broadband in Dublin suggestions?

trent

I am interested in getting broadband and my situation is as follows:

- will need to buy a new laptop
- living in Ranelagh
- house is without a phone connnection
- ntl BB service not available in area
- there would be 3 people/laptops wanting access to the broadband connection
- wireless access would be preferable


Any suggestions?

bk

If you don't want to get a phoneline, then Digiweb Metro or Clearwire are your only options.

trent

Thanks for reply. I gotta say I'm not too clued in on broadband technologies. I've read through a lot of posts and it seems to me that:

- Clearwire had a rocky start but people are happy with the service now
- Clearwire is considered a bit pricey

Any reports on Digiweb Metro? I see alot of threads on digiweb but they seem to be discussions of the technical rather than the customer satisfaction views.

Is there any consensus on digiweb metro Versus clearwire?

bk

trent wrote:

Thanks for reply. I gotta say I'm not too clued in on broadband technologies. I've read through a lot of posts and it seems to me that:

- Clearwire had a rocky start but people are happy with the service now
- Clearwire is considered a bit pricey

Any reports on Digiweb Metro? I see alot of threads on digiweb but they seem to be discussions of the technical rather than the customer satisfaction views.

Is there any consensus on digiweb metro Versus clearwire?

Well both companies are new, however the customers on both seem to be happy.

Metro is probably better (higher speeds etc.) however it requires an antena to be fitted to your house. Clearwire doesn't need anything installed, it is just a modem. So basically it depends on your needs, Metro is probably better if you are ok with the antena, generally antenas allow for higher speeds and more stable connections.

trent

Download speed Digiweb Metro = 3MB, Clearwire = 512KB
Upload speed Digiweb Metro = 512KB, Clearwire = 128KB
Contention ratio Digiweb Metro = 40:1, Clearwire = 25:1
Monthly quota Digiweb Metro = 30GB, Clearwire 8GB
Price (ex VAT) Digiweb Metro = €35, Clearwire = €37.50
Min contract term Digiweb Metro = 6 months, Clearwire = 12 months
Installation fee Digiweb Metro = €99, Clearwire = Nil


If the above is correct then as I'm not a gamer the download speed would be more important to me that the upload speed. That make sense?
Can it be said that Metro would be approx 6 times faster (3MB compared to 512KB)?
Is a high or low contention ratio favourable?
Am I missing any other important points in the above table?

RangeR

Just to clear up some clearwire inconsistancies

Not sure where you got your figures from

Clearwire offer 1Mb down : 128Kb up and 2Mb down : 256Kb up.

Don't have time to look into contention but as far as price goes, compared to DSL it's pretty good. Add line rental to your DSL price to get a much high price than Clearwire.

bk

trent wrote:

If the above is correct then as I'm not a gamer the download speed would be more important to me that the upload speed. That make sense?
Can it be said that Metro would be approx 6 times faster (3MB compared to 512KB)?
Is a high or low contention ratio favourable?
Am I missing any other important points in the above table?

One thing, Clearwire is in beta testing at the moment, no one expects those prices and specs to remain the same. I believe they also have 1 and 2m products.

Yes, 3m would be roughly 6 times faster download then 512k.

Low contention is better. The metro 40:1 contention is a bit high for my liking, but hopefully if they manage it correctly it won't be a problem. BTW Eircom's contention was 48:1 until this year, yet it never caused any problems, so it is hard to tell.

Digiweb Metro also includes a telephone service, this means you will get a telephone number and you can make and receive calls without having to get a telephone line or paying Eircom line rental. However of course Digiweb will charge you for the calls you make, prices are on their website.

trent

IrishTLR


I got my figures from the two companies websites.
See here for the download speed I quoted for the residential offering from Clearwire:

http://www.clearwire.ie/service/tariffs.html

RangeR

trent wrote:

IrishTLR


I got my figures from the two companies websites.
See here for the download speed I quoted for the residential offering from Clearwire:

http://www.clearwire.ie/service/tariffs.html

Yeah, Clearwire's website is really letting them down. They said that they would be updating it before go live. But originally that was in September. The date keeps slipping. Ho3ver, I have their 2Mb product and I can't really fault it, for the moment.

After it gets populated with more customers, this may change. We'll see.

Blaster99

Clearwire's web site is bollocks. They have two services, 2M/256k for €50 and 1M/256k for €40.

If you can put an aerial on your house and you don't mind waiting for about a month and you have line-of-sight to 3 Rock (which I presume is the nearest Digiweb mast), I would think Digiweb's Metro is a better choice.

trent

I'm in a rented house so I'm not sure if attaching an external aerial will be possible.

How would Clearwire work for three laptop users? Would one user have to be connected to the modem, a power supply and a wireless router?

bk

trent wrote:

How would Clearwire work for three laptop users? Would one user have to be connected to the modem, a power supply and a wireless router?

The easiest way would be to get a wireless modem and connect it to the clearwire modem, then you could have each laptop connect to the wireless router over 802.11g/b.

StickyMcGinty

how long is the time from order to installation for IBB Breeze?????

i'm in the same situation as the original poster, rented accomodation, no landline etc and i'm like 4 houses off the ripwave coverage, so breeze is my only choice!

if you ask the landlord nicely he might give permission to put a mast on the roof for BB

Macker1

VinnyL wrote:

how long is the time from order to installation for IBB Breeze?????

i'm in the same situation as the original poster, rented accomodation, no landline etc and i'm like 4 houses off the ripwave coverage, so breeze is my only choice!

if you ask the landlord nicely he might give permission to put a mast on the roof for BB

If IBB is your only option then don't bother with BB at all. If you choose IBB there's a very good chance that you will be shafted like so many other customers.

bk

VinnyL wrote:

how long is the time from order to installation for IBB Breeze?????

Don't get IBB, just look at all the other threads saying how bad they are.

If you can get an external box go Digiweb Metro, if not then go Clearwire.

BTW NTL cable BB should be your first choice if available.

StickyMcGinty

i live on the ballymun road when in college so:

NTL broadband - not available
Clearwire - No mast in whitehall yet its gonna take time, so not available
Metro - Connection fee of 99 quid and 42 a month - too expensive for college

so i need BB very quickly, so IBB is the only way to go!

by the way i need help quick - the router that IBB say i need (a dlink one) is 100 quid with them, where can i get one or a compatible that'll work, only a LOT cheaper, 100 quid is a stretch i cant make!!

can i just use any router with IBB Breeze?????

trent

ClearFreedom ClearPerformer ClearBusiness




Special Price for first 6 months (inc. VAT) €29.95 €29.95 ---
Monthly Rental (inc. VAT) €39.95 €49.95 €79.95
Upload Speed 256Kbps 256Kbps 256Kbps
Download Speed 1Mbps 2Mbps 2.5Mbps
Monthly Download Allowance 10GB 20GB 50GB

Activation Fee (12 month contract) €39 €39 €99
Included Email Addresses 3 5 5
Activation Fee (24 month contract) FREE FREE FREE

trent

I hope to go for the 39.95 tariff with Clearwire.

What equipment do I need for multiple wireless users.? I think it is a wireless router and then a wireless network card for each laptop. Is this correct?
Do most laptops already have a built in wireless network card? How would I find out?
Can anyone recommend a specific wireless router and wireless network cards?

RangeR

Yeah, I heard about the new 2.5Mb Clearwire offering. I just want to note the big jump in price for the 2.5Mb deal.

This is for a non technical user / business. The HUGE price increase is for all of the extra hand holding that clearwire will offer. I'm not sure of the specifics, but I Clearwire will be looking after the technical aspects of that connection for the technophoes.

Blaster99

Activation fee, no trial, fairly expensive monthly fees, 12 month contract. I suspect they're not going to do too well. Or do they still do the €1 trial? It would be handy if they could update their web site...