E-net, what are they doing in Kiltimagh?

ifconfig

I know they have launched a Metropolitan fibre ring around
Kiltimagh and that town has been progressive for a town of
its size. So no arguments about *why* they launched there.
However, I was there recently and a relative showed me a
small radio dish which was at about 8-10feet above street
level and pointing down the length of the street. It looked
like a wireless repeater.

So, what have they installed in Kiltimagh ? A fibre backbone
which other carriers can use within the town to deliver
consumer level broadband along with businesses who might
buy higher bandwidth packages?

I'm assuming that the nearest DSL equipped exchange is
in Ballina or Claremorris. So where is the internet traffic
routed from the E-net MAN out to the public internet ?
And what might the wireless repeater be doing on a section
of road which I know already was excavated to lay down
fibre encircling the town ? Might it be a wireless access point
for the benefit of whichever retail provider might purchase
capacity to be sold on as a wireless internet package ?

hmm. anyone who can explain the E-net strategy in towns
like this in English for me ??

--ifconfig

spongebob

ifconfig wrote:

hmm. anyone who can explain the E-net strategy in towns
like this in English for me ??

None !

They installed the fibre but did not connect it to anything or light it. It remains in splendid isolation under Kiltimagh to this very day.

The Wireless thang is ANOTHER Government funded project which is not IN ANY WAY connected to fibre or eNet but is a VSAT backhaul jobbie. You may use it as a slow DSL substitute I suppose.

Details are Here .

HTH

M

ifconfig

Thanks for the info and link Muck.

I stumbled across some posts on this forum about E-net and I heard a
portion of one of their interviews on the Business section on Morning
Ireland about a week ago. So, the fibre ring is inactive because there
are no customers signed up to buy from E-net or what ? I'm just interested
in what the actual story is.

Also the link
http://www.ruralbroadband.ie/docs/rbc-fly-32.pdf

is from the wireless provider you mentioned. However, they talk about
the Fibre MAN in their literature but don't make it clear that it is from
a different provider.

One last thing. What exactly is VSAT? It seems to me that the rural
broadband crowd are using 2.4GHz links (which is basically 802.11b
or similar) - is VSAT deployed via Wifi repeaters and a hub which
routes back via satellite ? I googled for VSAT and I couldn't see how
the wifi repeater concept was embedded into the deployment of
this type of access method.


thanks again for your rapid answer and pointers!

I'm moving westwards in a few months time myself and I will
be about 7 miles or more away from any town of reasonable size.
My guess is that I will have to make do with satellite broadband,eg
digiweb which means at current prices, 1.5k or so install charge and
100 Euro per month tariff. Actually it may be 15 months before I
make the move westwards. I'd say it would be safe to assume that
even satellite broadband will probably have dropped in price by then...
hopes he ) !!!
--ifconfig

spongebob

ifconfig wrote:

Thanks for the info and link Muck.

One last thing. What exactly is VSAT?

2 Way Satellite Backhaul.

ifconfig wrote:

I'm moving westwards in a few months time myself and I will
be about 7 miles or more away from any town of reasonable size.
My guess is that I will have to make do with satellite broadband,eg
digiweb which means at current prices, 1.5k or so install charge and
100 Euro per month tariff.

Try searching for Knockmore on the Board , they are the premier Group BB scheme in Mayo and the original of the species nationally. PM bminish or oscarbravo and tell them where you live/ reqs etc and ESPECIALLY if you are moving to a hilltop location with a good view

Better still get your own Group BB scheme (GBS) going. Mayo is a veritable hotbed for these.

M

bminish

Muck wrote:

IN ANY WAY connected to fibre or eNet but is a VSAT backhaul jobbie. You may use it as a slow DSL substitute I suppose.
M

It also appears to support Telex according to the pdf fact sheet.

.Brendan

thegills

They installed the fibre but did not connect it to anything or light it

Muck, I would expect you mean that Mayo CoCo sought funding for Ballina / Kiltimagh and subsequently built MAN's in both of these towns.

e-net has signed a concession agreement with the DCMNR to manage, maintain, etc. all of the MAN's. There is a process whereby each MAN is individually handed over to e-net, a process which takes up to 8 weeks. Kiltimagh has been handed over a number of weeks now; Ballina, Galway, Letterkenny, Roscommon, Athlone, Clonmel and Dungarvan have since followed.

A major part of the solution for a town is the backhaul out of the town and AFAIK the framework agreements that the DCMNR signed with ESBT and Esat BT do not cover Kiltimagh. As such e-net is now looking at backhaul options for Kiltimagh and as you can imagine, they are few and far between (RTE / radio, eircom / Fibre, etc.).

In towns where backhaul is available there has been good interest and a number of OAO's have signed up for services.

thegills

spongebob

thegills wrote:

Muck, I would expect you mean that Mayo CoCo sought funding for Ballina / Kiltimagh and subsequently built MAN's in both of these towns.

Yes TheGills . I meant what you actually said and stand corrected.

thegills wrote:

A major part of the solution for a town is the backhaul out of the town and AFAIK the framework agreements that the DCMNR signed with ESBT and Esat BT do not cover Kiltimagh. As such e-net is now looking at backhaul options for Kiltimagh and as you can imagine, they are few and far between (RTE / radio, eircom / Fibre, etc.).

Gweedore is similarly stranded without backhaul and also got a VSAT/WiFi overground solution which went live last week ...under the GBS scheme.

M

machalla

I wouldn't worry, Noel Dempsey will be round with the van and a handy dandy Eircon satellite to hook up all of the west in a flash.

thegills

What worries me is that once you start rolling out the next 88 (90) towns the backhaul options are limited to a) radio from a no. of sources and b) fibre from eircom only. Once again i could see eircom holding the state to ransom.

Drapper

E Net is not a provider but facilitator of infrastructure owned by the gov. The providers still have to use the network to make it a success.

Commercial now and next Resi.

Makes sence !!!! Costs too much for providres to lay cables in town where there is no demand.

ENet is a good thing. OPEN ACEES NEUTRAL NETWORK !!!

spongebob

thegills wrote:

What worries me is that once you start rolling out the next 88 (90) towns the backhaul options are limited to a) radio from a no. of sources and b) fibre from eircom only.

The state has instructed local authorities to plan Radio networks to deal with the 'stranding' problem as in Gweedore and Kiltimagh today.

I'm not sure how the funding for this will be disbursed but the Local Authorities will own the backhaul/mast elements in certain cases. I can think of other uses fo those masts

M

eircomtribunal

Drapper wrote:

Commercial now and next Resi.

Makes sence !!!! Costs too much for providres to lay cables in town where there is no demand.

ENet is a good thing. OPEN ACEES NEUTRAL NETWORK !!!

Let's not forget:

Ireland is unique with it's MAN's project.

How come?

Because the project is BS, but of such a big dimension that nobody dares to spell it out. The fact that it is financed to a great part by EU money does not make it less of a waste of taxpayers money.

Ballina does not need a Metropolitan Area Network, nor do any of the other towns (!).

Towns need fibre access, and this is already in existence. With intelligent regulation the existing fibre backbone could and should have been made accessible.

Ireland's bottle neck is in the last mile and not in the backhaul.


(I am not saying that the MAN's will not be useful to a certain extent in the future, but the cost/benefit relation is horrendous.)

P.

Drapper

The cost is less, read www.enet.ie , Eircom and Esat will not go to these town and how dare you say Ballina or any of the other towns do not deserve it !! All were invite to submit proposals and didnt !!!

Now lets see the companies take it up !! the MAN ins Cork is roaring and in Limerick there has been takeup """

And Galway was launched recently too !!!

BTW the MAn has Duct and Fibre inside !!! and it can convert to WOMAN (wireless over MAn) to reach other non fibre areas !!!! Wifi !!! IBB and Leap are queing up with licences to use it !!!

D

eircomtribunal

Drapper wrote:

The cost is less, read www.enet.ie

I am doubtful this price list can give rise to such conclusions.

Eircom and Esat will not go to these towns

I don't think any MAN was built to date in a place which did not have existing fibre backhaul! Or will go to any in the future.

and how dare you say Ballina or any of the other towns do not deserve it !! All were invite to submit proposals and didnt !!!

They simply do not need a fibre ring.
Any co-location and back-haul tariff E-Net will have to charge could and should have been mandated by ComReg for Eircom exchanges long time ago.

Now lets see the companies take it up !! the MAN ins Cork is roaring and in Limerick there has been takeup """
D

That would be paraphrasing Noel's misguided optimism in this matter. The Last Mile has to be cracked by LLU to make the MAN's an alternative to Eircom's backhaul.

P.

Drapper

Once again disagre. I work in an organisation promoting ENet and Eircom have made enquiries about using the network !!!

BTW the open access nature of the MAn allows access by building not along the ateries, where drops are expansive !!! This being the biggest cost !!!!!!!!!

GIVE THE MAN time !!!

:-)

REmeber what we said about LUAS ??

spongebob

I am quietly confident about the MAN model in towns where the population is over 15k or so.

Regrettably the government started the MAN strategy cack handed after a document was issued by the dept of the Taoiseach some 3 years back. It recommended a multi prong strategy including MANDATORY ducting in ALL new developments, housing or otherwise along with MANs and other whatnots.

That dismal muppet Cullen never acted on his end of it , the Planning regulations. 200,000 houses built since = 15% of the housing stock in Ireland. No ducting and no alternative last mile.

Gob****es

M

Drapper

Agreed but the gov can only suggest "DEvelopers" are the one who pull the national purse strings !!!

TRY TO EDUCATE them on the benefits of fibre !!! against Copper !!!!

Think about it !!!

FIbre to the home is in Dublin in a new Development in Baldoyle !!! I think its great !!!

100 meg for TV, Phone and BB.

Once one development is successful the other will follow !!!

A recent study concluded that Fibre adds 10% to the value of a premises !! Lets hope they see this !!!

damien

There should be a boards.ie tax on exclamation marks.

Drapper

damien.m wrote:

There should be a boards.ie tax on exclamation marks.

Oppsssssssss little finger going crazy again !!! love the aul !!! mark......

thegills

Ballina does not need a Metropolitan Area Network, nor do any of the other towns (!).

Have you told this to Ballina Beverages or MBNA in Carrick-on-Shannon?
At least 5 OAO's are using the MAN's including Esat BT.
e-net have their work cut out for them but I am confident that the DCMNR Broadband strategy is the right way to go.
e.g. Leap has launched Broadband in Limerick not using the MAN but using ESBT Telecom's network which was funded under the NDP broadband plan. The MAN's are only part of the jigsaw.

Drapper

thegills wrote:

Have you told this to Ballina Beverages or MBNA in Carrick-on-Shannon?
At least 5 OAO's are using the MAN's including Esat BT.
e-net have their work cut out for them but I am confident that the DCMNR Broadband strategy is the right way to go.
e.g. Leap has launched Broadband in Limerick not using the MAN but using ESBT Telecom's network which was funded under the NDP broadband plan. The MAN's are only part of the jigsaw.

Well said !!! I hate Gov bashing !! we are small country and we need to aknowledge this !

Dont forget the pop is the same as the greaster Manchester area, spread over the same area as 1/3 of of England !!!

Roll it out !!!

spongebob

Drapper wrote:

we are small country and we need to aknowledge this !

We are a small pretty FLAT country and we need to acknowledge this !

Where is the bleedin MAST strategy ?

M

eircomtribunal

thegills wrote:

Have you told this to Ballina Beverages or MBNA in Carrick-on-Shannon?

Do you say that they needed a fibre ring to get the type of Internet connection they needed?

P.

glav100

Hi, I visited the IRD center in Kiltimagh today to see if I could get a 100Mb/sec connection to the MAN's from the drop at the back of the IRD Offices. And to my dismay they told me that the MAN's is not lit yet and it would not be for some time. I then spoke to E-net and they informed me that it maybe connected via a 155MB/sec wireless connection from Ballina within the next 10 weeks. They did not say what company is going to suply this connection but I can tell you that if 155 is all the bandwidth they are going to get the MAN's was a total waste of time and money.

Sponge Bob

One could muse that the difference between 0 and 155mbits is a good start , Kiltimagh is not that big ?

Urban Weigl

I think the point he's making is that if 155mbits is all they are eventually going to get, what was the point of building a fibre ring in the first place?

You're right, though. And as the fibre ring is already there, it's better to do something, anything, rather than leaving it to rot away...

cgarvey

Surely they could bond/add more links if the demand was there? 155Mbps is a lot to start off with.

Urban Weigl

The whole point of fibre is that it delivers gigabits of capacity. If you acknowledge that you won't use or need that capacity, surely you acknowledge that building it in the first place was a waste of money?

Not saying that 155mbits isn't enough for Kiltimagh, it's a small enough place after all (I pass it going to Castlebar). I suppose if everybody got their own gigabit connections to the internet, like what's starting to happen in some countries, 155mbps wouldn't go very far, even for a small town. But the fibre ring wasn't designed with fibre to the home in mind, so it's not going to happen.

glav100

The thing is that I am interested in setting up a small FWA/WISP in the mayo region. maybe use 2.4Ghz or 5.8Ghz license free first to see what the uptake is. But I never realised that the connections to the Internet Backbone was going to be such a problem. If I could get beyond this the rest is in my own hands. And I obliviously could not use the MAN's in kiltimagh to connect as I would hope to need more than 155 in the future. AS I do not know who is providing the bandwidth to the kiltimagh MAN's then I would be in serious trouble if it turned out to be a FWA getting its source from Galway or elsewhere. And that could be the case.

And yes what I meant was if 155 is all they are going to get period then the MAN was a waste.

cgarvey

MANs are a waste of money, IMO. I'm merely saying there's no point in wasting more money, in putting up bonded wireless links to match the fibre's Gbps rating, until the demand is there. I'm merely pointing out that they're easier to add later, if demand warrants it. There's no point in wasting more money. If a small WISP/FWA needs more than 155mbps, then something is going very right for them.

The fact that MANs are all joined up with fibre is the bigger issue, and adds to their waste of money.

cgarvey

glav100 wrote:

But I never realised that the connections to the Internet Backbone was going to be such a problem.

If that wasn't such a huge proble, everyone in rural Ireland would have access to BB.

glav100 wrote:

And I obliviously could not use the MAN's in kiltimagh to connect as I would hope to need more than 155 in the future.

And they would hope to provide more backhaul in the future. You're a long way off needing more than 155Mbps though!!

glav100 wrote:

AS I do not know who is providing the bandwidth to the kiltimagh MAN's then I would be in serious trouble

You would be looking for an SLA from e-Net. I'm reasonably confident that e-Net would not be sourcing mickey mouse upstream providers like the small guy in Galway you portray.

glav100 wrote:

And yes what I meant was if 155 is all they are going to get period then the MAN was a waste.

It's not period, it's for now. There's no point in blowing/wasting more money on bonded wireless links if they're not going to be used. Ideally, of course, the MANs would be connected by decent fibre capacity.. but that's not the reality. I would suggest that the MAN was a waste, but not for the reason you're suggesting.

.cg

glav100

Even if it was not a problem to connect to the backbone, Rural Ireland would still not be connected. If I had gone to Kiltimagh and got connected to a lit MANs and got the bandwidth I wanted it would be in my own hands to a certain point to provide BB to customers. But if I want to avail of the Government Grants I would be hung with red tape. For example Westnet were 8 months behind in getting BB to my house. And there services are very limited to the home user. Do we really need a 1Mb to view web pages? If you browse the Internet at 64kb/sec it will be OK its when you want to download Music, movies, pdf's, large pics and so forth that you need the bandwidth. So why is it anytime I want to download a file of just 10Mb that the speed drops to less than 64Kbs. (and that is Kbs and not KBs). In my view if that is the case it is not BB. Companies that set up a WISP do not want this but the fact of it is the uptake is to slow to justify getting any more bandwidth. In kiltimagh the MAN's is not connected because the one company that would make a difference to it is not willing to use it if it was lit. That company is CMS and this is good business sense for them. If eircom provide enough bandwidth for then through they're several BB business accounts why should they use MAN's. Oh wait if it was cheaper they would.

Basically I could find places to connect and it would cost but it would be the recurring costs that make the difference.

I would require the bandwidth for more than just WISP.

As for a mickey mouse company providing the backhaul for e-net. I was dropped a name and if it were true I would not use them. But I have given my word and shall keep it.

And if it were true then it would be unlikely that anything greater that 155 would be provided. Unless the one company using it would incur the cost.

bminish

glav100 wrote:

So why is it anytime I want to download a file of just 10Mb that the speed drops to less than 64Kbs. (and that is Kbs and not KBs). In my view if that is the case it is not BB.

You would be well advised to learn the difference between KBytes per second and Kbits per second before entering the ISP market.

You are on a 1Mb bursting service this gives you 1024Kbs/sec for the first 30 seconds of any sustained download, after 30 seconds this will scale back to 512Kbs per second.

512Kbs (Kbits) = 64 KB (KBytes)
To compare with good dialup
48Kbs = 6KB

Since we reconnected you a few days ago following your unauthorised access to our CPE that took place from your premises (which required a site visit to resolve), You have downloaded just a shade under 6GB and uploaded more than 100MB. Your speed is usually hitting the upper limit of 512Kbs for sustained downloads for your service level as explained above. I have the server logs to back this up.

Your latency (ping time) to boards.ie when your connection is not full to your service level is around 12 msec.

lastly any further attempts to gain unauthorised access westnet owned equipment from your IP will result an a suspension of service.
.brendan

lucernarian

lol, burn....

Are WestNet interested in using the MAN in Kiltimagh or will it remain unused?

SkepticOne

cgarvey wrote:

MANs are a waste of money, IMO. I'm merely saying there's no point in wasting more money, in putting up bonded wireless links to match the fibre's Gbps rating, until the demand is there. I'm merely pointing out that they're easier to add later, if demand warrants it.

A very similar argument was used by Eircom and their regulator before DSL was available anywhere. Why bother spending money on it if there is little or no demand? It is like building a town in the middle of nowhere and then using the fact that no one lives there to justify not building roads out to it. While this argument is still made, such comments are thankfully rare, thanks to the efforts of IrelandOffline.

watty

There is a difference between doing nothing and providing a 155Mbps and full fiber capacity. That is adequate to connect about 100 to 500 people at some contention. More can be added later. It's not the same only providing pair gained fax speed dialup with no flat rate charge. I don't think it is a fair comparison.

bminish

To_be_confirmed wrote:

Are WestNet interested in using the MAN in Kiltimagh or will it remain unused?

Yes we would use it, if lit.

.brendan

SkepticOne

watty wrote:

That is adequate to connect about 100 to 500 people at some contention.

Good. Or a much lower number of people at internationally acceptable bandwidth.

I think it would be be more constructive to start looking at how this bandwidth can be cost-effectively distributed to the people? What are the prices of this bandwidth? If no company is taking it up at the current prices and the fibre is remaining unlit why aren't prices coming down? It is surely better to make some money at a lower price than no money. What is the lead time for delivering the service? How can that be got down? And so on.

We should be looking at more than just getting rid of splitters.

glav100

Brendan I am not downloading anything near 512kb/s. I am downloading under 64kb/s. I do not even need to look at the download speed to know this as all I need todo is look at the time taken to download. Not saying your records are not as you say they are but are they correct. I have mentioned this to your colleague already and am waiting for a reply. I am talking about Kbps not KBps. small 'b' for bit and capital 'B' for Bytes. My downloads run at 55 Kbps on average. It is not wise to use Bytes even though eight-bit byte architectures dominate today. It's to easy to confuse the two acronyms and virtually everyone use bps. I have never checked my Internet speed using a java browser application or a local application and got a download speed of 512kb/s or more it is always well under. Yes you sent a technician to my house and he said he checked my download speed for a 1MB file and he got a result of 512kb/s. Exactly 512kb/s, wow that is good bandwidth scaling.

It simply is not even close to this.

And, Mr. Minish you are very lucky man that I am not a malicious person because after you posting to a public board information about my account be it true or not, you could find yourself in a lot of hot water. Kindly be more professional and do not do the same again. As for my router been accessed from my premises, it tuck a 16 year old 10 minutes to do that. And again if I was malicious I would post the method on how do this. But keep in mind that it was not hacked in any way. Nothing that complex.

bminish

glav100 wrote:

Brendan I am not downloading anything near 512kb/s. I am downloading under 64kb/s. I do not even need to look at the download speed to know this as all I need todo is look at the time taken to download.

Since my post this morning you have downloaded another 1.5Gb. and uploaded another 40Mb Can you please explain how exactly you have managed this in 5 hours on your '64kbs' connection.

Not saying your records are not as you say they are but are they correct. I have mentioned this to your colleague already and am waiting for a reply.

My colleague replied to your e-mail yesterday, After first checking with me on your current service level.
My records are accurate and very detailed

I am talking about Kbps not KBps. small 'b' for bit and capital 'B' for Bytes. My downloads run at 55 Kbps on average. It is not wise to use Bytes even though eight-bit byte architectures dominate today. It's to easy to confuse the two acronyms and virtually everyone use bps.

You are getting in excess of 52 KBytes per second averaged over the last 5 hours.
It is you who are confused on this matter. Perhaps you should revert to dial-up for the purposes of a comparison?

I have never checked my Internet speed using a java browser application or a local application and got a download speed of 512kb/s or more it is always well under.

Using which site please? some of these sites are half way around the world, Clock a download from HEAnet or other well peered European site.
In addition to this may of these Java applications do not upload large enough files to accurately test upload speeds if they are more than a few hops away.

Yes you sent a technician to my house and he said he checked my download speed for a 1MB file and he got a result of 512kb/s. Exactly 512kb/s, wow that is good bandwidth scaling.

yes it is good bandwidth scaling, as in it works as I described earlier. You are getting your service level in full.

And, Mr. Minish you are very lucky man that I am not a malicious person because after you posting to a public board information about my account be it true or not, you could find yourself in a lot of hot water. Kindly be more professional and do not do the same again.

You are making inaccurate and defamatory claims about your ISP (My company) in a public forum. If you have a support issue bring it to us though the normal support channels please.
I simply countered your claims in the interests of protecting my company's reputation in a public forum and I have disclosed no personal information.

As for my router been accessed from my premises, it tuck a 16 year old 10 minutes to do that. And again if I was malicious I would post the method on how do this. But keep in mind that it was not hacked in any way. Nothing that complex.

You did make various unauthorised changes to the CPE (our property) eventually breaking your connection. Any further activity of this nature WILL result in you having your service suspended permanently.

Kindly refrain from posting wildly inaccurate claims about the service that we are providing you with and take up any remaining support issues you may have with us via our normal support channels.

.brendan

glav100

used this site http://www.irishisptest.com

The bandwidth test is provided by Blacknight on their servers in Dublin.
The network is peered with the Irish Internet Neutral Exchange (INEX), in Data Electronics.
Most of the other bandwidth tests you may find are based outside Ireland, so their results are not as accurate for Irish users.

po0k

glav100 wrote:

Brendan I am not downloading anything near 512kb/s. I am downloading under 64kb/s. I do not even need to look at the download speed to know this as all I need todo is look at the time taken to download. Not saying your records are not as you say they are but are they correct. I have mentioned this to your colleague already and am waiting for a reply. I am talking about Kbps not KBps. small 'b' for bit and capital 'B' for Bytes. My downloads run at 55 Kbps on average. It is not wise to use Bytes even though eight-bit byte architectures dominate today. It's to easy to confuse the two acronyms and virtually everyone use bps. I have never checked my Internet speed using a java browser application or a local application and got a download speed of 512kb/s or more it is always well under. Yes you sent a technician to my house and he said he checked my download speed for a 1MB file and he got a result of 512kb/s. Exactly 512kb/s, wow that is good bandwidth scaling.

It simply is not even close to this.

And, Mr. Minish you are very lucky man that I am not a malicious person because after you posting to a public board information about my account be it true or not, you could find yourself in a lot of hot water. Kindly be more professional and do not do the same again. As for my router been accessed from my premises, it tuck a 16 year old 10 minutes to do that. And again if I was malicious I would post the method on how do this. But keep in mind that it was not hacked in any way. Nothing that complex.

Bandwidth is in bits, rate is in bytes.

Please stop.

glav100

So do I take it that when I see my internet speed represented in bps this mean Bytes per second and not bit rate per second.

bminish

glav100 wrote:

So do I take it that when I see my internet speed represented in bps this mean Bytes per second and not bit rate per second.

Generally the following applies
bps = bits per second
Bps = Bytes per second

see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bits_per_second

.brendan

Capt'n Midnight

Drapper wrote:

REmeber what we said about LUAS ??

that each luas line provices the equilivant of 3 QBC's but it cost the same as a decade subsidy to Dublin Bus,
I wouldn't begrudge it as much if the same govt had supplied Dublin Bus with the 200 buses they requested 6 years ago...

it's just a shame there is so much dark fibre
condidering the INCREASE in the cost of houses all new ones could have had FTTH for a negligable cost increase, even ducting that third parties could use to a central box per estate.

I've posted before, telecomutting could save on new roads. on that basis it could be cheaper to upgrade/rebuild our comms network than to build more roads.

watty

Using various irish speed tests I get about 1Mbps down and 512kbps up on my 3Mbps/512Mbps account.
I'm happy with that.
1) The speed varies a lot with time of day. The package is a contented package, not Smart or Magnet DSL2 without contention.
2) I'm on a 5 year old Laptop with only 11Mbps Wifi
3) Two other Laptops (54Mbps) are on the same MIMO wifi
4) Server, 3 PCs and DMZ PS2 might be doing stuff
5) I have no idea what the other users are doing.

6) If I try on LAN with PC at odder times of day and when no-one else is using Internet here I get close to the 3Mbps.

Speed tests are usually in Bits Per Second.

Firefox, FTP and IE Explorer are actual Bytes not bits per second.

Due to protocol overheads etc your actual bps is less than package bps. Actual Bytes per second download would typically be 1/10th "package bps ordered" rather than simple 8 bits per byte. But with compression and certian types of data your Bytes can be 1/4 of "package bits per second". Jpeg, MPEG, MP3, GIF, TIF, DivX, WMA will not compress and may even get bigger if the site tries on-the-fly compression as they are already compressed till they squeak! Not good things to "zip" unless there is adaptive no-compress option.

cgarvey

SkepticOne wrote:

A very similar argument was used by Eircom and their regulator before DSL was available anywhere.

Ah come off it!!

The MAN is built. Nobody has been served by it. I agree they should light it, otherwise it's a complete waste of money. However, I'm saying that the priority should not be to get fibre-capacity backhaul, until such time that there is demand to support that but, rather, to scale the backhaul to suit the demand. It's in no way similar to DSL, the LUAS or any other bizarre analogies like that.

"MANs are a waste of money comments" are not rare, with most coming from IrelandOffline members and committee alike, so I'm not sure what your latter point was refering to. MANs were a political stunt with little planning and shared thinking. Yes, we should finish what we started (whether it was right or wrong), but to compare the arguments for MANs vs. DSL provision is laughable, IMO.

Sponge Bob

MANs have made a BIG BIG difference in the larger towns where they are up and running, Galway Limerick and Cork come to mind.

Thanks to MANs together with ESB fibre those larger towns have widespread LLU and also Fibre Carriers to your office offering 5mbits for €500 a month on a 95th percentile basis (means you can burst WELL above 5mbits for 24 hours a month) and no contention .

Compared to what was on offer in those towns only 3 years back the Mans are MANna from heaven in technological terms.

Altreab

Sponge Bob wrote:

MANs have made a BIG BIG difference in the larger towns where they are up and running, Galway Limerick and Cork come to mind.

Thanks to MANs together with ESB fibre those larger towns have widespread LLU and also Fibre Carriers to your office offering 5mbits for €500 a month on a 95th percentile basis (means you can burst WELL above 5mbits for 24 hours a month) and no contention .

Compared to what was on offer in those towns only 3 years back the Mans are MANna from heaven in technological terms.

Basically if it wasnt for the MAN's connected to ESB and ESATBT fibre there would be no real broadband availibility in Ireland today. Eircom have a LOT of dark fibre around the place. what a waste!!!

eircomtribunal

Altreab wrote:

Basically if it wasnt for the MAN's connected to ESB and ESATBT fibre there would be no real broadband availibility in Ireland today. Eircom have a LOT of dark fibre around the place. what a waste!!!

The bulk of today's broadband in Ireland is supplied via Eircom's fibre and copper network. The smaller MAN's have no function in the supply.
How much MAN-power are SMART (!), Digiweb, Magnet and BT using? Is it mostly the mobile operators who avail of the State fibre network?
P.

thegills

How much MAN-power are SMART (!), Digiweb, Magnet and BT using? Is it mostly the mobile operators who avail of the State fibre network?

You should contact e-net directly for answers to questions like this as any answer here probably won't be acurate.
thegills