National Broadband Ireland : implementation and progress

tipp36

I’m getting installed next Tuesday with eir. I spoke with KN appointment team this morning to re confirm appointment and I asked if their engineer is to bring the modem or does eir send it out as I’ve nothing received and also I requested for cherry picker to be here on Tuesday morning to run the fibre cable to my house as they didn’t know it was required and didn’t want any further delays with getting fibre installed. Heads up for anyone else getting installed make sure to ask the RSP to send out modem as KN don’t bring them and request cherry picker.

SungSam7

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118767941#Comment_118767941

Pure sent us out a Fritz box as far as I know.

We got the pole done Friday, engineer is back on Tuesday to set it up then. Anyone know if you have broadband right away. What happens when Circet come and connect you? Must you contact the ISP or whats the story or is set up and once its connected, your billing starts?

xxyyzz

Once Circet come, you are good to go.

snapper365

The KN engineer will definitely set up your broadband for you. I believe they have to run a speedtest to show you it's working as expected before they leave your property. In both cases when I was having a property connected, the engineer did this, and it is one of the follow-up survey questions that KN ask post-install, so I'd guess it's part of their install checklist.

With regards to whether the router is sent in advance, it depends on the service provider. Sky sent the router in advance, and told me to contact them if I hadn't received it ahead of the installation appointment (I had so it was fine), whereas with Vodafone the KN installer brought the router with them. These are the only ISPs I have experience with. I think it would make sense to ask at sign-up what the process is for your chosen supplier, so there's no nasty surprises.

Finally, if you know that KN are going to need a hoist/cherry picker to install at your property, then by all means tell them when they call you to book your appointment but I have to say though that in my experience it didn't do much good.

For the install at property 1, KN knew it themselves in advance anyway, as the property had been marked as needing a hoist during survey. So that went smoothly and a separate van with a hoist turned up alongside the install engineer.

For property 2, I told them when they called to arrange the appointment that they would probably need a hoist, based on it being a similar job property 1. I am guessing it wasn't marked as needing one during survey though, because although the lady I spoke with took note of it, when the guy turned up he couldn't do the job because he said he couldn't do the work as he needed a hoist and there wasn't a crew available. The job had to be re-scheduled for the following week.

So although I told them, it seems like they needed to see it before they believed it. They obviously trust their survey info more than Joe Public but there are a bunch of factors why that survey info might not be correct, as it was in my case.

Pious14

Trees were trimmed about a month ago and new poles were put up today but the NBP website is still saying march To may 2023 for install. Should I expect this to change given the recent movement or should I not hold my breath

wexfordman2

I would say stick with the predicted date, our trees and poles were done over 6 months ago, and we are prob 2 to 3 months from availability now.

tipp36

Got installed today with eir engineer was here for over 3 hours lovely guy very helpful talked me through everything and all going well but been trying to set my deco ac1200 up since 1pm with the eir modem but they don’t seem to want to sync to it, don’t know if anyone had or has the same issues with eir fibre modem?

heavydawson

Moved to ready to order at 7.01 this morning (Tipp DA) 🥳🥳🥳

Magnum

Mine says "Ready to Connect " it's getting real now 😎😎

baz9375

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118792537#Comment_118792537

Looking forward to the speedtest post :-)

tipp36

whoop finally 😅 this was my speed test connected via Ethernet for 1GB via eir yesterday.

SkepticQuark

Just ordered with Vodafone this morning, can't wait to ditch imagine ASAP.

heavydawson

KN coming to connect for Digiweb on the 30th.

Magnum

Just got a call from KN for installation on the 30th for Vodafone😀

SkepticQuark

30th here too for Vodafone, quick turnaround given we ordered like 5 hours ago.

Magnum

There'll be a lot of KN Network vans around the area so on the 30th, the system will be getting overloaded 😁

r3nu4l

I've been looking at Digiweb and Vodafone, both of whom offer a 1Gbps speed.

Prices after the 12 month introductory period aren't too different but it's there any reason to go for one over the other in terms of the router speed, customer service etc?

Also, are the installers big professional outfits or just local freelance installers contracted to do local jobs?

heavydawson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118796169#Comment_118796169

Yes, some people prefer the hardware supplied by one ISP over the other.

One thing that should be clear though is that the wired speed across all providers should be identical. The wireless speed will fluctuate based a big number of variables.

Customer service varies so your homework.

Another thing to consider is packages. If you already get TV or mobile from one of the providers you might be able to get a package that includes the broadband at a discount.

heavydawson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118796169#Comment_118796169

Forgot to say the installers are a professional outfit. KN Circet do the installations for everyone. Guarantees the end to end optics are consistent.

heavydawson

Does anyone know if KN have access to Eircom ducts like the one above? The existing copper line into our house tees off this box into a private duct running up our drive. KN are going to have to run the fiber from the DP in the distance via an underground duct along the road to the box above and then on into the private duct. There's no point getting them out if they don't have access to the Eircom box....

The Cush

NBI has open-eir pole and duct access and KN are the contractor, so yes.

clohamon

Some Eircodes on the Western side of Mullingar DA are showing 'Available for pre-order'/'Ready for service'.

eirlink

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118805979#Comment_118805979

Have you a link to that map source, id like to check an area in Roscommon

clohamon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118806519#Comment_118806519

It's put together from a few sources;

For checking a specific area, look at the Department's map to find premises in an amber area, then get it's(their) eircode(s) from the eircode finder, then feed it(them) into NBI's eircode checker or use the endpoint from their map: "https://premises-api.nbi.ie/ext/premises/<EIRCODE>" The DA boundaries were extracted here on November 11th.

I’m still years away from getting connected but had a question. Most people here seem pretty knowledgable….you’re supporting the engineers, organising your own ducting, advising beginners on entry points, getting cherry pickers….effectively facilitating the whole process.

most I imagine won’t be doing this. They’ll be relying on engineers turning up and installing from end to end, dealing with driveways and anything else in the way

from reading this thread it seems that unless you’re pretty ‘hands-on’ it’s just not going to get done. Is that a fair assessment?

heavydawson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118812714#Comment_118812714

No, I don't think it's that bad. A lot of us are just proactive about ensuring there are no delays. You can rest assured that while you might have hiccups, it will eventually get done.

The only gotcha for most people is issues with underground ducting on their own land. Any ducting on the road will be taken care of by NBI (and their sub-contractors) Most if not all of the road ducting issues will be sorted as part of the network build as they need to run the fibre through those ducts.

The only work you can do ahead of time is to figure out if your existing phone line comes into your house via a duct or overhead wire.

If it's an overhead wire, then you've nothing to do. A couple of users here have had the installers realize they need a new pole closer to the house on the road. In that case, you still have nothing to do. NBI will arrange for the pole to be installed, but it might delay the installation by a few weeks.

If it's a duct, you can attempt to have someone check it (some ducts will have draw strings left in them from their initial installation). NBI will attempt to put the fibre through any private ducts but if they hit issues, its on the homeowner to resolve them (as it should be).

One way to look at it is that there are a hell of lot more people connected to the network already than there are on this forum, so don't stress it. The installers have seen plenty at this stage.

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118812714#Comment_118812714

Nope., Some folks just want the cleanest install possible

One could argue it's being pretty smart!

joe123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118812714#Comment_118812714

No, Its the 1% of people in here and probably an even smaller percentage that are actually going ahead doing their own ducting etc.

The majority that will get installs are people that dont even know what Fibre is, nevermind what the NBI are. As mentioned, it probably just means slightly quicker installs if folk are prepared ahead of time.

Worst case scenario when 2026 comes, installers will come out, tell you they need to unblock a duct or something adding a small delay to the install.

WestWicklow1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118812951#Comment_118812951

Having read this...

UNDERGROUND CONNECTION

If an overhead connection is not possible, or you already have some suitable underground ducting in place at your property, then the engineer may install the cable underground (including unblocking ducting if necessary). Once this is agreed, the engineer will discuss with you where you would like the cable to enter your premises. We will place a small NBI™ network unit on the wall inside your premises. This then connects to the modem supplied by your preferred retail broadband provider.

here...

https://nbi.ie/installation-of-new-underground-ducting-on-a-home-or-business-premises/

I took it that there would be no cost to the homeowner.

Was that wishful thinking on my part?

heavydawson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118813723#Comment_118813723

That's a fair point. I very much doubt if they can't unblock it that they'll install new ducting for you though! Pretty sure it's best effort, and if they cannot unblock it, it's up to the homeowner to remedy the situation