Choosing a FTTH provider

emmettu2

I would be very grateful if you could advise me on which package to go for. FTTH is now available at our home, a new-build in an estate in Cork.


I've had a great 4G broadband solution (150MB+) with a PAYG sim (20 euro) but they've had an outage, so it's a good time to get broadband.


My preferences are for 1000mb, no limits, 12 month contract, good customer support if anything goes wrong. All the following offer me 1000mb FTTH:


- Eir: €55, 24-month contract
- Vodafone: €40, 12-month contract
- Pure Telecom: €40, 12-month contract
- Airwire: €79.99
- Digiweb: about €62, 12-month contract


I understand Digiweb have the best support, but it's a lot more €. So it feels like a shoot-out between Pure Telecom and Vodafone. Based on Trustpilot reviews, it feels like Pure Telecom might win?


But I don't know anything about Pure Telecom.



Grateful for any advice! Thanks.

alec76

I would go with the Pure FTTH.
Unlike others they fully based on Eir's network, If you do traceroute and see all the hops , they own absolutely nothing , no DNS servers, no gateways etc, all routing done by Eir . I believe it is the good thing BTW , as the Eir's network is top of the art , by miles better than Vodafone, Sky etc and probably better than Digiweb. Only trouble with Eir - their customer care not existing.
With Pure you got best of two worlds : Eir network and great Customer Care by Pure.
If you move to Vodafone you'll see the difference almost immediately , especially if it is busy estate.
Vodafone only using OpenEir network from your house up to exchange and after that using their own , sometimes third party links ( interconnect ) which often heavily congested and you'll be very lucky to see Gigabit speeds there.

Belfunk

Nervously signed up to Pure on Siro a couple of weeks ago with activation last Monday. Thinking about it i'm not sure why i was nervous replacing my "fibre powered" provider who i've been with for over 10 years. Pure have been excellent so far.

emmettu2

Thank you both - I am going to go with Pure then. They said I can also back out of the contract within 14 days if I am not happy with it, so it seems worth a shot.

Johnboy316

What modem do Pure send out with their FTTH packages?
I'm contemplating leaving Digiweb where I'm currently using the Fritz 7530

emmettu2

I have asked them that question about the modem now, so I'll post here when they reply.

When I asked Digiweb why their deal is better than Pure's, they referenced the modem: "Zyxel modem is used by Pure Telecom, which in turn does not offer good wifi output and access to it is limited. We offer a German made Fritz modem, it is an award winning modem. It has some fantastic reviews."

shanec1928

whats the deal with pure having no pricing online.

emmettu2

I'm not sure. For me, last week, I filled out a form late at night, and got a call first thing the next morning with my offer. I then received it in writing by email. However, bonkers.ie had correct pricing for them. That's how I heard about them initially.

Ger Roe

For info, I have been with Pure for over five years now and have found the service to be stable and reliable, the cost comparable to, or less than some other providers and the customer service to be attentive knowledgeable and helpful.

I review my options every year and still reckon they come out as the best option.
I have no other connection to the company, simply a satisfied customer.

CoBo55

Ger Roe wrote: »

For info, I have been with Pure for over five years now and have found the service to be stable and reliable, the cost comparable to, or less than some other providers and the customer service to be attentive knowledgeable and helpful.

I review my options every year and still reckon they come out as the best option.
I have no other connection to the company, simply a satisfied customer.

Will pure give you the credentials to use your own router?

Ger Roe

CoBo55 wrote: »

Will pure give you the credentials to use your own router?

Yes, I upgraded myself and found them to be very helpful. They gave me all the details to set my new router up.

CoBo55

Ger Roe wrote: »

Yes, I upgraded myself and found them to be very helpful. They gave me all the details to set my new router up.

Brilliant, thanks for that, saves the hassle of re-entering passwords on everything...

Wizard!

emmettu2 wrote: »

- Digiweb: about €62, 12-month contract

There is an offer running for 25e
https://digiweb.ie/lightning-ftth-broadband-1000/

alec76

Wizard! wrote: »

There is an offer running for 25e
https://digiweb.ie/lightning-ftth-broadband-1000/

...for the first 3 month of course and €65 thereafter which brings you to €55 average.

emmettu2

So, Pure Telecom say they use the Huawei F2000 modem.

Would I need to upgrade that to get the most out of the 1000mb FTTH broadband? I have a Huawei B818 4G modem and a Deco m5 mesh network - does that help?

Thanks!

JimmyVik

My first year with Eir is up at the start of April.
€40 pm for 150Mb plus phone and calls.
I am happy with it at that price.
But of course im going to have to move because they wont give me that price ongoing.
I hate having to switch every year.

sphinxicus

Ger Roe wrote: »

Yes, I upgraded myself and found them to be very helpful. They gave me all the details to set my new router up.

Did they happen to give you the SIP credentials too (if you are using your phone through them VoIP)?

alec76

emmettu2 wrote: »

So, Pure Telecom say they use the Huawei F2000 modem.

Would I need to upgrade that to get the most out of the 1000mb FTTH broadband? I have a Huawei B818 4G modem and a Deco m5 mesh network - does that help?

Thanks!

F2000 is very poor WIFI access point.
Pure use F2000 from Eir ( they never even bothered replace Eir's WIFI SSIDs with their own and FRITZBOX ( last one very good btw)
Good news if you have Deco M5 you don't need ANY router supplied by Pure at all. Deco M5 could handle connection on it is own . ( You need to configure PPPoE settings for Pure and don't forget to tag VLAN10)
ps. You might consider to hardwire Deco units together if you want to see wireless speeds higher than 150-200 Mbps from the satellites

emmettu2

Oh cool, thank you for that. Just signed up now.

Belfunk

Pure sent me the Fritz 7530 last week. 500/50 package.

WLad

Belfunk wrote: »

Pure sent me the Fritz 7530 last week. 500/50 package.

How are you finding them so far? do you get your speeds in the evening?

almee

I’m down to get Pure installed tomorrow, they’ve sent me the zyxel modem. I’m moving from virgin. I’ve got my own asus modem to hook it up to, but might look into just going directly through the ASU’s and forgetting about the zyxel.

CoBo55

almee wrote: »

I’m down to get Pure installed tomorrow, they’ve sent me the zyxel modem. I’m moving from virgin. I’ve got my own asus modem to hook it up to, but might look into just going directly through the ASU’s and forgetting about the zyxel.

Definitely the way to go. Keep the zyxel in a drawer somewhere as they might ask for it back if you change provider (office short of paperweights)

daraghwal

Pure told me I could request a fritz!box when ordering. When I went to do the order I forgot to request one and ended up with the f2000. It's probably possible to complain about the wifi coverage and swap for a fritz!box 7530

JimmyVik

Vodafone giving 1Gbit plus phone and calls for €40 pm.

Johnboy316

Cheers for the responses folks, really appreciate it.

Was hoping to stay with digiweb as their modem seems to work well but their pricing is too high

emmettu2

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I was activated on Pure Telecom pretty quickly (less than one week). I received the Huaweii F2000 modem. I can get about 220mb if I am in the same room on iPhone XS / MacBook Pro, but I am paying for 1000mb. I tried to contact support by email to see if I could improve the speeds or range, or to see if I could try the Fritzbox router that others received. After 5 days and 2 emails, I received no reply. So I tried the call support. After being disconnected a couple of times, I finally got through to someone. They advised that it's normal not to achieve 1000mb on wifi, and that it wasn't possible to try the Fritzbox modem.

As I was hoping for higher speeds and reliable and easy support, I am a bit disappointed. I will think about it some more, but I am inclined to cancel my contract as I am within my 14 days.

For others considering Pure Telecom, I would suggest what daraghwal mentioned above - request the Fritzbox router before signing up. It sounds like that might be faster and have better range.

JimmyVik

I think you can buy your own router too elsewhere.
Im sure people can advise the best one to buy.

CoBo55

emmettu2 wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I was activated on Pure Telecom pretty quickly (less than one week). I received the Huaweii F2000 modem. I can get about 220mb if I am in the same room on iPhone XS / MacBook Pro, but I am paying for 1000mb. I tried to contact support by email to see if I could improve the speeds or range, or to see if I could try the Fritzbox router that others received. After 5 days and 2 emails, I received no reply. So I tried the call support. After being disconnected a couple of times, I finally got through to someone. They advised that it's normal not to achieve 1000mb on wifi, and that it wasn't possible to try the Fritzbox modem.

As I was hoping for higher speeds and reliable and easy support, I am a bit disappointed. I will think about it some more, but I am inclined to cancel my contract as I am within my 14 days.

For others considering Pure Telecom, I would suggest what daraghwal mentioned above - request the Fritzbox router before signing up. It sounds like that might be faster and have better range.

Have you tried a speedtest on a wired connection? Just to make sure you're actually setup for the 1gig speed.

alec76

220 mbps WIFI speeds quite normal for F2000, you’ll get up to 500 -550mbps WIFI with the Fritzbox .
Why won’t you use Deco APs ? ( they not great , but definitely better than F2000 and if you could wire each Deco units with Ethernet cable you definitely will get better than Fitzbox’s coverage and speeds )

emmettu2

Thanks! I don't have any devices with an ethernet port that I can check the line speed unfortunately. Good to know those comparison speeds between the two routers.

alec76

Don’t you have MacBook with Ethernet port? ( although Mac OS computers not great for the Ethernet speeds too, I’ll be surprised if you get much over 350 mbps on Mac)

Ah-Watch

alec76 wrote: »

220 mbps WIFI speeds quite normal for F2000, you’ll get up to 500 -550mbps WIFI with the Fritzbox .

This. I told them on the very first call not to send me the F2000 because it was a heap of absolute junk and I went through 5 of them in one year with Eir and they promised to send the Fritzbox. The F2000 arrived and was the only modem there on install date. The speeds constantly sat between 25-35meg on wifi on their 500meg bundle, often dropping completely and needing to reboot. I pushed and pushed them to send out the Fritzbox (or basically anything other than the F2000). It did take 3 weeks but they sent out the Fritzbox and the speeds on my Macbook on wifi along with my 12 Pro were anything between 300meg and 400 meg. The difference was night and day. I think they said the phone service wouldn't work if I was using the Fritzbox instead which didn't make much difference really once the connection was solid and not once has there been an issue since. Very happy outside of the modem issue with Pure. They'd do themselves a favor by not even stocking the F2000!

emmettu2

alec76 wrote: »

Don’t you have MacBook with Ethernet port? ( although Mac OS computers not great for the Ethernet speeds too, I’ll be surprised if you get much over 350 mbps on Mac)

No, this one has exactly one port. So I bought an adapter so I could at least have USB. No ethernet. Same on my MacBook Air.

alec76

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-PowerExpand-Delivery-Ethernet-Chromebook/dp/B07PPGWQ15/ref=pd_lpo_107_t_1/261-5028591-3795720?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07PPGWQ15&pd_rd_r=22febb5d-ae79-449a-9b5d-543168eeae1e&pd_rd_w=Ut7ix&pd_rd_wg=cM4nP&pf_rd_p=da0677f5-a47b-4543-8b54-10be576b8f26&pf_rd_r=39RNGR8PH010NV3ZRQPG&psc=1&refRID=39RNGR8PH010NV3ZRQPG

emmettu2

alec76 wrote: »

220 mbps WIFI speeds quite normal for F2000, you’ll get up to 500 -550mbps WIFI with the Fritzbox .
Why won’t you use Deco APs ? ( they not great , but definitely better than F2000 and if you could wire each Deco units with Ethernet cable you definitely will get better than Fitzbox’s coverage and speeds )

I tried to use Deco but failed. I will reset them and go through the setup again. What are "APs"?

CoBo55

emmettu2 wrote: »

I tried to use Deco but failed. I will reset them and go through the setup again. What are "APs"?

Access points.

homah_7ft

Has anyone switched from one openeir FTTH provider to another. Vodafone say they have a 50euro installation fee. Why would they need to send an engineer? When I switched from EIR FTTH to sky FFTH they just posted out a new router.

alec76

homah_7ft wrote: »

Has anyone switched from one openeir FTTH provider to another. Vodafone say they have a 50euro installation fee. Why would they need to send an engineer? .

They won’t send you an engineer, it is just a fee.
OpenEir charging ISP for every new customer €100 ( regardless if it is brand new installation or just switching providers),some of ISP passing this fee ( or part of it ) to the customer and some not.

homah_7ft

What struck me as odd is that it is eircode specific and they are actually sending an engineer.