Imagine LTE Rural Broadband

Marlow

Ultimanemo wrote: »

So why if you ring Airwire or Lightnet in Galway they never say their site is full, but if you ring Imagine they say their site is full ?.
Do Airwire and Lightnet have many more sites or what ?.

Yes .. the regional operators don't necessarily work of larger mast sites and often have smaller sites suplementing. They tend to have 3-4 sites covering an area, so they can't tell you it's a fail until they come out and test it.

But also with them, if the sites available are full, you won't be connected.

Imagine generally only works of larger towers.

It's the difference between local knowledge and a much more comprehensive network with a regional provider or "computer says no" with Imagine.

/M

Ultimanemo

Marlow wrote: »

Yes .. the regional operators don't necessarily work of larger mast sites and often have smaller sites suplementing. They tend to have 3-4 sites covering an area, so they can't tell you it's a fail until they come out and test it.

But also with them, if the sites available are full, you won't be connected.

Imagine generally only works of larger towers.

It's the difference between local knowledge and a much more comprehensive network with a regional provider or "computer says no" with Imagine.

/M

Thanks

user1842

I'm a bit confused about Imagines new offering. Is it a new service based on 5G or is it just the expansion of their initial trial that is based on 4G?

If it is a new 5G service, will existing Imagine customers get new equipment that will allow them to access 150Mb speeds.

TonyAdams1998

user1842 wrote: »

I'm a bit confused about Imagines new offering. Is it a new service based on 5G or is it just the expansion of their initial trial that is based on 4G?

If it is a new 5G service, will existing Imagine customers get new equipment that will allow them to access 150Mb speeds.

Just off the phone with them there, all existing customers will be upgraded to 5G connection. Didn't say if they'd be getting priority though.

Sadly in my location just between Kilcock and Clane they're currently full

rodge123

TonyAdams1998 wrote: »

Just off the phone with them there, all existing customers will be upgraded to 5G connection. Didn't say if they'd be getting priority though.

Sadly in my location just between Kilcock and Clane they're currently full

I’m in that same mast you are looking to get onto and speeds are poor enough in the evenings due to contention. About 7mb between 7pm and 11pm

Quin_Dub

TonyAdams1998 wrote: »

Just off the phone with them there, all existing customers will be upgraded to 5G connection. Didn't say if they'd be getting priority though.

Sadly in my location just between Kilcock and Clane they're currently full

I don't get how both of those statements can be true though (not getting at you at all)..

If all existing users are getting upgraded , then surely if a particular connection is already full , that means no new customers , just upgrades for the existing customers?

Are they planning to run the existing platform alongside the new 5G one and if so will there be different pricing?

TonyAdams1998

rodge123 wrote: »

I’m in that same mast you are looking to get onto and speeds are poor enough in the evenings due to contention. About 7mb between 7pm and 11pm

Tbh after reading all these reviews I'm not too sure if I'll switch. Currently on Three PAYG loophole with a 4g router, getting 30mbps off peak then around 8-10 during the evenings. Looking at investing in an antenna, really good reviews of one on Amazon for about 120 quid.

TonyAdams1998

Quin_Dub wrote: »

I don't get how both of those statements can be true though (not getting at you at all)..

If all existing users are getting upgraded , then surely if a particular connection is already full , that means no new customers , just upgrades for the existing customers?

Are they planning to run the existing platform alongside the new 5G one and if so will there be different pricing?

What I got from their rep on the phone was that all current masts would be upgraded to 5g, and in areas where there was demand that additional masts would be added alongside existing.

Said it would be very likely that the area I'm in would receive additional m masts due to demand.

user1842

TonyAdams1998 wrote: »

What I got from their rep on the phone was that all current masts would be upgraded to 5g, and in areas where there was demand that additional masts would be added alongside existing.

Said it would be very likely that the area I'm in would receive additional m masts due to demand.

So each one of their current customers will need to have Imagine call to their house and replace their 4G antenna???????

I smell a rat....

TonyAdams1998

user1842 wrote: »

So each of their current customers will need to have Imagine call to their house and replace their 4G antenna???????

I'm not too sure tbh, he didn't mention any upgrades. Maybe all current equipment is future-proofed?

Quin_Dub

user1842 wrote: »

So each one of their current customers will need to have Imagine call to their house and replace their 4G antenna???????

I smell a rat....

Yeah.. I'm with you on that.

Either they keep all the existing customers on the current service or they are going to have an "upgrade" charge , similar to the current €100 installation fee.

Can't see them eating the cost of upgrading all the existing customers for free.

user1842

Quin_Dub wrote: »

Yeah.. I'm with you on that.

Either they keep all the existing customers on the current service or they are going to have an "upgrade" charge , similar to the current €100 installation fee.

Can't see them eating the cost of upgrading all the existing customers for free.

More than likely Imagine are using 4G and thus no antenna change would be necessary. If this is the case I will be making a complaint to the ASAI as Imagine are clearly using false advertising on their website as it gives the impression that 5G is in use.

https://www.huawei.com/en/press-events/news/2017/8/WTTxGame-Changer-Superfast-Broadband

tsue921i8wljb3

user1842 wrote: »

So each one of their current customers will need to have Imagine call to their house and replace their 4G antenna???????

I smell a rat....

It's likely a software update if anything. Posters here have been moved onto the 150Mb for quite a while and required no site visit by Imagine. Don't fall for their "5G ready" hype.

user1842

Reyansh Little Bandage wrote: »

It's likely a software update if anything. Posters here have been moved onto the 150Mb for quite a while and required no site visit by Imagine. Don't fall for their "5G ready" hype.

If this is the case then their website is misleading consumers and I will complain to the ASAI and I suggest others do to.

tsue921i8wljb3

user1842 wrote: »

If this is the case then their website is misleading consumers and I will complain to the ASAI and I suggest others do to.

Good luck with that. The whole industry is built on misleading customers. eFibre, unlimited etc.

user1842

Reyansh Little Bandage wrote: »

Good luck with that. The whole industry is built on misleading customers. eFibre, unlimited etc.

I will try anyway, you never know.

tsue921i8wljb3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO1vZJEP_3k

From 1:30 in this video they admit that their current 53 sites are using the Huawei WTTx platform. This "launch" is just an expansion of their current rollout.

Gonzo

Reyansh Little Bandage wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO1vZJEP_3k

From 1:30 in this video they admit that their current 53 sites are using the Huawei WTTx platform. This "launch" is just an expansion of their current rollout.

If that video was made for a 1st year digital media college assignment it would barely pass.

- the audio is out of sync during interviews.
- really poor interview sound quality, like as if it's mono sound and distortion in the background (particularly the Sean Bolger piece at the start). Distortion probably from a very low and garbled bit rate.
- some very blurry footage upscaled to 1080p
- no video footage showing happy customers or people enjoying or using the service, instead we see lots of stock footage of Dublin where the service isn't needed or used, and vans, lots and lots of vans.

I may be nit picking, but for a company that is trying to come across as cutting edge, this isn't a very professionally made promotional video.

tsue921i8wljb3

Gonzo wrote: »

If that video was made for a 1st year digital media college assignment it would barely pass.

- the audio is out of sync during interviews.
- really poor interview sound quality, like as if it's mono sound and distortion in the background (particularly the Sean Bolger piece at the start). Distortion probably from a very low and garbled bit rate.
- some very blurry footage upscaled to 1080p
- no video footage showing happy customers or people enjoying or using the service, instead we see lots of stock footage of Dublin where the service isn't needed or used, and vans, lots and lots of vans.

I may be nit picking, but for a company that is trying to come across as cutting edge, this isn't a very professionally made promotional video.

Yeah it's poor alright. Even worse is Huawei are using it on their own site.

https://carrier.huawei.com/en/success-stories/premium-home-broadband-enables-business-success/ireland-imagine-profitable-rural-broadband-with-wttx

Ardent

Reyansh Little Bandage wrote: »

their current 53 sites are using the Huawei WTTx platform

Cool. Not only do I suffer appalling contention and peak speeds but China also gets to sniff at my online activity.

tsue921i8wljb3

Ardent wrote: »

Cool. Not only do I suffer appalling contention and peak speeds but China also gets to sniff at my online activity.

A lot of internet access in this country will have Huawei involved at some stage.

Ultimanemo

Ardent wrote: »

Cool. Not only do I suffer appalling contention and peak speeds but China also gets to sniff at my online activity.

I think this is american propaganda to get a competitive advantage, google and facebook and every site are tracking us.

Scruff

they have ads running on the old fashion wireless now, heard it on Newstalk this morning.

Ten Pin

Is there any evidence that Imagines 5G will actually be 5G or just marketing waffle. 150Mbs is just CAT4 LTE (AFAIK) and if there's going to be fibre run to each site by June, then surely that would need to be in place now and consequently existing users would see a reduction in peak congestion right now. Or will it just be microwave backhaul which will just yield a repeat of the drawbacks that wimax had and LTE currently has.

If there's no change of CPE then surely this isn't 5G?

Gonzo

I wouldn't believe anything that comes from Imagine, they throw around buzz words very losely when describing their product.

They have referred to their current LTE product:

- Fibre Broadband
- Life Changing
- Fixed broadband
- Unlimited
- 5G

They never call their service 'wireless' broadband. They make it sound like it's a fixed line fibre broadband service with no limitations. They are not a fibre network, they are a wireless network same as 2g, 3g and 4g.

5G will not be available anywhere in the world till end of 2019/2020, so right now there is no 5G from Imagine, once again throwing the buzz words around their website and marketing material.

5G will likely launch first in South Korea with China, Japan and United States following. I very much doubt Imagine will be the first in the world to offer such a service.

morgana

The ad is total waffle IMO, full of very fluffy statements like connecting rural Ireland now (ROFL a lot of sites are actually full, like mine (Bweeng). But hardly actual info, like 5G ready meaning precisely nothing. I haven't seen any upgrade in speed, contention kicks in the evening, but beggars can't be choosers.
In fairness, even though speeds drop significantly at night (often between 5 - 10 mbps) it hasn't affected streaming or gaming. But there are only 2 people in the house, it would most likely be a different story with 3 or 4 simultaneous users.
I am reasonably happy with Imagine, it is what it is and works for me for now. Their uptime is very good, very few outages at all over the 3 years I've been with them. Also, dropping the daily cap really has made it very usable for me - no more worries about game updates .
And with the NPB in tatters, it unfortunately will have to do for the foreseeable future.

Gonzo

morgana wrote: »

And with the NPB in tatters, it unfortunately will have to do for the foreseeable future.

Imagine are doing everything in their power to make sure they will be keeping you and many others as a customer for the forseeable future.


https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/eir-and-imagine-expansions-may-delay-national-broadband-plan-906010.html

morgana

Yup. Saw that coming for the last few months. Ofc I would prefer FTTH but it looks more and more like a pipedream for the likes of us rural folk in the so-called intervention areas.

Ten Pin

If this is the case then their website is misleading consumers and I will complain to the ASAI and I suggest others do to.

Imagine are using a 5G logo on the TV ad, maybe worth letting the 5G alliance know to see if Imagine equipment is compliant with the minimum requirements to claim 5G compatibility. They might have more teeth than ASAI to issue some sort of cease & desist type notice IF their 5G is not really 5G.

morgana

Gonzo wrote: »

I
5G will not be available anywhere in the world till end of 2019/2020, so right now there is no 5G from Imagine, once again throwing the buzz words around their website and marketing material.

5G will likely launch first in South Korea with China, Japan and United States following. I very much doubt Imagine will be the first in the world to offer such a service.

Apparently the Swiss are going to beat them to it: https://www.digitaltveurope.com/2019/02/21/sunrise-to-launch-5g-in-switzerland-this-march/