Also what is your SNR (signal to noise ratio) downstream and upstream and how low does your speeds actually drop to?

As you mention tech support mentioned a possible system upgrade this month. You didn't by any chance get the name of the support person who told you this. If there is truth in it then let's see what happens. However I find it hard to believe especially when companies like UPC seem to have it just right.

SnipSnop

cunnijo wrote: »

Hi Soerinip

Mind me asking which base station area are you linked to? Also what is your SNR (signal to noise ratio) downstream and upstream and how low does your speeds actually drop to?

As you mention tech support mentioned a possible system upgrade this month. You didn't by any chance get the name of the support person who told you this. If there is truth in it then let's see what happens. However I find it hard to believe especially when companies like UPC seem to have it just right.

I'm on the Drogheda base station. SNR:35dB (NOTE: I have the THG520 model so only 1 figure, no idea if its up or down).

Speeds are mainly good during the day. But yes, I do see crap speeds like yours more and more frequently:





I actually ran "JDs Auto Speed Tester" over a week and sent them the results. Got feck all reply back.

I have to admit I used to be a great fan of metro, but starting to think about going back to adsl (I know, I know) unless they can fix these issues.

Constant decent speeds are more important to me than high speeds that only work half the time.

And nope dont have any names for you sorry.

KoKane

I'm in Drogheda aswell. It's been dog**** the past 2 weeks or so. Had its good hours where it's normal but generally it's terrible.

I was reading that piece earlier about the EU making it illegal to throttle a users connection or something. Maybe Digiweb read it arseways and are throttling everyone all of the time.


http://euobserver.com/news/120456

cunnijo

Soerenlp wrote: »

I'm on the Drogheda base station. SNR:35dB (NOTE: I have the THG520 model so only 1 figure, no idea if its up or down).

Speeds are mainly good during the day. But yes, I do see crap speeds like yours more and more frequently:





I actually ran "JDs Auto Speed Tester" over a week and sent them the results. Got feck all reply back.

I have to admit I used to be a great fan of metro, but starting to think about going back to adsl (I know, I know) unless they can fix these issues.

Constant decent speeds are more important to me than high speeds that only work half the time.

And nope dont have any names for you sorry.

Hi Soerienip

35Db is generally the downstream channel and overall seems to be the average for Metro connections, which in theory should give very good download speeds. However there seems to be issues with the Drogheda Base Station that really needs to be addressed and sooner rather than later, as fibre services are now being shown as available there.

As for your modem you have the older model that Digiweb no longer supply or probally support. They are now supplying the TWG 870 DOCSIS 3.0 wifi modem/router and I would suggest that you get them to send one to you. You will however have to self install it and get them to activate it. This may improve speeds for you???

In my own case I received an email yesterday from Sinead in support informing me the issue at my base station (Naas) had been resolved. Mind you I had to email her looking for an update but overall I found her to be very responsive when I raised my original issue re: speeds. She asked me to check when I got home and when I did they were back to where they were originally



Regards