Broadband in rural Wicklow - Any advice?

daigo75

I moved some time ago to a rural area in Co Wicklow, and, after an initial period in which the broadband connection I got worked more or less well, I now find myself in a tight spot. We experienced frequent disconnections, followed by days of "no signal" errors on the line, thus being completely offline. They tried to lower the speed to 1 Mbit (way too low for what I need), and the result was an actual speed of 0.01 Mbit and ping of 3 seconds.

After weeks of investigation, my contract got cancelled because the tests reported that we are way too far from the Roundwood exchange (7.4 km) and that DSL cannot work at that distance. I'm now having difficulties finding an alternative service, because nothing seems to work. Here's the summary of what I tried:
- DSL: not available, too far from the exchange. They are upgrading the exchange to eFibre, but that has an even shorter range and won't change anything.
- Wireless (WiMax): poor signal, intermittent service.
- Wicklow Broadband: not available, no line of sight with the mast (too many trees in the way).
- Mobile: poor reception, and download limits are too low. I use broadband for work, and I have to move hundreds of MB at a time. I can't risk going over the limit and being hit by hefty bills.
- Satellite: way too expensive, can't afford it. Limits are even lower than mobile.

Is there anything else I could try? I know it may sound like a rethorical question, but I really need to make sure I explore all possibilities.

Thanks in advance for any suggestion.

exaisle

Where in Co Wicklow?

daigo75

exaisle wrote: »

Where in Co Wicklow?

Whoops, I thought I wrote it. It's outside Roundwood.

9726_9726

daigo75 wrote: »

I moved some time ago to a rural area in Co Wicklow, and, after an initial period in which the broadband connection I got worked more or less well, I now find myself in a tight spot. We experienced frequent disconnections, followed by days of "no signal" errors on the line, thus being completely offline. They tried to lower the speed to 1 Mbit (way too low for what I need), and the result was an actual speed of 0.01 Mbit and ping of 3 seconds.

After weeks of investigation, my contract got cancelled because the tests reported that we are way too far from the Roundwood exchange (7.4 km) and that DSL cannot work at that distance. I'm now having difficulties finding an alternative service, because nothing seems to work. Here's the summary of what I tried:
- DSL: not available, too far from the exchange. They are upgrading the exchange to eFibre, but that has an even shorter range and won't change anything.
- Wireless (WiMax): poor signal, intermittent service.
- Wicklow Broadband: not available, no line of sight with the mast (too many trees in the way).
- Mobile: poor reception, and download limits are too low. I use broadband for work, and I have to move hundreds of MB at a time. I can't risk going over the limit and being hit by hefty bills.
- Satellite: way too expensive, can't afford it. Limits are even lower than mobile.

Is there anything else I could try? I know it may sound like a rethorical question, but I really need to make sure I explore all possibilities.

Thanks in advance for any suggestion.

Honestly, cutting down trees or some other way of getting Wicklow Broadband (or another WISP).

I've seen people put old ESB poles at the top of their garden, bounce off neighbour's chimneys, run cable down a field in ducting, etc. to make line of sight work. Pull out the stops. Get a high pole or a neighbour to host a relay.

daigo75

9726_9726 wrote: »

Honestly, cutting down trees or some other way of getting Wicklow Broadband (or another WISP).

I've seen people put old ESB poles at the top of their garden, bounce off neighbour's chimneys, run cable down a field in ducting, etc. to make line of sight work. Pull out the stops. Get a high pole or a neighbour to host a relay.

I'm afraid that cutting the trees won't be possible. Some of the trees are in one of our neighbour's garden, and he won't cut them down for us. The others are on the property, but we rent and we don't have the permission to cut them. Ironically, the other neighbour already asked multiple times to remove them (they are on the border), as they are twice as tall as both houses and 2-3 metres from them, posing a risk. I got a quote for cutting them, out of curiosity, and I got a shock (high cost, due to the "surgical" work required to prevent falling branches and trees from damaging the houses).

Erecting poles would also be a no go, our LL already put a veto on that ("it's my property, and a pole looks ugly"). Besides, there are more trees in the adjacent field that would obstruct the line of sight from the pole.

As for asking the neighbours, they put their property on sale and don't want to add anything that could possibly devalue it (like our aerial on it).

I know, it seems like a plot to get obstacles in our way, hence my post on the forum. -_-

9726_9726

daigo75 wrote: »

I'm afraid that cutting the trees won't be possible. Some of the trees are in one of our neighbour's garden, and he won't cut them down for us. The others are on the property, but we rent and we don't have the permission to cut them. Ironically, the other neighbour already asked multiple times to remove them (they are on the border), as they are twice as tall as both houses and 2-3 metres from them, posing a risk. I got a quote for cutting them, out of curiosity, and I got a shock (high cost, due to the "surgical" work required to prevent falling branches and trees from damaging the houses).

Erecting poles would also be a no go, our LL already put a veto on that ("it's my property, and a pole looks ugly"). Besides, there are more trees in the adjacent field that would obstruct the line of sight from the pole.

As for asking the neighbours, they put their property on sale and don't want to add anything that could possibly devalue it (like our aerial on it).

I know, it seems like a plot to get obstacles in our way, hence my post on the forum. -_-

Bummer. FYI a Ubiquiti 2.4GHz link would go through trees to an extent, taking you someone who could get LOS. Shoot low below the foliage. There's always a way!

daigo75

9726_9726 wrote: »

Bummer. FYI a Ubiquiti 2.4GHz link would go through trees to an extent, taking you someone who could get LOS. Shoot low below the foliage. There's always a way!

I forgot to mention: the trees are conifers (evergreens). Big, thick cones of needles, from the ground up to the top. They are not native of Ireland, and they are damaging the soil too, making it too acidic. On top of that, they grow quickly and uncontrolled, and they are way too close to the houses. In short, a royal PITA, not just for the broadband.

In any case, the only neighbour with LOS would be the one who is selling the house, so that's a no go. He's an elderly man who would like to retire somewhere warm, I can't blame him for not wanting to go through the hassle of installing stuff on his roof.

For the record, even though his house is for sale, I could not afford to pay 50% of the asking price, so moving there is not doable either! LOL