Imagine LTE Rural Broadband

irishchris

ED E wrote: »

@Morgana I note your speedwave is gone (would be nice to see your peak/offpeak comparison), personal choice or were you asked?

she posted an up to date link few pages back

here it is
http://www.speedtest.net/results.php?sh=d1d2ec92489d3a1a71988c36955e2437&ria=0

wish i was getting these speeds lol

rodge123

Guys

I dont suppose somebody wants to summarise all the info from the last number of pages in this thread and forward it to somebody in relation to the NBP? (With speed test evidence)
For all we know, Imagine could be cherry picking test customers connections that they will show to NBP to prove they can meet requirements.

You're a legend if you do

I would be great if we could ensure Imagine customers are not excluded from the NBP, as by the looks of things here they will be forever stuck with a far inferior service to what the rest of the country will have!

See this thread for discussion on NBP.

irishchris

in fairness thankfully no packet loss and mostly A results so that side is a plus but need more consistent speed results.

ps anyone know how to login to the outdoor antenna to check signal status?

TireeTerror

rodge123 wrote: »

Guys

I dont suppose somebody wants to summarise all the info from the last number of pages in this thread and forward it to somebody in relation to the NBP? (With speed test evidence)
For all we know, Imagine could be cherry picking test customers connections that they will show to NBP to prove they can meet requirements.

You're a legend if you do

I would be great if we could ensure Imagine customers are not excluded from the NBP, as by the looks of things here they will be forever stuck with a far inferior service to what the rest of the country will have!

See this thread for discussion on NBP.

Well go on ahead young man, feel free to do so seeing as you came up with the idea. You're a legend mate....you're a legend mate, you're a legend mate.

irishchris

dont suppose anyone knows if we can login to see usage or to pay bills in advance

there is this site https://my.imagine.ie/index.php, but assume it is for wimax customers?

editorsean

One thing I would be curious to see is a throughput graph of an extended speed test taken at peak time. When Speedtest.net runs, it removes the 30% lowest measurements during its test to remove any stutter caused by Flash so its test result figure can be higher than the average sustained speed if the connection speed is erratic.

Go to http://testmy.net/download and ensure its server is set to London or Frankfurt. Then run the 200MB test. When the test completes, click the first code shown below the TID column:



This will show a graph showing the throughput as the test run, which you can take a screenshot of. The following is an example from my workplace 30Mbps VDSL connection:



A spike at the start is normal and usually the result of some virus checkers holding and releasing the initial chunk of data as it analyses the transfer, similar also if the browser stutters such as with multiple tabs open. If there is a large spike in the test (e.g. >100Mbps), re-run the test.

irishchris

editorsean wrote: »

One thing I would be curious to see is a throughput graph of an extended speed test taken at peak time.

not peaktime but an idea of what it is like at present

irishchris

Have to say one of the worst dealings I have had with an isp. First the install issues, then the speed problems. Now after switching the modem off and powering it back on an hour later if won't connect. Tech support said they cannot contact the antenna and that it will be up to 5 working days until they can send someone to look at it. Appalled at the service so far

seaniefr

One thing i have taken from this thread history is that this or any other wireless technology is absolutely not suited to the NBP. Might be ok as a stop gap measure or for a very short PTP link but as a future proofed technology ...........not a chance.
https://twitter.com/dcenr please take note. Fibre To The Home all the way!

tsue921i8wljb3

seaniefr wrote: »

One thing i have taken from this thread history is that this or any other wireless technology is absolutely not suited to the NBP. Might be ok as a stop gap measure or for a very short PTP link but as a future proofed technology ...........not a chance.
https://twitter.com/dcenr please take note. Fibre To The Home all the way!

I don't think that the department has any intention of choosing Imagine as an NBP contractor. The issue may be if Imagine challenge the encroachment into their areas as a breach of state aid rules perhaps leading to areas being excluded from the NBP map.

tsue921i8wljb3

irishchris wrote: »

Have to say one of the worst dealings I have had with an isp. First the install issues, then the speed problems. Now after switching the modem off and powering it back on an hour later if won't connect. Tech support said they cannot contact the antenna and that it will be up to 5 working days until they can send someone to look at it. Appalled at the service so far

I see the installer moved your router. Would you estimate that the distance from the router to the antenna is greater than 30M? If so you could be suffering from voltage loss leading to the antenna not powering up.

seaniefr

Reyansh Little Bandage wrote: »

I don't think that the department has any intention of choosing Imagine as an NBP contractor. The issue may be if Imagine challenge the encroachment into their areas as a breach of state aid rules perhaps leading to areas being excluded from the NBP map.

This being Ireland are you willing to bet on that?

tsue921i8wljb3

seaniefr wrote: »

This being Ireland are you willing to bet on that?

I would be pretty confident. There are three options:

1) Imagine win both NBP contracts. Many people across the country can not get the service due to line of sight issues, perhaps lack of spectrum. Public uproar.

2) Imagine win one NBP contract with the other going to a FTTH provider. The Imagine half of the country is condemned to a sub standard service. Public uproar.

3) Imagine win no NBP contract.

I think option 3 is most likely having followed the department's stance up to now. I believe that they are convinced that FTTH is the only viable solution.

morgana

editorsean wrote: »

One thing I would be curious to see is a throughput graph of an extended speed test taken at peak time..

Taken at 16:50

irishchris

well turns out the mast i was connected to simply was being optimised due to problems and shut off without notice. i am shocked that the tech support is not informed of such things and when i asked him would it be the mast as they had been working on it he said no it was fine and booked repair technicians for next weeks. within minutes of noticing the router coming to life this evening i got a call from imagine asking me to run some speedtests and informed me of the above. he was very helpful in fairness and cancelled the technician callout. only thing is he said i should notice massive improvements to speeds now but unfortunately it appeared too soon as they are now less that 30 mbs again :-) at least it seems they are actively working on getting a solution to this

irishchris

Just wondering if anyone here managed to get xbox live may sorted using imagine. I have ports opened but struggling with strict nat still

Scruff

Testing at same time as last night but no issues tonight, belting along. Friday night not a peak time perhaps?

editorsean

Yikes :eek: - That sure is fast for TestMy.

I think it's the UEFA football match as even my end over Three 4G is 3 to 4 times quicker than what I usually get at this time of evening (10:42pm):

morgana

One at peak time (ish)

The Cush

http://www.comreg.ie/publications/further_submission_from_imagine_to_the_3_6_ghz_consultation_process.583.105148.p.html

Imagine are worried that they could lose their 3.6GHz spectrum to the Mobile Network Operators or the fixed operators in the forthcoming auction.

They raise 2 issues, the failure to auction the 2.6GHz band thus leaving the 3.6GHz band exposed to the spectrum hungry MNOs and the possibility that eir or Siro could also bid for the spectrum to exclude the FWA operators from the NBP.

- We are concerned that despite the stated intention that holdings in 3.6 GHz may be taken into account in a future 2.6 GHz auction, to date ComReg has not acted to provide clarity on this and must do so to ensure the availability of spectrum for Fixed Wireless and to avoid market distortion.

- under the prosed Auction Award there is nothing to prevent the existing Fixed NGA infrastructure operators bidding to acquire substantially all of the spectrum and thereby exclude infrastructure competition and innovation from existing competitors such as Imagine and potential new competitors. Given the NBP and the proposed intervention the potential for market distortion is significant.

9726_9726

The Cush wrote: »

http://www.comreg.ie/publications/further_submission_from_imagine_to_the_3_6_ghz_consultation_process.583.105148.p.html

Imagine are worried that they could lose their 3.6GHz spectrum to the Mobile Network Operators or the fixed operators in the forthcoming auction.

They raise 2 issues, the failure to auction the 2.6GHz band thus leaving the 3.6GHz band exposed to the spectrum hungry MNOs and the possibility that eir or Siro could also bid for the spectrum to exclude the FWA operators from the NBP.

I saw that release earlier. It is a risky strategy in fairness, signing people up for an 18 month contract on a spectrum licence that expires in a year. Hopefully it will all work out for those concerned as they are providing a service to people.

tsue921i8wljb3

The Cush wrote: »

http://www.comreg.ie/publications/further_submission_from_imagine_to_the_3_6_ghz_consultation_process.583.105148.p.html

Imagine are worried that they could lose their 3.6GHz spectrum to the Mobile Network Operators or the fixed operators in the forthcoming auction.

They raise 2 issues, the failure to auction the 2.6GHz band thus leaving the 3.6GHz band exposed to the spectrum hungry MNOs and the possibility that eir or Siro could also bid for the spectrum to exclude the FWA operators from the NBP.

They are right to be concerned. Here is a recent interview with ComReg commissioner Gerry Fahy where he explicitly mentions this band. To quote him:

He said the upcoming release of the 3.6GHz band plus the planned release of further spectrum bands such as 700MHz, 1.4GHz, 2.3GHz and 2.6GHz could support demand until 2019.

https://www.siliconrepublic.com/comms/wireless-broadband-ireland

tsue921i8wljb3

9726_9726 wrote: »

I saw that release earlier. It is a risky strategy in fairness, signing people up for an 18 month contract on a spectrum licence that expires in a year. Hopefully it will all work out for those concerned as they are providing a service to people.

Is it not akin to holding the state to random though? Are Imagine prepared to pay the going rate for the spectrum? It will be interesting to see what the other operators have to say about it.

ED E

Imagine are worried because:
A. Comreg are greedy as can be
B. Big Red and Hong Kong have much bigger chequebooks than they do

In a straight bidding war they could end up being completely taken off the air. One assumes they're generating a customer base to create political pressure so that woudn't be allowed.

9726_9726

ED E wrote: »

Imagine are worried because:
A. Comreg are greedy as can be
B. Big Red and Hong Kong have much bigger chequebooks than they do

In a straight bidding war they could end up being completely taken off the air. One assumes they're generating a customer base to create political pressure so that woudn't be allowed.

Agreed, that appears to be the strategy. And they are betting the farm on it. They sold the business customers to Magnet so this is their remaining play.

They are looking to win 150MHz of spectrum. They wanted the maximum per operator increased to 160, as the current maximum of 150 is not a multiple of 20 and everyone will want to use 20MHz channels. It's a fair point. 150 makes no sense.

They are looking for 3.6GHz to be ringfenced for FWA but the EU and Comreg always insist on technology neutral, so I just can't see that happening. It'll be auctioned on the open market and Big Red will be free to bid like everyone else. Dangerous indeed for Imagine's continued operations.

Big Red is awash with cash after selling out of Verizon.

The Cush

9726_9726 wrote: »

They are looking for 3.6GHz to be ringfenced for FWA but the EU and Comreg always insist on technology neutral, so I just can't see that happening. It'll be auctioned on the open market and Big Red will be free to bid like everyone else. Dangerous indeed for Imagine's continued operations.

Big Red is awash with cash after selling out of Verizon.

Most likely there will be a 2.6/3.6 GHz spectrum cap in the auction with the MNOs holding off for the more favourable 2.6 GHz capacity band. That band should've been auctioned last year considering the MMDS plan for the band was made back in early 2013. Looking like early 2017 before they consider this band as part of an overall multi-band auction process.

irishchris

After the not so great experiences I had with the install I have to say am still very impressed with imagine. They are constantly working on improving the new abbeyknockmoy mast and contacted me yesterday and again this morning to check on line speeds and stability and ensured they are working actively in getting it working. They definitely aren't in it to just install and forget about the customer from what I have seen so far. Fingers crossed that speeds hopefully improve for me and others on this mast soon

leex

If I want to use my own wireless router for improved wifi, what is easiest config for connecting it to Imagine router?

My own router is Gigabit speed so I want to maintain this speed on my network if possible and not drop down to 100mbps speed of Imagine router.

Is it the Imagine router that needs to be switched to bridge mode? Is there a setting in there somewhere for that. All I can see is options to turn off DHCP and WIFI.

irishchris

leex wrote: »

If I want to use my own wireless router for improved wifi, what is easiest config for connecting it to Imagine router?

My own router is Gigabit speed so I want to maintain this speed on my network if possible and not drop down to 100mbps speed of Imagine router.

Is it the Imagine router that needs to be switched to bridge mode? Is there a setting in there somewhere for that. All I can see is options to turn off DHCP and WIFI.

There is an option to enter bridge mode on wan settings in the imagine router

KOR101

9726_9726 wrote: »

They are looking for 3.6GHz to be ringfenced for FWA but the EU and Comreg always insist on technology neutral, so I just can't see that happening. It'll be auctioned on the open market and Big Red will be free to bid like everyone else. Dangerous indeed for Imagine's continued operations.

And it's not just that but it makes any NBP bid or map change impossible.

Waffleon

I got my service installed on Friday. I had speeds of around 50M but this drops from time to time to around 30M, disgraceful really... :-) .I am delighted so far. As for all the legal experts advising on the future of the service..well...worst case scenario is I revert back to my previous provider, or there will be a new provider offering a similar service like big red or whomever..! I've been living in the sticks now for a long time and have had numerous "broadband" solutions like Skydsl (phone line upload, satellite download), and tooway satellite..etc. All of these had issues but I used them because there was no alternative. Now we have alternatives and if they don't pan out we can revert back.
Morgana, you have had the service quite a while now, can you provide any detail on the phone app that was due? Also is there any way to check usage and billing info like a customer portal..?

morgana

Waffleon wrote: »

Morgana, you have had the service quite a while now, can you provide any detail on the phone app that was due? Also is there any way to check usage and billing info like a customer portal..?

No to both. I've been asking them occasionally about the mobile app, still under development apparently. Not that I'm bothered, but they are advertising it while it is not yet available.
Regarding usage, no portal AFAIK, I use Networx logging router traffic via UPnP which give usage reports (or my own router's interface which also has some limited traffic reports - (wave to Ed E - I'd have to install SNMP on the RT-N66U it doesn't come with it out of the box, I'll get around to it eventually )

polaris68

Waffleon wrote: »

I got my service installed on Friday. I had speeds of around 50M but this drops from time to time to around 30M, disgraceful really... :-) .I am delighted so far. As for all the legal experts advising on the future of the service..well...worst case scenario is I revert back to my previous provider, or there will be a new provider offering a similar service like big red or whomever..! I've been living in the sticks now for a long time and have had numerous "broadband" solutions like Skydsl (phone line upload, satellite download), and tooway satellite..etc. All of these had issues but I used them because there was no alternative. Now we have alternatives and if they don't pan out we can revert back.
Morgana, you have had the service quite a while now, can you provide any detail on the phone app that was due? Also is there any way to check usage and billing info like a customer portal..?

Do you find out what mast you are connected to?

editorsean

Based on my observations so far, if Imagine reaches my area, I'll likely sign up once my phone/DSL contract is up:

• Their aftersales support appears to be very good and quick to respond. They are actually trying to help the customer rather than make up excuses about contention or the customer's equipment.
• The minimum speed I've seen posted here is sufficient YouTube 1080p streaming (requires 5-6Mbps sustained). Then again, let's hope it's just a one-off. Even that's twice as fast as what I can get with DSL here for the foreseeable future and I'm outside Eir's FTTH roadmap.
• They don't appear to be fiddling with traffic shaping to make Speedtest.net results stand out, one reason I asked to see a few TestMy graphs. This result is the best peak time result on TestMy I've seen to date with any consumer ISP in Ireland apart from Virgin Media.
• They perform regular network upgrades, such as mentioned here.

As they are a new fixed wireless ISP aiming to compete with VDSL, it remains to be seen how well they keep up with network upgrades and performance as more subscribers join, not to mention the continued growth in usage per user as more people get streaming set-top boxes and subscriptions, IPTV services, game consoles and the move to 4K video.

A couple of other potential issues to add:

• Lengthy delay between ordering the service including €100 deposit for a mast due to go live and it getting installed, plus a long wait to get the deposit refunded if they cannot install.
• It remains to be seen what happens when the 3.6GHz licence is up for auction when it expires at the end of July 2017.
• Reports of erratic speeds with some users, such as further down this page (after posting this).
• They will not go ahead with the installation if they measure less than 30Mbps in a make-shift setup, even if the customer would really like the lower speed.

Waffleon

polaris68 wrote: »

Do you find out what mast you are connected to?

Yeah, the sale guy on the phone told my Rylane. It's actually Mylane near ovens.

rob808

editorsean wrote: »

Based on my observations so far, if Imagine reaches my area, I'll likely sign up once my phone/DSL contract is up:

• Their aftersales support appears to be very good and quick to respond. They are actually trying to help the customer rather than make up excuses about contention or the customer's equipment.
• The minimum speed I've seen posted here is sufficient YouTube 1080p streaming (requires 5-6Mbps sustained). Then again, let's hope it's just a one-off. Even that's twice as fast as what I can get with DSL here for the foreseeable future and I'm outside Eir's FTTH roadmap.
• They don't appear to be fiddling with traffic shaping to make Speedtest.net results stand out, one reason I asked to see a few TestMy graphs. This result is the best peak time result on TestMy I've seen to date with any consumer ISP in Ireland apart from Virgin Media.
• They perform regular network upgrades, such as mentioned here.

As they are a new fixed wireless ISP aiming to compete with VDSL, it remains to be seen how well they keep up with network upgrades and performance as more subscribers join, not to mention the continued growth in usage per user as more people get streaming set-top boxes and subscriptions, IPTV services, game consoles and the move to 4K video.

I don't think LTE would suit people who want to stream or watch Tv in 4K unless they want to stay up all night the download cap is to small.

Wing126

So can anyone clear up something for me? Reading through this thread I see lot's of people posting speed tests of less than 30 mb. Now these speeds are still higher than my eircom speeds (1-2mb, 3 if im lucky) but Imagine have a very clear message on their page that says "The minimum speed Imagine will connect you at is 30mb". Their T's&C's do state that the speeds are all "up to", but what I'm wondering is why the hell are they allowed to display that message about speed if they're not providing it?

Also noticed that they're advertising it as available and then people in this thread are reporting that when they contact Imagine, they're being told that they're only pre-ordering the service!

Lot of miscommunication and flubbing the exact details of their service from Imagine it seems.

Regardless, I've already checked and while they specifically mention my townland as an area that's within their coverage, their coverage checker has told me I'm out of their coverage...

I do see that lot's of people are posting great speed results too.

Anybody got any insight after signing up and not receiving what's been advertised? How have they dealt with it, how was it resolved etc etc.

irishchris

Hoping imagine get back to sorting out the abbeyknockmoy mast tomorrow as speeds are just so inconsistent all weekend



Anyone else here connected to this mast?

marno21

Waffleon wrote: »

Yeah, the sale guy on the phone told my Rylane. It's actually Mylane near ovens.

Is this the site that the ESB also use for SCADA telemetry or am I thinking of a different one?

It's something Hill, beginning with a K.

tsue921i8wljb3

irishchris wrote: »

Hoping imagine get back to sorting out the abbeyknockmoy mast tomorrow as speeds are just so inconsistent all weekend



Anyone else here connected to this mast?

When the new installer came out did he move the antenna or is it still wedged up against your soffit? Did you ask for it to be moved? Did the installer happen to mention your signal strength? It would be useful if you could find the login details for the antenna.

irishchris

Reyansh Little Bandage wrote: »

When the new installer came out did he move the antenna or is it still wedged up against your soffit? Did you ask for it to be moved? Did the installer happen to mention your signal strength? It would be useful if you could find the login details for the antenna.

They (quickly) realigned the antenna on the same mount. He said signal was 105dbm.not sure how that compared to others here?

9726_9726

Sounds like he gave you the wrong figure. -105dBm would be a noise floor.

irishchris

9726_9726 wrote: »

Sounds like he gave you the wrong figure. -105dBm would be a noise floor.

RSRQ: -6dB
RSRP: -105dBm
SINR: 19dB

These were the signal levels be showed me on his pc after setup. I take it these are not good signal readings?

Anyone here with imagine know what their signal levels are like?

9726_9726

Ok so that's RSRP rather than RSSI, so that's an even better way of reading your signal.

irishchris

9726_9726 wrote: »

Ok so that's RSRP rather than RSSI, so that's an even better way of reading your signal.

yes it is rsrp signal for lte. what would be a good rsrp signal?

coffeeJohn92

Signged up last week for Imagine LTE. The rep was a genuine enough guy. He told me the mast would be up and running for my area at the end of July.

Just wondering is there anyone else on here that's signed up in the Ballina, Mayo area?

If so are ye connected? or what did the rep tell you about timeline to be connected?


Also is there anyway to check on the masts Imagine use? How there doing in terms of progress?

Cheers

TireeTerror

I was onto Imagine earlier looking for an update on when the service would go live in my area and I asked how many were currently subscribed. I was only able to get through to tech support as the CS and Sales departments were too busy due to some service going down in Dublin.

He didnt give me a number for how many were subscribed to the mast as he didnt have access to that as he was not CS, however he did say this.

"Me: Are you able to see how many have currently subscribed to the mast?
Glen: As far as I know there is already a sample of customers testing the product
Me: Ah no way. Who do I speak to to be involved in "further" testing?
Glen: I can't see that but I can ensure you that LTE is not prone to contention, so that would not matter.
Me: its not prone to contention?
Me: How can that be? Surely the available bandwidth is shared amongst all users on the mast?
Me: I see people on boards.ie talking about getting up to 80Mbps but its dropping to as low as 10Mpbs during peak times
Me: and that so long as the installer can obtain 30Mbps at the actual time of the install, which would be off peak anyway, its installed.
Glen: There are several E Node B units installed which manage the traffic in tandem, preventing any major bandwidth. We have tested this here by running 42 different computers streaming and gaming simultaneously with no drop in connection
Me: So why are people consistently having much slower speeds during peak times then?
Glen: Due to the MIMO service offered with LTE, signal can alter if not configured correctly, in short, these reported speeds are directly related to teething problems."

Any tech heads want to comment on this?

ED E

Sounds like he's suggesting its using multiband in the same sector. Ill edit this post in a minute.

42 streams at a nominal 5Mbps YouTube clip would only mean 210Mps which really isn't a big test for a 3x150Mb site with 400 customers.

EDIT1: Have those bands been free since 2012?

3.4 GHz – 3.8
GHz band
Channels
Channel
Bandwidth
Mode of
Operation
Transmit centre frequency
(MHz)
Base Station CPE
K/K‟ 1 x 11 MHz
and
1 x 16 MHz
FDD or TDD 3459.5 3529
L 1 x 10 MHz TDD 3605
Table 1: Additional spectrum being released in 3.5GHz FWALA band

EDIT2:
Comregs map shows them as currently deploying: A, B, K*, K, D, E

In built up areas there are multiple bands deployed from the same/nearby locations to build capacity but at 30KM non overlap zones theres not a huge amount of room. Looks like its 400 users for one 14Mhz band on Bweeng for example. This is where my knowledge lets me down but considering the mobile telcos are managing 225Mb on 15Mhz CAT6 and 300Mb at 20Mhz I'm not sure how contention isnt a huge factor.

TireeTerror

ED E wrote: »

Sounds like he's suggesting its using multiband in the same sector. Ill edit this post in a minute.

42 streams at a nominal 5Mbps YouTube clip would only mean 210Mps which really isn't a big test for a 3x150Mb site with 400 customers.

3 x 150Mbps? Is that the full bandwidth available at the site? Shared among 400 customers?? WOW! That is going to collapse at peak times.

Chef-1st

Just been off the phone with tech support. That's what I got told there too. Before I signed up, I was told the contention ratio was 4:1.
Now I'm been told there is no contention. Amount of users online shouldn't affect speeds with the way it's set up. There have been some optimisations done the past few days on the service is what Ive been told, so I can just monitor it and see what it's like. Nothing else they can do. Rebooting the router and check speeds again seems to be the popular one with broadband providers tech support.
I shouldn't need to, and I don't need to, as the next day, without touching anything, speeds are back up to +80m.

If anyone wants to see my recorded speed results over the past 3 weeks, you're more than welcome.
http://www.speedtest.net/results.php?sh=ca0743c0b8cf444e2d91bc3118335acd&ria=0

As you can see, it's not as pretty as Morgana's graph! I've very varied speed results.
Her speeds are pretty consistent and robust. Less variance. Except for once, hers never dropped below 40M.
Morgana's speedtest results link:
http://www.speedtest.net/results.php?hd=04/01/2016&sh=d1d2ec92489d3a1a71988c36955e2437&s=0

I've just emailed my results to Imagine, so makes no odds who sees it now. Tests will be ongoing over the next few days and weeks.

Edit: Tests are all on wired connection to the router. Speeds have also been confirmed using testmy.net, which I find is an excellent speed test website and would highly recommend using it. And like speedtest.net, you can also sign up to hold on to all your speed results.