Clarinbridge Galway - Eircom DSL or Fixed Wireless

Beagle Boy

Hi guys,

I have just moved into a new house in Clarinbridge and to my disappointment Eircom have informed me that my line can only supply 2MB broadband. I am just less than a 3km drive from Clarinbridge village so would have expected it to be better than that but thats what they have said (an update to this, I just called Eircom sales and they said my service was coming from an Exchange in Kilcolgan, does anyone know if there is an Exchange in Clarinbridge or if there is place where I can see a map/list of the local exchanges, coming from Kilcolgan the 2MB is understandable).

I use Broadband for standard browsing and email, Netflix streaming to a Smart TV and intermittently used VOIP Video and Audio when working from home.

Im looking for some opinions based on folks knowledge or experience as to whether I would be best to go with the Eircom option or whether I should look at Fixed Wireless providers such as Airwire or Lightnet. Will the 2MB service be sufficient for my needs as outlined above? Is a DSL/fixed line option with "average" speed of 2MB more reliable, robust and better supported than a Fixed Wired option?

Thanks,
BB

keno-daytrader

Beagle Boy wrote: »

Hi guys,

I have just moved into a new house in Clarinbridge and to my disappointment Eircom have informed me that my line can only supply 2MB broadband. I am just less than a 3km drive from Clarinbridge village so would have expected it to be better than that but thats what they have said (an update to this, I just called Eircom sales and they said my service was coming from an Exchange in Kilcolgan, does anyone know if there is an Exchange in Clarinbridge or if there is place where I can see a map/list of the local exchanges, coming from Kilcolgan the 2MB is understandable).

I use Broadband for standard browsing and email, Netflix streaming to a Smart TV and intermittently used VOIP Video and Audio when working from home.

Im looking for some opinions based on folks knowledge or experience as to whether I would be best to go with the Eircom option or whether I should look at Fixed Wireless providers such as Airwire or Lightnet. Will the 2MB service be sufficient for my needs as outlined above? Is a DSL/fixed line option with "average" speed of 2MB more reliable, robust and better supported than a Fixed Wired option?

Thanks,
BB

With 2mb dsl you will prob get 1.5-1.6mb so I think Netflix would be buffering , especially if it was in HD, so not a good bet imho. Also 2mb maybe the very best case, maybe you may only get 1mb.

I would go with lightnet in your position, I know a few people out here in Loughrea who have it and are very pleased with it for years. Airwire I have heard very mixed stories.

funnyname

FWA

Airwire products are symmetrical so you get the same upload speed as your download. They've recently upgraded their packages however this seems to have reduced the actual speed of their headline number and the ping (hitting the Galway server) times have increased dramatically in this time as well. Still <100ms (>70 at the mo) but were consistently between 10 and 30 so it puts a strain on live streaming and VOIP.

Lightnet products as far as I know aren't symmetrical but they are cheaper than airwire.

I don't think Digiweb is available in Clarinbridge.

Beagle Boy

Thanks for the replies guys - I've called and Imagine and Digiweb and neither are available to me so I'll take a look at Airwire and Lightnet next.


Im still struggling to understand as to why there isnt an Exchange in Clarinbridge but I'm going to try Eircom on that one again

ethernet

Eircom are correct - Clarinbridge users are served by the Kilcolgan exchange.

I'd heard good stories about Lightnet. Definitely worth contacting them.

yomamasflavour

Lightnet's usage policy seems a bit severe, it seems you're essentially not allowed use more than 40% of your download speed or they'll throttle you.

Beagle Boy

yomamasflavour wrote: »

Lightnet's usage policy seems a bit severe, it seems you're essentially not allowed use more than 40% of your download speed or they'll throttle you.

Yes they appear very severe. If I understand them correctly it means that it essentially wouldnt support streaming of content from Netflix etc which seems crazy.

Mr Velo

Beagle Boy wrote: »

Yes they appear very severe. If I understand them correctly it means that it essentially wouldnt support streaming of content from Netflix etc which seems crazy.

Is that true??