Advice: No phoneline in house, which BB package should I go for?

spahndirge

I'm currently living in Waterford city and I want to get BB into my house. I'm wanting to get BB relatively cheap. The biggest problem is that I do not have a phoneline.

I called Smart Telecom and they need me to get a phoneline installed, activated by eircom so they can switch it over to Smart. This will cost me quite a good bit since I have to get the line installed and activated by eircom and then get it switched over the Smart (which I know can take a lot of time).


The other option was Satelite, but I'm not living in a fairly built up area.

The final option was NTL, but they said it won't be activated for a few months.

I don't know if there are any other options available to me, I'm sharing witha flatmate who doesn't know how long he is sticking around, so the 12 month contract is a bit of a worry for me.

Anyway, can you give me any advise on which service I should go for?

Sponge Bob

12 months of smart @ 35 a month = €420 is not much more than the installation cost ALONE for Wireless and if there is a phone line already there it is free to turn it back on at the moment.

If you cannot afford €420 a year then you cannot afford BB of any sort . Period.

NTL cable once it arrives , €25 A MONTH +/- some free months and some basic TV package . Probably €420 a year too.

spahndirge

Sponge Bob wrote:

12 months of smart @ 35 a month = €420 is not much more than the installation cost ALONE for Wireless and if there is a phone line already there it is free to turn it back on at the moment.

If you cannot afford €420 a year then you cannot afford BB of any sort . Period.

NTL cable once it arrives , €25 A MONTH +/- some free months and some basic TV package . Probably €420 a year too.

The way I was thinking about it is....I do not have phoneline in my house. Eircom charge around €150 to install it and then around €50 to activate the line, then I can look into broadband, so add another €420 on that and it's costing me over €600. It's a little steep in my book really. I was hoping to avoid the whole phoneline issue with NTL, but that won't be available for a few months.

What's the deal with Smart's wireless modem? Is it just a connector put on the phoneline that will communicate with the modem?

Sponge Bob

Its FREE at present to install a line

http://www.eircom.ie/About/Activities/internet_special_offer.pdf

Offer ends 31st of August .

jor el

spahndirge wrote:

What's the deal with Smart's wireless modem? Is it just a connector put on the phoneline that will communicate with the modem?

The wireless modem plugs into the phone line. You need a wireless network adapter in your PC to connect to the modem in order to get on the net.

Is IBB available in your area? That would seem the only other option. You may not want to go IBB though as they over sold their service in Dublin and it probably won't be long till the newer areas (Cork/Limerick/Galway/Waterford) are as bad.

The other option was Satellite, but I'm not living in a fairly built up area.

Satellites are normally put in space, so it won't really matter if you're in a built up area or not

Seriously though, I wouldn't recommend satellite as it's prohibitively expensive and the latency is terrible. Plus I believe your uplink needs a phone line anyway.

spahndirge

Thanks a million for all the helpful information guys, i rang up eircom and asked about installation.

In order to avail of the free phoneline installation, you need to be living in a ouse without a phoneline for 12 months, which I qualify for

Anyway, second dilemma I'm facing is, how can I be sure that I will be able to recieve broadband without a phone number to check? The ISP's I'm look at at the moment are Esat/BT and Smart Telecom. Although the waiting period for Smart Telecom is putting me off and I've seen a lot of bad topics about IBB.

Thanks again for all the info guys, yesterday I thought there was no chance of getting BB for a long time

beller b

jor el wrote:

The wireless modem plugs into the phone line. You need a wireless network adapter in your PC to connect to the modem in order to get on the net.

Is IBB available in your area? That would seem the only other option. You may not want to go IBB though as they over sold their service in Dublin and it probably won't be long till the newer areas (Cork/Limerick/Galway/Waterford) are as bad.

Satellites are normally put in space, so it won't really matter if you're in a built up area or not

Seriously though, I wouldn't recommend satellite as it's prohibitively expensive and the latency is terrible. Plus I believe your uplink needs a phone line anyway.

Keep away from IBB you would get better speeds with 2 tin cans & a lenght of string..

Sponge Bob

tell them the line is for broadband and if it does not pass the test then you have to pay them nothing

make sure you tell them that there is no one at home save by arrangement and give them your mobile number and the engineer will have to ring you on your mobile to get access. The engineer will basically know if it will pass before he comes out and if his answer is no then dont let him in because you dont need a non broadband capable line do you.

If there is a problem afterwards you have the engineers mobile number too

spahndirge

Thanks a million sponge bob, with your advice it's looking hopeful.

Thanks