Broadband in Cork

corks finest

run_Forrest_run wrote: »

I did contact them via DM on Twitter and yes, they replied to me fairly promptly. However, their response was a token "we are looking into the issue" and then a few hours later I received a text from them with an issue ID for reference. Jump forward 2 days later and I receive another text saying they are still looking into the issue and further investigation is required. This is their form, I've had an identical experience last year, they pretend to act promptly but over time the texts stop coming and there's no closure on the original issue they raised.

I even asked them on Twitter to tell me what the actual problem is but I heard nothing back. I honestly feel they are doing nothing and have no idea about the problem, it's all smoke and mirrors.

Post it publicly,obviously not personal details etc but a broad outline of why you’re pissed off, keep at it , I plagued them on Twitter with speedtest screenshots a few times daily , got tech support onto it, changed 3 modems( this is their run of the mill sorting)
Eventually they didn’t charge me for months, problems have mostly gone but not all,it’s annoying but definitely better than eir etc, ps all screenshots etc were in a DM on Twitter

seefin

corks finest wrote: »

Brother has sky in Bishopstown ( ****e)

Is it slow or use it that it goes down alot? Does he have fibre connection?

corks finest

seefin wrote: »

Is it slow or use it that it goes down alot? Does he have fibre connection?

No fibre and yes slows down, he’s in Firgrove

65535

TheDriver wrote: »

Don't forget Eir FTTH which is like siro and usually available in places outside a town and not served by siro or VM

Thanks. Indeed, I spotted that, however it is posted in Cork City so I left it out.

corks finest

65535 wrote: »

Thanks. Indeed, I spotted that, however it is posted in Cork City so I left it out.

On a side note bloody cloudflare stopping me posting directly anyone else having these issues, happening more regularly now on boards

corks finest

65535 wrote: »

Thanks. Indeed, I spotted that, however it is posted in Cork City so I left it out.

Cloudflare preventing me replying directly, anyone else having problems? Thanks

ofcork

ofcork wrote: »

Im in the northside get about 60mb/s with eir fibre to the cabinet.

My speed is down to 21mb tonight first time ive seen a drop like that.

corks finest

ofcork wrote: »

My speed is down to 21mb tonight first time ive seen a drop like that.

My siro speeds dropped to Fzsll a few times of late, from 440 plus to 35/40

Pen Rua

corks finest wrote: »

My siro speeds dropped to Fzsll a few times of late, from 440 plus to 35/40

@ Corkfinest - what's your experience with SIRO? And which provider are you with? Looking at moving to a new place which is only serviced by SIRO, so would love to hear your experience of it in Cork.

corks finest

Pen Rua wrote: »

@ Corkfinest - what's your experience with SIRO? And which provider are you with? Looking at moving to a new place which is only serviced by SIRO, so would love to hear your experience of it in Cork.

With VF, generally fantastic - had hassle with them for months but didn't get charged, we run lots of devices no problems now, yes can dip occasionally, but I unplug router a few times a week then back great again immediately.
This morning my WiFi speed on my one plus 7 Pro reads 490.
We're in Carrigaline, I find their customer care service outstanding, pm of more information required

Janet_Yellen

I've found Vodafone to be much better than eir (in every way)

seefin

Discovered have fibre to the home, not siro but something else(?). Signed up with Sky . Surely speeds will be ok with them , they said guaranteed 50mb but should be over 300mb. Anyone have any experience of them using ftth? Also the sales guy said there may be a higher connection charge if they have to do any digging to bring the connection into the home.

corks finest

Janet_Yellen wrote: »

I've found Vodafone to be much better than eir (in every way)

Same

TheDriver

Janet_Yellen wrote: »

I've found Vodafone to be much better than eir (in every way)

True but have found others to be better again. Check out siro website for other retailers.

Cork Trucker

Vodafone all day long

corks finest

corks finest wrote: »

With VF, generally fantastic - had hassle with them for months but didn't get charged, we run lots of devices no problems now, yes can dip occasionally, but I unplug router a few times a week then back great again immediately.
This morning my WiFi speed on my one plus 7 Pro reads 490.
We're in Carrigaline, I find their customer care service outstanding, pm of more information required

424.2

Mbps download

189.4

Mbps upload

Latency: 8 ms
Server: Dublin
Your Internet connection is very fast.

Your Internet connection should be able to handle multiple devices streaming HD videos, video conferencing and gaming at the same time.

LEARN MORE
WiFi speed 00.24 Mon morning on phone

NeuralNetwork

There's nothing particularly unique about broadband in Cork City and the quality of connections varies depending on a load of factors - notably the technology being used, but also the backhaul that various networks have available to them.

VDSL technologies are distance-dependent in a way that FTTH and cable networks are not.

Next Generation Access (NGA):

Fixed line:

Fibre to Home (FTTH) - up to 1Gbit/s (and capable of supporting 10Gbit/s over same infrastructure.)

OpenEir - running on same ducts and poles as the copper phone networks and using the telephone exchanges as aggregation points. They're doing a fairly big expansion of rollout in urban areas at the moment, for example all the areas served by Quaker Road and Wellington Road telephone exchanges are being wired at the moment.

Siro (Joint venture between ESB/Vodafone) running over the same routes, ducts and poles as the ESB electricity network.

Both of these are wholesale access networks, so you order from a range of retailers. It's worth noting though that they do not provide the backhaul for these products, so the performance may be better on some ISPs than others.

Both of those networks are now fairly aggressively rolling out in the urban areas having initially focused on areas that were not well served by Virgin.

Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) -

Virgin Media. Capable of providing 1Gbit/s.

Good coverage in the City - less so in the commuter towns.

Closed network so only Virgin's products are available.

Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC)

OpenEir using VDSL from street cabinets. This runs up to 100mbit/s down and 20mbit/s up but drops off in speed quite rapidly depending on distance from cabinet.

OpenEir also sell exchange-launched VDSL which is sometimes slower but still reasonable enough.

Wholesale network with multiple ISPs, and the quality of backhaul varies, so do your research!

VDSL will be replaced by full FTTH as it becomes more widespread and people swap over.

Exchange-based VDSL is also sometimes the only option in areas that have older duct networks where installing cabinets wasn't practical. So, you can sometimes encounter it more in the older parts of the city centre and also pre-1970s housing estates where the way the wiring for phones was done simply didn't make cabinets all that feasible. FTTH will replace this.

Wireless access:

Multiple providers, and primarily focused on more rural locations.

E.g. Nova Networks, Imagine and a number of smaller ones. The technologies in use vary so it's worth researching very thoroughly before signing up.

Legacy products:

ADSL2:

Exchange-launched ADSL2 is up to 24mbit/s and is basically a legacy product that isn't really relevant to most anymore. There are no exchange areas in the City that don't support VDSL.

ISDN:

Legacy TDM product being shut down by 2024.

Best options:

1. FTTH with a decent ISP through either OpenEir or Siro.

2. Virgin Cable.

3. VDSL (FTTC)

4. VDSL (Direct from exchange)

5. Some of the wireless providers, but not all of their products.

Beyond that you're looking at not really NGA anymore.

corks finest

NeuralNetwork wrote: »

There's nothing particularly unique about broadband in Cork City and the quality of connections varies depending on a load of factors - notably the technology being used, but also the backhaul that various networks have available to them.

VDSL technologies are distance-dependent in a way that FTTH and cable networks are not.

Next Generation Access (NGA):

Fixed line:

Fibre to Home (FTTH) - up to 1Gbit/s (and capable of supporting 10Gbit/s over same infrastructure.)

OpenEir - running on same ducts and poles as the copper phone networks and using the telephone exchanges as aggregation points. They're doing a fairly big expansion of rollout in urban areas at the moment, for example all the areas served by Quaker Road and Wellington Road telephone exchanges are being wired at the moment.

Siro (Joint venture between ESB/Vodafone) running over the same routes, ducts and poles as the ESB electricity network.

Both of these are wholesale access networks, so you order from a range of retailers. It's worth noting though that they do not provide the backhaul for these products, so the performance may be better on some ISPs than others.

Both of those networks are now fairly aggressively rolling out in the urban areas having initially focused on areas that were not well served by Virgin.

Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) -

Virgin Media. Capable of providing 1Gbit/s.

Good coverage in the City - less so in the commuter towns.

Closed network so only Virgin's products are available.

Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC)

OpenEir using VDSL from street cabinets. This runs up to 100mbit/s down and 20mbit/s up but drops off in speed quite rapidly depending on distance from cabinet.

OpenEir also sell exchange-launched VDSL which is sometimes slower but still reasonable enough.

Wholesale network with multiple ISPs, and the quality of backhaul varies, so do your research!

VDSL will be replaced by full FTTH as it becomes more widespread and people swap over.

Exchange-based VDSL is also sometimes the only option in areas that have older duct networks where installing cabinets wasn't practical. So, you can sometimes encounter it more in the older parts of the city centre and also pre-1970s housing estates where the way the wiring for phones was done simply didn't make cabinets all that feasible. FTTH will replace this.

Wireless access:

Multiple providers, and primarily focused on more rural locations.

E.g. Nova Networks, Imagine and a number of smaller ones. The technologies in use vary so it's worth researching very thoroughly before signing up.

Legacy products:

ADSL2:

Exchange-launched ADSL2 is up to 24mbit/s and is basically a legacy product that isn't really relevant to most anymore. There are no exchange areas in the City that don't support VDSL.

ISDN:

Legacy TDM product being shut down by 2024.

Best options:

1. FTTH with a decent ISP through either OpenEir or Siro.

2. Virgin Cable.

3. VDSL (FTTC)

4. VDSL (Direct from exchange)

5. Some of the wireless providers, but not all of their products.

Beyond that you're looking at not really NGA anymore.

Forgive my ignorance but what's backhaul?
Thanks

seefin

Thanks neuralnetwork, that was really useful. So if sky are using ftth( eir) , then speeds should be guaranteed to be decent?

NeuralNetwork

corks finest wrote: »

Forgive my ignorance but what's backhaul?
Thanks

Think of it as the motorway network that carries the data behind the scenes. It's the backbone network that carries traffic.

You could think of the products as being assembled like this:

Access Network

This is the bit that directly interfaces with your house or office.

It's fibre optic, coaxial or copper wires or a radio signal that connects you to the network.

This is the bit that your ISP usually advertises the speed of i.e. up to 100mbit/s VDSL or Gigabit Fibre or Cable etc.

Backhaul Network

This is a network made up of routers and fibre optic lines that are either owned or leased by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). They aggregate (gather) traffic from the access network and carry it around the country.

Peering

This will also usually contain connections to 'peering' sites like INEX (Irish Neutral Exchange) and the Cork Internet Exchange (CIX) (which is also an INEX node) where traffic is interconnected to other Irish ISPs as well as popular international, high-demand services to minimise overhead. The more peering the better! It means routing is more efficient and the distances involved are reduced, so you get better performance.

Some of the larger ISPs also have their own private peering arrangements with high demand services.

INEX members: https://www.inex.ie/about-us/inex-members/

International Network

These are networks that are sometimes owned, but often simply leased capacity on major international fibre routes and connect your ISP to major hubs around the world. The higher the capacity and fewer the hops to popular destinations, the better the end user experience.

To get a top performing ISP, you need to be good on all of these levels.

For example, if you have an OpenEir or Siro gigabit line, that only covers the access network. If your ISP isn't great for backhaul, peering or international connectivity, your high speed local access won't avoid those bottlenecks.

A lot of people think that other companies just resell Eir's ISP service. They don't. Rather, they just use OpenEir's access network. The rest of the network is owned or assembled from leasing arrangements by them.

For example, Sky Broadband is running over largely BT Ireland's networks and is managed for Sky by them. The only Eir involvement is the access network.

Siro also does not provide any internet services, it's purely an access network and the same will apply to the NBI rural fibre services.

corks finest

NeuralNetwork wrote: »

Think of it as the motorway network that carries the data behind the scenes. It's the backbone network that carries traffic.

You could think of the products as being assembled like this:

Access Network

This is the bit that directly interfaces with your house or office.

It's fibre optic, coaxial or copper wires or a radio signal that connects you to the network.

This is the bit that your ISP usually advertises the speed of i.e. up to 100mbit/s VDSL or Gigabit Fibre or Cable etc.

Backhaul Network

This is a network made up of routers and fibre optic lines that are either owned or leased by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). They aggregate (gather) traffic from the access network and carry it around the country.

Peering

This will also usually contain connections to 'peering' sites like INEX (Irish Neutral Exchange) and the Cork Internet Exchange (CIX) (which is also an INEX node) where traffic is interconnected to other Irish ISPs as well as popular international, high-demand services to minimise overhead. The more peering the better! It means routing is more efficient and the distances involved are reduced, so you get better performance.

Some of the larger ISPs also have their own private peering arrangements with high demand services.

INEX members: https://www.inex.ie/about-us/inex-members/

International Network

These are networks that are sometimes owned, but often simply leased capacity on major international fibre routes and connect your ISP to major hubs around the world. The higher the capacity and fewer the hops to popular destinations, the better the end user experience.

To get a top performing ISP, you need to be good on all of these levels.

For example, if you have an OpenEir or Siro gigabit line, that only covers the access network. If your ISP isn't great for backhaul, peering or international connectivity, your high speed local access won't avoid those bottlenecks.

A lot of people think that other companies just resell Eir's ISP service. They don't. Rather, they just use OpenEir's access network. The rest of the network is owned or assembled from leasing arrangements by them.

For example, Sky Broadband is running over largely BT Ireland's networks and is managed for Sky by them. The only Eir involvement is the access network.

Siro also does not provide any internet services, it's purely an access network and the same will apply to the NBI rural fibre services.

Thanking you that's comprehensive as it was generally gobbly gook to me prior to this explanation

Dbu

Hi,
Looking at Pure Telecom for Siro
have been with VF for years but they wont drop the price for existing customers.....great thanks

Has anyone experience of Pure Telecom bb and in particular siro from them?
Thanks
D

TheDriver

Dbu wrote: »

Hi,
Looking at Pure Telecom for Siro
have been with VF for years but they wont drop the price for existing customers.....great thanks

Has anyone experience of Pure Telecom bb and in particular siro from them?
Thanks
D

I was the same, they took a fiver off the full price. Didn't believe me when I said I was leaving. so I left.
PURE are great, I got the gig for 35 for 12 months. Its BT backhaul, works perfectly. Wired, I get 920-940 consistently.
I can't see myself going back to VF to be honest, endless hours on wait, pressing numbers, passed between departments and always ending up with COMREG because no one wants to sort billing issues.

corks finest

TheDriver wrote: »

I was the same, they took a fiver off the full price. Didn't believe me when I said I was leaving. so I left.
PURE are great, I got the gig for 35 for 12 months. Its BT backhaul, works perfectly. Wired, I get 920-940 consistently.
I can't see myself going back to VF to be honest, endless hours on wait, pressing numbers, passed between departments and always ending up with COMREG because no one wants to sort billing issues.

Joking?, those speeds are serious

TheDriver

corks finest wrote: »

Joking?, those speeds are serious

No joking, I have a PC wired to the router and using the speedtest app, I always get 900+ speeds down, 100 up. Obviously on wifi etc, it isn't as good but my laptop can get 500-600 on wifi, phones can get 250-300. Things like TVs or firestick can get 300. I have my own mesh system so I don't use the router wifi (it's only a 100 quid set of 3).
Never get buffering, outages etc.
Having said that, if the 500 package was cheaper (wasn't at the time) then I'd go for that.

corks finest

TheDriver wrote: »

No joking, I have a PC wired to the router and using the speedtest app, I always get 900+ speeds down, 100 up. Obviously on wifi etc, it isn't as good but my laptop can get 500-600 on wifi, phones can get 250-300. Things like TVs or firestick can get 300. I have my own mesh system so I don't use the router wifi (it's only a 100 quid set of 3).
Never get buffering, outages etc.
Having said that, if the 500 package was cheaper (wasn't at the time) then I'd go for that.

That's bloody great, I'm happy with VF mostly, but speeds do drop dramatically at times,
I'm paying e45 siro gigabit (Vodafone)

Could u do me a favour Pls?
Speed test it via ookla and as when I use speed test. Net I get massive speeds, but when I test via ookla the results drop big time

TheDriver

corks finest wrote: »

That's bloody great, I'm happy with VF mostly, but speeds do drop dramatically at times,
I'm paying e45 siro gigabit (Vodafone)

Could u do me a favour Pls?
Speed test it via ookla and as when I use speed test. Net I get massive speeds, but when I test via ookla the results drop big time

Isn't speedtest.net and Ookla the same thing? I use the app on pc etc rather than the website.
Issue with VF is that they've a lot of customers on their backhaul Vs small crowds reselling BT or enet backhaul siro.

corks finest

TheDriver wrote: »

Isn't speedtest.net and Ookla the same thing? I use the app on pc etc rather than the website.
Issue with VF is that they've a lot of customers on their backhaul Vs small crowds reselling BT or enet backhaul siro.

So

speedtest.net consistently gives me close on double the speed results compared to ookka,
And also used other speed tests and results same,
Also when I'd issues with vf they consistently asked me to check my speeds via speedtest.net and didn't want to know about results from any other

Ps I'm checking speeds via nvidia shield
wired directly

pwurple

Correct me if I'm wrong here...

I'm urban Cork, south side. Living in this house for 8 years, and have never had broadband. One of a few houses that were built on the garden of another larger house. Seem to have been missed with communication infrastructure in general when they were built, and have not been able to ever get it fixed.

House is not Siro enabled.
No physical phoneline, the pole blew down in a storm years ago and was never replaced by eircom. It was rubbish anyway, very lossy. No phoneline means we cannot access vodaphone, eir, sky etc.
Virgin Media - No service available
Nova networks have told me the coverage isn't good here.
We are ~110m from the nearest fibre enabled cabinet.

So, apart from the crappy 3G/4G hotspots and dongles I've been using, there's nothing else, right?

corks finest

pwurple wrote: »

Correct me if I'm wrong here...

I'm urban Cork, south side. Living in this house for 8 years, and have never had broadband. One of a few houses that were built on the garden of another larger house. Seem to have been missed with communication infrastructure in general when they were built, and have not been able to ever get it fixed.

House is not Siro enabled.
No physical phoneline, the pole blew down in a storm years ago and was never replaced by eircom. It was rubbish anyway, very lossy. No phoneline means we cannot access vodaphone, eir, sky etc.
Virgin Media - No service available
Nova networks have told me the coverage isn't good here.
We are ~110m from the nearest fibre enabled cabinet.

So, apart from the crappy 3G/4G hotspots and dongles I've been using, there's nothing else, right?

Feck what an infrastructure we haven't

That's hard lines