Smart employee happy to answer questions on bb rollout

tck

thebigdude wrote:

Anyway, I live in Leeson street, and the exchange there is the Merrion exchange (coe MERD) and the subexchange is Adelaide rooad.

merrion is now beggar's bush
Adelaide is a tertiary

jimmeh

will your products have fast path enabled?

GarfieldConnoll

dub45 wrote:

A couple of questions on the practical side of things.

What consideration have Smart given to subscribers changing from their ISP to Smart so as to minimise downtime. A lot of people will be at some stage of a 12 month contract while anyone finished the contract still has to give a minimum of a month's notice.

Dub45,

Your email was forwarded to me yesterday. I'll answer here rather than mailing back. Hope that's okay.

Lots of people will be in contract, but lots more won't be.

dub45 wrote:

People dont want to be without a bb connection so what communication do smart propose with customers to enable them to give notice to their current isp so as to coordiante connection.

Have Smart looked into the time it is likely to transfer a connection to Smart.
There have been some horror stories on here of people spending long periods waiting to be connected to a new isp on transfer.

There are lots of different types of transfers. In LLU you are physically leaving the eircom network (barring the copper pair) and joining our network. We'll need to have your port configured to offer service prior to your line being moved. That's achievable.

dub45 wrote:

To be honest I am sceptical too of Smart bringing new bandwidth on line to meet new demand. How long is this likely to take? what would trigger it?
It just seems your product is a dream for people who download all day and a potential nightmare for the rest of us. Will Smart be giving any guarantees as regards quality of service?

The DSLAMs (MSAPs to be more precise) are connected to our core network on fibre. Each DSLAM has GigE interfaces. Configuring and altering the bandwidth available is completely within our control, no external influences. It's the same core network that we operate in the Enterprise space and we have in the past upgraded customers from xMB to yMB during the course of a conversation. I don't want to wander too close to promotion, but it's all possible by merit of the nature of the network.
So, we're able to upgrade the network quickly. Will we? Yes. That's what we're committing to. I don't have exact details to give you here. But we're hardly going to go to the expense of rolling out the network and then skimping on IP.

dub45 wrote:

All of the other isps are long on terms and conditions but very short on thier own obligations to customers.

Point taken.

Moriarty

Hi GarfieldConnoll, glad you're here to take some questions

Do the exchanges that are currently on the rollout plan have fixed dates with eircom on when you're planning to go into the exchange, or are the dates on your site 'asperational'?

Following on from that, would I be safe in assuming that there are no immediate plans to expand the number of exchanges once the initial rollout is completed (ie. it'll be a year or two until "new" exchanges are added to the list and actually enabled)?

Would you be able to give us a rough idea of the level of intrest you'd need before you'd consider entering an exchange?

Does smart have any plans to offer other ISP's a wholesale service over their network to compete with eircom's bitstream service?

Thanks for your time.

GarfieldConnoll

seamus wrote:

I'm going to piggyback on this one ET. Will Smart be running their own line evaluations over unbundled lines, or would it be an identical test what eircom would carry out anyway - i.e. would the raw data returned be identical?

Thanks for posting Garfield, hopefully you don't get too much abuse, it's happened in the past..

Raw data is raw data. Or should be. The difference will be in the peformance thresholds of ADSL vs. ADSL2+.

For Smart to perform the line test itself, we would have to unbundle the copper pair first, not knowing that we could definitely offer the service. That's an expensive route that we would rather avoid. We'll see how we get on in practice.

Garfield.

garthv

Well thanks for that garfield.....You basically didnt answer ANY of my questions. I dont think ill go with Smart afterall

MickFarr

koneko wrote:

I'd be interested to see what the pings are like, but as Praetorian mentioned, the upload isn't great, and both myself and my bf play online so despite the fact it sounds good on paper... it probably wouldn't be for us and our needs.

Have to agree with you. The upload is way to low and the contention ratio explantion could be worse than a 20:1 ratio! I'll wait and see how it's going next year. But it does sound almost to good!

tck

hi gareth,

thanks for taking the time to answer our questions,

so you'll still be using eircom's switches instead of installing your own ?

Hellrazer

Ive a couple of questions regarding this Broadband.

1.Any idea what the latency is like on it?I use it for gaming so low pings are important.

2.It is available in my area according to your website and Ive rang your sales to try and get someone to talk to me about switching from Eircom(Contracts up at the end of March) and nobody has gotten back to me yet.I was told it would be 30 minutes or so and 2 days later Im still waiting---How does this bode for future customer service??

3.How long to get setup from the time I order---Are the exchanges enabled now or is it just a case of your site saying that "its available in your area"?

Thanks
Richie

machalla

Can I just clarify something? As soon as you sign up for the Smart BB service through your website does that mean that smart begin the process of transferring all your calls to their telephony package? So if I were to signup today, I would be taking on the smart telephone package regardless of whether I can receive smart BB or not?

So for instance I am currently on UTV's CPS service. If I signed up today then would smart move me away from UTV even before the BB service kicks in?

That seems to be what you were saying in your first posting on the thread.

I just want to clarify this as its a bit wishy washy "we would like you to commit to our services". Do you have to or don't you?

Thanks for providing all the info you have so far. Most useful.

Emerson

Rochestown, Shankill, Bray.. Large swathe of population with "no plan".

So... any plan?

wideband

<Smartcom FAQ>
Do Smart Broadband have download or upload limits?

There is no limits on the amount of data that can be downloaded or uploaded however users whose usage is deemed excessive on a regular basis will be contacted and restrictions will be used if the activity persists.

heard that before!! use it at your own risk

<Smartcom FAQ>
How much is Smart Broadband?

Smart Telecom provides a very competitive price. We offer free self installation, free modem, optional wireless modem, a speed of 2Mbs and free line rental for your telephone, all for just €35.00 (including VAT).

the FAQ doesn't mention ......first 100,000 customers to register for Smart Broadband will receive FREE line rental FOREVER! all for just €35.00 per month (incl. VAT). .....so what is the cost of line rental for those not in the first 100,000....and is the 100,000 for Ireland or Dublin or Exchange?

<Smartcom FAQ>
How fast is Smart Telecom’s Broadband connection?

Smart Telecom offers all customers a download speed of 2Mbs and an upload speed of 128kbs. This means you can download information at a very high speed.

2Mbs / 128kbs.....whats the real advantage over 750kbps / 128kbs....minimal id say...unless you only wish to download music/videos all day..no real advantage for gaming, hosting or web surfing.

With Smart Vision (TV package)
is this through the broadband line too.....will this affect the broadband download speed??

Thanks

GarfieldConnoll

eircomtribunal wrote:

I appreciate your posting on boards very much.

My question: I was told by ComReg that LLU providers can ask the incumbent to provide them with a clean line, or clean up the line as in take carrier equipment out of it etc. and that Esat/Bt has done so with its unbundling.

Am I correct in that assumption?

P.

Don't have an answer for that. If ComReg say so, I'm sure it is.

Garfield.

WezzyB

I think Smart Vision is only for people in new developments, just like what Magnet are doing.
They provide FTTH (Fibre to the Home) which includes TV Phone and Internet.
I know that Smart are involved in the Smithfield Market Apartments, I think that they also include CCTV over their network also.

Chalk

wideband wrote:

<Smartcom FAQ>
and is the 100,000 for Ireland or Dublin or Exchange?

eircoms numbers show weve only just passed 100,000 customers on dsl in the whole country.

are smart planning on stealing all of these customers or bringing in new ones?
especially since plenty of exchanges in broadband hungry areas are not being enabled [ alot of your exchanges are covering areas where competition already exists].

100,000 would pretty much cover all your signups up for the next year or so at least, would it not?

tuxy

it looks like you did the same as most companies when deciding on what exchanges to use
just picking the ones with the highest population
would it not be smarter to pick ones with less competition
some of the towns on the list already have the option chorus,ntl cable Internet or esat's llu dsl

zorch

Garfied,

If I move over to Smart for Broadband can I keep using another voice carrier for CPS who doesn't charge Min Call Charge etc. Are Smart compelled to do it - or is that only when you have SMP as defined by Comreg.

Yes or no answer would be great

Thanks - keep up the good work!

tuxy

zorch wrote:

Garfied,

If I move over to Smart for Broadband can I keep using another voice carrier for CPS who doesn't charge Min Call Charge etc. Are Smart compelled to do it - or is that only when you have SMP as defined by Comreg.

Yes or no answer would be great

Thanks - keep up the good work!

he already said you have to use them for calls
this is how they can afford to not charge line rental

seamus

tuxy wrote:

it looks like you did the same as most companies when deciding on what exchanges to use
just picking the ones with the highest population
would it not be smarter to pick onces with less competion

Well, they are trying to run a business. The main cost is the DSLAM:customer ratio. Bigger populations mean bigger chances to get more subscribers and therefore easier to justify using that exchange.

This isn't *exactly* the same as just offering the same service as everyone else in a crowded marketplace. Self-admittedly, they're hoping that people will see that Smart are offering a faster service, cheaper, and with no line rental, and will switch to them.

In fact they're actually relying more on switchovers, as opposed to new broadband users. The offer only applies to broadband applications, and they know that those with broadband already, are much more likely to jump at this offer, than those who don't have it.

Splendid

I asked you this on the first page, but here goes again.

I don't have my phone line activated but would be interested in this. Can you activate the phone line? Or do i have to go through Eircom for that?

Gonzo

Hi Garfield
is there any plans for smart telecom to enable the exchange in Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath any time over this year or next? I currently have eircom broadband and would love to have smart broadband if it was available.

Also, will fast path be enabled for the smart broadband service where gamers could hopefully get pings as low as 20-30ms to uk servers?

GarfieldConnoll

machalla wrote:

Can I just clarify something? As soon as you sign up for the Smart BB service through your website does that mean that smart begin the process of transferring all your calls to their telephony package? So if I were to signup today, I would be taking on the smart telephone package regardless of whether I can receive smart BB or not?

No. If you sign up today, nothing changes until you go live. When you go live, we'll then route all your calls (in and out).

machalla wrote:

So for instance I am currently on UTV's CPS service. If I signed up today then would smart move me away from UTV even before the BB service kicks in?

No. You can stay with UTV's CPS. We would prefer if you moved over to us in the interim, but that's up to you.

machalla wrote:

That seems to be what you were saying in your first posting on the thread.

I just want to clarify this as its a bit wishy washy "we would like you to commit to our services". Do you have to or don't you?

To be included in the first 100K for free line rental you have to signed up for the service. You don't have to take any other service from us prior to going live with the broadband bundle.

Hope that helps.

Garfield.

GarfieldConnoll

Emerson wrote:

Rochestown, Shankill, Bray.. Large swathe of population with "no plan".

So... any plan?

Not no plan, just not sure how we're going to address those exchanges. This service works for us only if we physically colocate equipment in the eircom exchanges and backhaul all the traffic on our own fibre assets. We don't have fibre assets at this point in the areas you mentioned.

As we roll out the network, we hope to close the gaps and bring those swathes of population on net. Right now, we don't know how we're going to do that.

Not much of an answer, sorry.

GarfieldConnoll

Splendid wrote:

I asked you this on the first page, but here goes again.

I don't have my phone line activated but would be interested in this. Can you activate the phone line? Or do i have to go through Eircom for that?

Splendid,

Lots of questions today, so if I'm missing some, apologies.

The phone line doesn't need to be active, but there does need to be a phone line. We can get it moved over to our network. I'm 99% sure of that.

wideband

while ur on the subject!!

wideband wrote:

<Smartcom FAQ>
Do Smart Broadband have download or upload limits?

There is no limits on the amount of data that can be downloaded or uploaded however users whose usage is deemed excessive on a regular basis will be contacted and restrictions will be used if the activity persists.

heard that before!! use it at your own risk

<Smartcom FAQ>
How much is Smart Broadband?

Smart Telecom provides a very competitive price. We offer free self installation, free modem, optional wireless modem, a speed of 2Mbs and free line rental for your telephone, all for just €35.00 (including VAT).

the FAQ doesn't mention ......first 100,000 customers to register for Smart Broadband will receive FREE line rental FOREVER! all for just €35.00 per month (incl. VAT). .....so what is the cost of line rental for those not in the first 100,000....and is the 100,000 for Ireland or Dublin or Exchange?

<Smartcom FAQ>
How fast is Smart Telecom’s Broadband connection?

Smart Telecom offers all customers a download speed of 2Mbs and an upload speed of 128kbs. This means you can download information at a very high speed.

2Mbs / 128kbs.....whats the real advan
tage over 750kbps / 128kbs....minimal id say...unless you only wish to download music/videos all day..no real advantage for gaming, hosting or web surfing.

With Smart Vision (TV package)
is this through the broadband line too.....will this affect the broadband download speed??

Thanks

Splendid

Good stuff, thanks

Moriarty

Wideband, what exactly are you asking him?

It just looks like a rant for the fun of it to me.

egan007

Hi
Broadband is available on my line accouding to your site
If i select the option -

Don’t sign me up for Smart Broadband just yet, but I am interested in becoming a Smart customer so that I can upgrade to Smart Broadband later

Will i be included in the 1st 100000 for free line rental?

daramullally

I have signed up on the website - LUCAN, BALLYDOWD exchange which will be available in July/Ausgust. I filled in the information regarding address and eircom account no. etc. Then I was sent a Direct Debit Mandate form. Is this necessary at this stage so that I am included in the 1st 100,000 or is not needed until July/August?

I was told that someone would contact me regarding my application. How should I expect to wait for a call?

GarfieldConnoll

Moriarty wrote:

Hi GarfieldConnoll, glad you're here to take some questions

Do the exchanges that are currently on the rollout plan have fixed dates with eircom on when you're planning to go into the exchange, or are the dates on your site 'asperational'?

Moriarty, it's like any project, the closer the dates, the more sure they are. So are they aspirational? They're within anticipated project deadlines. That's not meant to be a fudge. Dates can slip for lots of reasons. They can also come in early. I'll keep the board up to date with the project rollout.

Moriarty wrote:

Following on from that, would I be safe in assuming that there are no immediate plans to expand the number of exchanges once the initial rollout is completed (ie. it'll be a year or two until "new" exchanges are added to the list and actually enabled)?

No. The exchanges identified so far made it to the list for two main reasons. 1. There are lots of lines in the exchange. 2. The exchange is close to our fibre footprint.
In some cases we've stretched the fibre footprint arguement in order to get to larger exchanges. In some cases we've 'picked up' smaller exchanges that are right beside the fibre footprint.

Moriarty wrote:

Would you be able to give us a rough idea of the level of intrest you'd need before you'd consider entering an exchange?

Does smart have any plans to offer other ISP's a wholesale service over their network to compete with eircom's bitstream service?

It really depends on backhaul. We want to do it on fibre. So we could install small DSLAMs in smaller exchanges, but the fibre backhaul is the big thing.

We don't have plans for a wholesale product at this time.

Garfield.