Imagine LTE Rural Broadband

tsue921i8wljb3

irishchris wrote: »

I bridged the router to my tplink one this evening and whilst range better, speeds are still pretty poor. Unfortunately as their router supplies power to the antenna you have to have theirs always connected and add your own router after it

I assume the "signal degradation" that the installer was referring to was actually PoE voltage drop over long lengths of cable.

irishchris

Reyansh Little Bandage wrote: »

I assume the "signal degradation" that the installer was referring to was actually PoE voltage drop over long lengths of cable.

I assumed it was db loss but possibly?

MrLucidLJ

irishchris wrote: »

Speeds were excellent with three but primary reason was to get larger allowance and not be hit with charge for going over. External Antenna was 70 euro from Germany. Made big difference. Similar to the imagine one but different connections - 2 n type connections as opposed to one ethernet connection from the imagine antenna

I think its a big leap Three have made this year. From talking to technical support over the phone they told me they are putting up more mosts and improving existing ones. Those speeds you were getting were great but with your family being large you probably would need double that to avoid the charges. Thats good value for the Antenna do you have pics of that on here?

tsue921i8wljb3

irishchris wrote: »

I assumed it was db loss but possibly?

No from the antenna it is an Ethernet connection to the router so should be good for 100M. Some PoE standards are also good for 100M but as stated earlier in the thread it is unclear what standards if any the router is using.

rodge123

irishchris wrote: »

To be honest not impressed at the way it was installed. Don't get me wrong the install of the antenna is very neat and non obtrusive looking and they were tidy internally also but really disappointed that as I built my house only few years back I future proofed and put cat 5 cabling before plastering and brought all the cables to a meeting point at my desk upstairs. Over the years this has always been the positioning for my routers from the early days of eircom to threes broadband. Unfortunately where they left the router is just useless for connecting around the house and the range of their wn600 router is very poor. If they were to come again I would insist on it being placed upstairs and shown if it actually did degrade the signal as I was told by the installer today

Hi Chris

I've signed up to them and will hopefully get hooked up with 8 weeks.
We have nearly completed our new build and have also tried to future proof, cat5e cables everywhere leading back to one central point.

What colour are the cables they use externally?
I imagine I'll have to extend the range of router somehow also as the house is long and had concrete first floor.

irishchris

MrLucidLJ wrote: »

I think its a big leap Three have made this year. From talking to technical support over the phone they told me they are putting up more mosts and improving existing ones. Those speeds you were getting were great but with your family being large you probably would need double that to avoid the charges. Thats good value for the Antenna do you have pics of that on here?

Have it boxed away now but here is a picture from the link I bought it online from.

irishchris

rodge123 wrote: »

Hi Chris

I've signed up to them and will hopefully get hooked up with 8 weeks.
We have nearly completed our new build and have also tried to future proof, cat5e cables everywhere leading back to one central point.

What colour are the cables they use externally?
I imagine I'll have to extend the range of router somehow also as the house is long and had concrete first floor.

The single cable is black from Antenna to router

rodge123

irishchris wrote: »

The single cable is black from Antenna to router

Crap, dont want a long black cable visible on our white rendered walls after all the effort we have gone to have the house looking nice.

Is it just one cat 5 cable they bring in from the antenna? i.e. could we just bring this in and run it to a cat 5e wall point that links back to central hub, and from there connect it to their router?

tsue921i8wljb3

rodge123 wrote: »

Crap, dont want a long black cable visible on our white rendered walls after all the effort we have gone to have the house looking nice.

Is it just one cat 5 cable they bring in from the antenna? i.e. could we just bring this in and run it to a cat 5e wall point that links back to central hub, and from there connect it to their router?

There would have to be a direct cable connection from the external antenna to the router that Imagine provide as the router powers the antenna (actually a modem) using PoE (Power over Ethernet).

irishchris

Reyansh Little Bandage wrote: »

There would have to be a direct cable connection from the external antenna to the router that Imagine provide as the router powers the antenna (actually a modem) using PoE (Power over Ethernet).

Would coupling the cable from their Antenna to an existing cat 5 cable then into their router so not work though?

9726_9726

rodge123 wrote: »

Crap, dont want a long black cable visible on our white rendered walls after all the effort we have gone to have the house looking nice.

Is it just one cat 5 cable they bring in from the antenna? i.e. could we just bring this in and run it to a cat 5e wall point that links back to central hub, and from there connect it to their router?

I see where you are coming from, but a couple of points to save you hassle....

First, outdoor rated Cat5 has a PE (polyethylene) sheath. This is UV stabilised and in my 12 year experience, is always black. Top quality outdoor Cat5 is double-jacketed and 10mm thick! Black PE outer jacket with white PVC inner jacket, then a wire braid shield, then a foil shield. This is what is used on tower sites. In residential installs, one or both shields may be missing, and on cheap-ass installs the inner PVC jacket might be missing, although any provider cheaping out like that is asking for trouble. Without a shield and a drain wire, the route to ground is via the ethernet chip = fails in lightning.

Indoor Cat5 has PVC (poly-vinyl chloride) jacket/sheath, often white/off-white/grey, but sometimes purple, blue, orange, etc. If this is used outdoors, it will last 6-18 months, then leak. The sun will break it down. You will end up with water dripping from the internal RJ45 connector. The gold contacts will be green/corroded. It causes capacitance between the conductors. The ethernet link will go to 10M/half duplex then fail. It may smoke the POE injector.

Also, any provider who knows their stuff will refuse existing cable runs as a matter of policy, as they can't stand over them. I've seen cat 5 runs twist-jointed on blue pair only by sparks. ("It'll be grand for Telecom). You might do a great job, but the other 9 out of 10 won't, so as a matter of policy, end to end provider runs are needed. Perhaps better to provide a tray/riser/cavity/crawlspace/conduit.

tsue921i8wljb3

irishchris wrote: »

Would coupling the cable from their Antenna to an existing cat 5 cable then into their router so not work though?

What do you mean by coupling?

irishchris

Reyansh Little Bandage wrote: »

What do you mean by coupling?

Using a coupler to connect their length of cat 5 to an existing cat 5 cable

tsue921i8wljb3

irishchris wrote: »

Using a coupler to connect their length of cat 5 to an existing cat 5 cable

You would need to be certain it passes through PoE and even then like 9726_9726 says it is likely the installer will refuse to install anything in a non-standard way. These guys will have been trained to do things a certain way and won't deviate from the script.

Chef-1st

irishchris wrote: »

I honestly expected speed around the 70-80 mb/s that they have been pushing on Facebook and that others such as morgana are getting. Mainly because I am the only one off the mast. But even when the installer tested it was max 46ms. You could have a point as one of the installers who only recently joined imagine was tightening the antenna after I had been showed the speedtests. but whilst tightening the bolts it did definitely tilt more downwards whilst was talking to him. Didn't really remember that until you mentioned the angle. Cheers

Yeah Chris. I wouldn't be happy with them speeds at all. Especially as you say, you're the first on the new Cell. What will it be like after 400 users?
My first day with the service was ropey speeds though too. But if the installers left, happy with a 46M download speed, I wouldn't be letting them leave it like that. Again though, all relative. Some would be happy with that. But that's not the point. The point is they're advertising and selling "fibre speed broadband". You should be getting at least 70M.

Also, I just looked at your pics, that's an amateur install. Way too tight against the fascia. What were they thinking?
I know Imagine are rushing to get more installers on the road to meet demand, fair play to them, but seriously, was this literally yer man's first day on the job?
I'd be getting them back out ASAP for definite, no questions asked.

woody1

ok, i was onto imagine yesterday, the rep did a call back after i sent in my eircode and he tells me im in coverage,
he also tells me that the mast is south east of me, so i say it doesnt have line of sight, he reckons it doesnt need line of sight is this correct

at the moment on on a 1gb , yes ONE GB deal with a local wireless provider and this costs 35 euro a month, imagine is 60, so its a fair jump,
i was thinking about getting rid of sky box and putting in android tv box, but will this use up the 20gb a day ? my initial understanding was that it was streaming and it wouldnt but after a bit of googling im not so sure now

as for speeds, if i can get the 30mb min they are promising, thats 30 times what i have now , i can live with it...

so 2 questions line of sight ? streaming tv using up data ? anyone

TireeTerror

woody1 wrote: »

ok, i was onto imagine yesterday, the rep did a call back after i sent in my eircode and he tells me im in coverage,
he also tells me that the mast is south east of me, so i say it doesnt have line of sight, he reckons it doesnt need line of sight is this correct

at the moment on on a 1gb , yes ONE GB deal with a local wireless provider and this costs 35 euro a month, imagine is 60, so its a fair jump,
i was thinking about getting rid of sky box and putting in android tv box, but will this use up the 20gb a day ? my initial understanding was that it was streaming and it wouldnt but after a bit of googling im not so sure now

as for speeds, if i can get the 30mb min they are promising, thats 30 times what i have now , i can live with it...

so 2 questions line of sight ? streaming tv using up data ? anyone

We have to be very careful what we say on here about streaming content, even though its not actually illegal in the EU, Boards.ie have mentioned several times they are jumpy about it.

Streaming from an Android box will use data, how much will depend on how many hours of TV you will be watching, and the bitrate of the content, for example HD uses a lot more than SD content. There are alternatives to Android boxes, which by the way can be very unreliable. Use your imagination and google and look for Linux based Sky boxes, they use your existing sat dish for the data, but will also provide the channels you want at the cost you are looking for. I cannot really say more than that.

As for line of sight, I am not 100% sure. If its the same kind of tech as normal LTE then I cant see that it would need to be LOS as that would not be any use for mobile phones. Im sitting here right now in my house using 3 4G and its certainly not line of sight as Im indoors. Im sure others with more technical expertise will advise.

AyJay

Is anyone else concerned about the wording of their commitment?

Below is an email we received:

Hi,

You’re in coverage with our Mount Oriel towercom in Louth. Which goes live end of August.

It’s a limited capacity service so we are pre ordering households onto the site before it goes live. We have it capped at 400 Households to ensure a low contention ratio and to ensure there is no drop off on speed when everyone goes onto the service at peak times. We have 261 reserved so far.

The technology used is 4G LTE which is the fastest wireless system in the world at the moment and Imagine have the sole rights to supply it to residential households.

LTE Fiber Broadband
Up to 70Mb Broadband and a guarantee of at least 30Mb upon installation.
Unlimited local/national calls
20Gb of data per day
€59.99

If you were to go over that data usage the speed would be reduced until midnight then reset for the following day. Between 12 at night and 7am we don’t track data usage.

This service is offered based on an 18 month contract; there is a cooling off period of 14 days from the date of placing the order.

We install a transmitter the size of an alarm box onto the side of the house to pick up the signal from the towercom.

It’s €150 for installation in total.

· €100 upfront – that will reserve your spot and start the order.


· €50 on your first bill when you pass our minimum 30Mb speed test upon installation.


You will not be charged if you fail the speed test.

Terms and condition apply and are available at Imagine.ie – to buy out of the contract is €100.


My concerns are why do they emphasize twice in the one email that the guaranteed minimum speed of 30Mb "upon installation"

Does this mean that after installation they make no guarantees regarding the speed? I'm very suspicious of this alleged guarantee. Is there some mechanism whereby they guarantee that new connections will get a specific performance but then when the 'guarantee period' is up they throw the switch and give priority to the next new customers going on there?Also the fourteen day cooling off period from date of order is all well and good, but if the installation is ten days after the order is placed as has been the case for several posts on this thread, realistically you only have four days to decide if this is for you.

woody1

TireeTerror wrote: »

We have to be very careful what we say on here about streaming content, even though its not actually illegal in the EU, Boards.ie have mentioned several times they are jumpy about it.

Streaming from an Android box will use data, how much will depend on how many hours of TV you will be watching, and the bitrate of the content, for example HD uses a lot more than SD content. There are alternatives to Android boxes, which by the way can be very unreliable. Use your imagination and google and look for Linux based Sky boxes, they use your existing sat dish for the data, but will also provide the channels you want at the cost you are looking for. I cannot really say more than that.

As for line of sight, I am not 100% sure. If its the same kind of tech as normal LTE then I cant see that it would need to be LOS as that would not be any use for mobile phones. Im sitting here right now in my house using 3 4G and its certainly not line of sight as Im indoors. Im sure others with more technical expertise will advise.

cheers, yeah the linux box i had forgotten about completely, i actually know someone that deals in them so i can chase that up, its prob a better option

line of sight , that makes sense re the mobile signal alright

ayjay - as for the wording re the speeds, if i was someone absolutely commited to getting 70mb speed the majority of the time i would be very concerned about the 30mb min wording,

jsd1004

JImagine have not returned my 100euro deposit after they could only get speeds of 2 Meg's after testing a month ago. They said at the time I was 100% in coverage.

ED E

AyJay wrote: »

Does this mean that after installation they make no guarantees regarding the speed? I'm very suspicious of this alleged guarantee. Is there some mechanism whereby they guarantee that new connections will get a specific performance but then when the 'guarantee period' is up they throw the switch and give priority to the next new customers going on there?Also the fourteen day cooling off period from date of order is all well and good, but if the installation is ten days after the order is placed as has been the case for several posts on this thread, realistically you only have four days to decide if this is for you.

There is ZERO contractual guarantee to provide 30Mb as I've seen. Right now they're keeping to it but there is nothing to stop them sliding back to 5Mb down the line. Not saying they will, but they could.

TireeTerror

jsd1004 wrote: »

JImagine have not returned my 100euro deposit after they could only get speeds of 2 Meg's after testing a month ago. They said at the time I was 100% in coverage.

Have they said "We are not giving it back?"

ItHurtsWhenIP

AyJay wrote: »

...
Also the fourteen day cooling off period from date of order is all well and good, but if the installation is ten days after the order is placed as has been the case for several posts on this thread, realistically you only have four days to decide if this is for you.

You can ignore that as its wrong and your consumer rights protect you in this regard. There is a 14 day cooling off period from the date of delivery of the service (effectively - look back through this thread and you will see other discussions on it, along with the actual legal wording).

There's people on here waiting 8 weeks since they ordered, so they would be totally screwed if there was not such a provision in law.

KOR101

ED E wrote: »

There is ZERO contractual guarantee to provide 30Mb as I've seen. Right now they're keeping to it but there is nothing to stop them sliding back to 5Mb down the line. Not saying they will, but they could.

If they win some of the NBP plan, then they must meet the 30 Mbit speed. If they don't win, then they could still try to have their customers excluded from the Intervention area, but they would still have to continue meeting the speed. If they don't win and also don't succeed in getting their customers excluded, then they go bust fast.

ED E

ED E wrote: »

There is ZERO contractual guarantee to provide 30Mb as I've seen.

And of course they test for the 30Mb at the time of installation which is likely mid-morning. As the most likely clients are those living deep in the country, it would be very unlikely that there would be anything other than light use there at this time.

irishchris

In fairness to imagine their customer and tech support so far seems top notch. I rang this morning and tech agreed to send installer out at a future date to reroute the cabling to where I require it.
Customer support also rang me several times over the last hour as they are trying to get my speed back to where it should be and are actively testing it. No improvement to be seen yet but so far they seem very on the ball.

irishchris

these are some from this morning and im sure most would agree not up to scratch but hoping to be able to post more positive results later when gets sorted hopefully!





latest whilst better still not reaching minimum speed yet

seaniefr

Is there anyone connected to the Woodcock Hill mast in Clare yet?
Imagine around my neck of the woods this AM giving out flyers looking for new customers........

um7y1h83ge06nx

seaniefr wrote: »

Is there anyone connected to the Woodcock Hill mast in Clare yet?
Imagine around my neck of the woods this AM giving out flyers looking for new customers........

That would be my mast and I'm in Murroe. They have a huge catchment area for that mast.

Not sure will I jump for this yet, I feel the 400 subscriber limit makes me want to jump on-board but things can only improve over the next few years I reckon.

seaniefr

Ahmed Narrow Beer wrote: »

That would be my mast and I'm in Murroe. They have a huge catchment area for that mast.

Not sure will I jump for this yet, I feel the 400 subscriber limit makes me want to jump on-board but things can only improve over the next few years I reckon.

I am probably below you as am in Lisnagry. I was asking the guy about LOS and he said they only need a little but i have a lot of high trees between me and Wookcock as the RTE signal comes from there as i had to use a very powerful booster to get good reception so i dont think it will work.
We tried Digiweb a couple of years ago and i think they are broadcasting from there and they couldn't get a signal either. Does anyone know is the Line of Sight a deal breaker?