De Rebel gets DSL

De Rebel

My experiences may be of use to others.

I have had ISDN at home pretty much since eircom first launched Hi-Speed. The speed is adequate for my purposes; however the cost has been prohibitive. Some of my eircom bills exceed Eur400.

My requirement for broadband was driven more by the fixed cost nature of the service than the speed/capacity of DSL. Those will be a bonus.

The timeline of my case goes like this:

Various dates in 2002 Asked eircom/esat about broadband – unable to tell me anything useful about when my exchange (Douglas) would be upgraded

November 2002 phoned eircom after hearing new advert – exchange is now enabled. Rushed home, tested line, “piss-off you already had ISDN, don’t be greedy”.

November/December 2002 Various conversations with eircom – No ISDL plans, No ISDN to DSL migration package until “Sometime” in 2003. I could downgrade for a test, if it fails will be charged full ISDN install fee to revert. Various high level approaches to eircom at different levels with various proposals and suggestions. All rejected.

January 2003 rang 1800 512128 and 1800 503… for the simple reason that phoning those numbers is free and to keep hassling them in the vague hope ….

End of February 2003 – for some unknown reason I tried the i-stream on-line test and passed. Picked myself up of the floor and phoned eircom to order. All went well for about 30 seconds till “oh sorry you have isdn and we can’t…” went through a few more people “if you can’t help me please put me on to someone who can….” Till eventually I had a 20minute heated exchange which really got me hopping mad and made me determined to get DSL, over eircom’s dead body if necessary. (Very similar to shinzon’s experience in this thread)

Next day phoned ComReg and told them that eircom was denying me DSL because I already had ISDN and that eircom stood to loose a lot of revenue by moving me to DSL. (Like I said some of my bills are over 400 euros. Voice calls have been about 40 euros. The rest is line rental and internet. I estimate that I will save at least 100/150 per bill, 600/900 per annum) I complained that this was unethical, anti-competitive and an abuse of eircom’s position. ComReg took the case.

March 2003 ComReg came back to me, basically Eircom had buckled under and would give me DSL. Had a number of exchanges with Eircom, with a lot of confusion. (In the interests of brevity I’ll skip the detail) Another call to Comreg got all the confusion sorted out.

Install day was set for 28th March. However I was being forced to take both engineer install and an eircom modem). By the time the engineer arrived on 28th March the starter options had been announced. Because I disputed the modem issue the engineer was forced to suspend the order. There were tears in my eyes (and another hole in my pocket) as he drove away.

11th April, 09:01am Order reactivated, i-stream starter, engineer install, no modem. Install scheduled for 2nd May.

1st May noticed white, blue, orange van outside house. Engulfed by warm fuzzy feeling.

2nd May eircom engineer phoned. ISDN would be switched off at 10.30 and i would be without service for a couple of hours. That happened, he arrived on site at 11.00 and the job was done by 12.00. engineer did a very professional job, tidying wiring and so on as he went. 3 hours spent configuring a cheap piece of crap 3com dsl modem that came from cash converters for 20euro (my all singing wireless/4-port switch/router/firewall/broadband modem that makes the coffee is due to arrive on Wednesday) and here we are. Downloading at the speed of light.

A few comments:

• Thanks IOFFL for driving the issue and in particular to the committee for their time and hard work on all our behalf
• Thanks Boards.ie for making this forum available
• Thanks to te many posters here (and the resident exprt, Muck esq. in particular) for the information and advice.
• Thanks ComReg for taking my case
• The individual eircom people I dealt with were either helpful or powerless. You know who you are and I have no bone to pick with you individually. Thanks for your courtesies and please understand that I appreciate you situation.
• Thanks Minister for finally taking the whole Internet connectivity issue seriously and doing something about it (and the other politicians who finally are comfortable with the broadband issue, aware of the consequences and not afraid to speak)
• For me this was a real issue, my ability to do business, provide a top class service to my clients and price my services competitively was severly hampered by eircom.
• Regarding eircom as an institution there is a lot to do. Esat are a waste of space, look at the wasted opportunity of the 40 exchanges. Eircom still have a complete stranglehold on the market. Eircom is beyond reform from without. More than ever we NEED wireless to force competition, drive prices down and drive servce levels up. I urge you to read and respond to
  this post

Paddy20

De Rebel,

Glad to hear that your tenacity, has eventually paid off. However, you appear from your comments too be a *Business Broadband user?.

I have no idea how much you are having to pay for the service that you are now receiving, but please remember if you are willing to pay a very high fee, this may very well be misconstrued by your ISP as a reason to {rip-off} Joe Public.

IMHO, no internet user of either basic flat-rate 24/7 FRIACO or BROADBAND should have too pay any more than between €20 - €30 {inc Vat} per Month for either offering, although I will accept that Broadband may cost more than basic FRIACO.

Paddy20.

douglasman

I had similar experiences to De Rebel. My exchange is also Douglas and I also have ISDN. I live 400 metres from the exchange and my line always failed until about mid April, then all of a sudden it passed no probs for all DSL products including enhanced. Lots of two and froing with Eircom since November last year also. I've recently heard from an Eircom engineer that they were failing ISDN lines deliberately as they were not ready to deal with those yet, my line was always fine, they were just being their normal Eircom selves. Anyway i'm finally getting sorted in mid May and about time too, I was almost ready to give up and order a new analogue line just for DSL even though I knew my ISDN line was fine. Very frustrating few months for sure.

Supercell

wow! , all i can say is fair play to ya! , and happy downloading

Boston

Now tell them to screw it and switch to via adsl, seriously like.

BArra

played, now lets hope the rest of us get onto enabled exchanges soon, ur battle is won, even though ur paying through the roof and have a cap, my battle and the battle of many others is still ongoing to be even on such a package

enjoy though

Stonemason

Now tell them to screw it and switch to via adsl, seriously like.

AMEN

segadreamcast

Now tell them to screw it and switch to via adsl, seriously like.

The amount of people here with axes to grind. Unbelievable. Eircom are providing a service that people obviously want if they're getting it - and you decide to chip in with that helpful comment. Business is business, build a bridge, get over it and take that bloody chip off your shoulder.

Paddy20

[mod edit: insulting other posters (in this case in a direct way) is always a no-no, hence I've edited this post. Take careful note and kindly knock it off - sceptre]

rymus

well done lads and while youre enjoying your brank spanking new DSL let this idle thought sweep across your minds. If you lived 5 mins down the road in Carrigaline (where I live) you'd be waiting until at least December to see that vision of an eircom engineeer walking up your drive with a box containing some swanky DSL kit.

Im actually looking forward to upgrading to ISDN. How sad is that?

Paddy20

NoelRock,

Have you ever considered, why so " many" people on this forum appear to have axes to grind!, particularly against Eircom.

Surely, all those people are not complaining against Eircoms service just for the fun of it. Maybe they genuinely have had atrocious experiences with Eircom itself, as I have.

No offence or insult intended towards you personally, and I sincerely hope you understand this?.

Yours,

Paddy20;)

N.B *Special Note to *sceptre, please feel free too replace the post from me that you felt obliged to edit, with his one that I hope uses more acceptable phraselogy !.

MadsL

Another medal awarded for valient service to the cause!

Mods..how about new taglines for Shinzon and De Rebel - upgraded to Hero of the Resistance perhaps?

Ste-

Originally posted by Paddy20
NoelRock,

Have you ever considered, why so " many" people on this forum appear to have axes to grind!, particularly against Eircom.

Surely, all those people are not complaining against Eircoms service just for the fun of it. Maybe they genuinely have had atrocious experiences with Eircom itself, as I have.

No offence or insult intended towards you personally, and I sincerely hope you understand this?.

Yours,

Paddy20;)

Whole heartily agree with this and believe Eircoms "practices" to be illegal!!!

Boston

Originally posted by NoelRock
The amount of people here with axes to grind. Unbelievable. Eircom are providing a service that people obviously want if they're getting it - and you decide to chip in with that helpful comment. Business is business, build a bridge, get over it and take that bloody chip off your shoulder.

More to do with the fact via is cheeper and has no cap then anything else, business isn't business, theres a smart kind and a stupid kind, giving money to eircom is never smart

bizmark

answer to a question above ........:p

and i see you took the time to show your iq by answering it and i got it wrong :rolleyes:

skrobe

The amount of people here with axes to grind. Unbelievable

slightly harsh i agree, but when a company(owned solely by investors ready to make a quick buck) has a monopoly(owning most res. lines) holds back a country for a least 3yrs, people have a right to complain. They are providing the service, but it's hardly value for money, and people in ireland are begining to get peeved off at being ripped off, me thinks(and hopes)
j;)

De Rebel

Originally posted by Paddy20
De Rebel,

Glad to hear that your tenacity, has eventually paid off. However, you appear from your comments too be a *Business Broadband user?.Glad to hear that your tenacity, has eventually paid off. However, you appear from your comments too be a *Business Broadband user?.

Yes and no. I’m a consultant operating as a sole trader. I work from home. My use is mixed; business (mainly e-mail and web for research material) and leisure. Like I said, it’s the fixed price that is attractive rather than the speed. Always on is also a boon, if I am here for an extended period during the day, I can react quickly to e-mails without worrying about eircom’s meter.

I have no idea how much you are having to pay for the service that you are now receiving, but please remember if you are willing to pay a very high fee, this may very well be misconstrued by your ISP as a reason to {rip-off} Joe Public.

The economics work like this:

Jan/Feb phone bill: €373 which breaks down as follows:

€ 32.50 Voice calls
€ 34.96 PSTN line rental equivalent
€ 14.17 VAT
€ 81.63 Total for Voice

€214.05 Internet calls (mainly 1891)
€ 27.02 Balance of ISDN Rental
€ 50.62 VAT
€291.69 Total for internet Access

Add to the above the cost of a subscription (1891) Internet account for 2 months - €51.00 (€307.00p.a.) and you will see that internet access cost me €342 in the billing period. Four times the amount of my voice calls. I-Stream Starter will cost me €108 every two months for a superior service. Can I be faulted for making that choice? Netsource is not available in Cork and ESAT are every bit as much a bunch of gangsters as eircom, with far less technological capability/muscle and just as many questions to answer.

I am the first to agree that we need a low cost entry level of Internet Access. I have long believed in “the Wired Society” and have promoted its merits for almost 20 years. I have a deep belief in the potential benefits to the citizen and to the state of a “Connected Society”. I passionately believe that the performances by Mary O’Rourke and Eircom are anti-social, immoral and frankly from a social perspective bordering on treason.

I have spent a not inconsiderable amount of my time assisting with the aims of IOFFL. I don’t take any satisfaction in knowing that I am one of the 1% that has access to broadband. I am certainly committed, for my own sake and the sake of others, to the ongoing campaign for far far greater availability and greatly reduced costs.

Venting here is easy. However it unfortunately accomplishes little. I would once again urge you and others who believe in the need for action to assist the committee and act. My suggestion is here : You may have your own ideas on how to achieve real progress.

JohnK

Originally posted by De Rebel
... Netsource is not available in Cork ...

The the Netsource SOHO package IS available in Cork. Its available in all Eircom enabled exchanges. I dont know about the other other packages though.

De Rebel

Originally posted by JohnK
The the Netsource SOHO package IS available in Cork. Its available in all Eircom enabled exchanges. I dont know about the other other packages though.

Somebody should tell Netwsource that. I phoned them 10 days ago and was told Dublin only and that that would remain the situation for some time and they couledn't give any dates for Cork. Beginning to wonder if Netsource are displaying the high level of competency in their business affairs that we have come to expect from the other players.......

dahamsta

Originally posted by JohnK
The the Netsource SOHO package IS available in Cork. Its available in all Eircom enabled exchanges. I dont know about the other other packages though.

Netsource say they require local connectivity before they'll supply ADSL products, therefore they currently only sell RADSL products in Cork. Don't know about other areas, but if they don't have decent connectivity in Cork...

That being said, my exchange hasn't been upgraded for DSL so I don't know if they're actually /supplying/ it down here. They also gave me a different timescale for availability at my exchange, although that could be mischevousness on Eircom's part.

adam

MDR

Am delighted for you ...
Well done, you made us proud.

De Rebel

sorry about dragging up old threads and all that but i thought i'd keep this together.

Today i received a eircom bill for Eur 142. This is the first one that reflects my i-stream radsl connection which was installed in May. The previous bill was Eur 373, and i've had a few that were over Eur 400

No great difference in my usage, except that the internet access is now broadband whereas the previous bill was dialup. So, I am paying 62% less and getting an always on connection that’s nearly 10 times faster. And saving well over Eur 200 in the process.

And people wonder why eircom were reluctant to roll out broadband!!!

/me is going to have a party on the proceeds!

Thanks IOFFL, Thanks ComReg. oh, and THANKS EIRCOM ye thieving muppets!!!

douglasman

How do you find the speed of i-stream starter overall ?

Originally posted by De Rebel
sorry about dragging up old threads and all that but i thought i'd keep this together.

Today i received a eircom bill for Eur 142. This is the first one that reflects my i-stream radsl connection which was installed in May. The previous bill was Eur 373, and i've had a few that were over Eur 400

No great difference in my usage, except that the internet access is now broadband whereas the previous bill was dialup. So, I am paying 62% less and getting an always on connection that’s nearly 10 times faster. And saving well over Eur 200 in the process.

And people wonder why eircom were reluctant to roll out broadband!!!

/me is going to have a party on the proceeds!

Thanks IOFFL, Thanks ComReg. oh, and THANKS EIRCOM ye thieving muppets!!!

De Rebel

To be honest, brilliant.

I have (don't tell eircom) 3 PCs on a router and its works like a dream. Surfing is a pleasure and downloads always run at 50k. The W2K Sp4 download (132MB) whizzed down last saturday. I can roam around flash sites as if they were html. I've had no problems apart from the June weekend when eircom turned off DSL in Cork and Wicklow for 48 hours.

I'm not a KAZA wh0re, and I don't do linux so the cap is not an issue - i've used about 1.5GB each month.

And my seti count is way up cause i'm always on to submit results

My only compalint is that they have pushed i-stream starter users onto a 1550 support number.

Now all I have to do is to keep bribing the local eircom engineers to keep failing all the other lines in douglas so that i maintain my 1:1 contention ratio!

Synkronite

Im browsing away @ 512Kbps on the Douglas Exchange too! Allbeit through EsatBT

SkepticOne

Originally posted by De Rebel
And my seti count is way up cause i'm always on to submit results

So if alien life is discovered in the universe, Eircom can take a little of the credit.

De Rebel

Originally posted by SkepticOne
So if alien life is discovered in the universe, Eircom can take a little of the credit.

If alien life is discovered in the universe, Eircom will probably employ it in a management role

SkepticOne

Originally posted by De Rebel
If alien life is discovered in the universe, Eircom will probably employ it in a management role

But, SETI is the search for intelligent life.

MadsL

If alien life is discovered in the universe, Eircom will probably employ it in a management role

Post of the Month!!!!!!
I nearly p1ssed myself reading that...:D