National Broadband Ireland : implementation and progress

Gunner3629 · 27-01-2022 9:58am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118538348#Comment_118538348

There is even 50Gbps PON in the pipeline. It wouldn't just be a software upgrade, they would also need to swap out OLT boards and replace SFP's to allow modulation of the new wavelength, but yeah these upgrades would be easy and relatively inexpensive to carry-out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_Speed_PON

"All GPON operators considering the next generation of fiber technologies now have a single, truly universal solution. They can choose to begin with 10 Gb/s symmetrical or asymmetrical services, choose between fixed or tunable wavelengths, and just plug the appropriate ONU into their platform. At a later date, more services can be deployed by adding another wavelength, again on the same platform and fiber infrastructure."

niallniall · 27-01-2022 10:13am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118528506#Comment_118528506

Hi,

I know this query may have been answered well before through the forum, but just to update myself please.

My current Eir efibre line is copper from a cabinet or exchange with a max speed of 100 Mbps close to the cabinet

When my line is upgraded eventually and I apply to have it connected by Eir (KN to do install) is there a charge?

I presume the work is a new line from the outside pole into the house to a small NBI network unit which will be fixed to the wall inside my premises. This then connects to the modem supplied by Eir.

Niall

niallniall · 27-01-2022 10:17am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118528506#Comment_118528506

Hi Mor-Riomhaire,

Just another query, was there a charge for this re-connection upgrade or was it all part of the service. I am with Eir and have been told that when it eventually comes to my premises there will be no charge and the KN Engineer will just need a couple of hours to carry out the work necessary.

Niall

The Cush · 27-01-2022 10:32am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118538948#Comment_118538948

Yes, new fibre line from a DP on the pole to the ONT inside.

I would have thought the install would be free as you're staying with them with the new service, ask them I guess is the best advice.

Quin_Dub · 27-01-2022 10:40am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118538948#Comment_118538948

Yes - The Copper wire will no longer be used , fibre will be run from the nearest pole to your house and connected to a new box on the wall leading to a new router supplied by Eir (or whoever your provider is).

heavydawson · 27-01-2022 2:51pm

NBI update in Oireachtas live at the moment:

https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/oireachtas-tv/cr2-live/

Will be available for replay in a day or two

niallniall · 27-01-2022 3:04pm

As seen on RTE News, National Broadband Ireland, which is rolling out the plan network will provide entry level speeds available to users of the network of 500Mbit/s download and 50Mbit/s upload.

I think the majority of user's would be quiet happy to get this, when it happens. I think that if you were set up with close to 500Mbit/s download and 50Mbit/s upload into your premises, the signal around the rest of the house through wi-fi wouild definetly improve.

Lets us dream at least

Niall

Orebro · 27-01-2022 4:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118540491#Comment_118540491

God that's awful viewing - the TDs & Senators are asking the most basic of questions like this thing is brand new (questions about clawbacks etc that have been answered a million times before and are all in the bloody agreement with NBI for anyone to see) - talk about going around in circles!

Gunner3629 · 27-01-2022 4:54pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118541206#Comment_118541206

I love how 24 hours before they tell Oireachtas how far behind they are, they bring out this 'positive' PR introducing a higher top speed of 2Gbps. Classic distraction tactic.

Mor-Riomhaire · 27-01-2022 6:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118538969#Comment_118538969

Hi Niall. There was no charge and it was part of the service.

Gonzo · 27-01-2022 6:47pm

So NBI areas now technically can avail of the fastest fibre in the country. Siro have 2 Gbps as well but I think this is limited to Kilkenny for now. Eir's IFN is also capable of speeds up to 10 Gbps. I am in an Eir FTTH area and that is Gpon so speeds are limited to 1 Gbps, makes me wonder will Eir ever get the finger out again to upgrade the rural FTTH areas to 10 Gbps. Surely it can't be that big a job for them as the fibre is already in the ground and over the poles. Obviously a new modem and ONT/OLT would probably be required.

heavydawson · 27-01-2022 6:54pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118541816#Comment_118541816

NBI have been very coy on availability in terms of which resellers will offer it, and which DAs it will be available in in which timeframe....

Gunner3629 · 27-01-2022 7:29pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118541846#Comment_118541846

I asked them on Twitter if everyone will be able to avail of it. They DM'd me this:

"That is correct, All residential customers will be able to avail of the 2Gbps internet speeds."

clohamon · 27-01-2022 10:49pm

While the Committee meeting was in progress there was a debate on the NBP in the Dáil Chamber.

https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/2022-01-27/29/

...and Denis Naughten on Newstalk this morning.

https://www.newstalk.com/podcasts/highlights-from-newstalk-breakfast/no-end-in-sight-for-the-national-broadband-plan?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=article&utm_medium=web

heavydawson · 28-01-2022 10:56am

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/eir-to-accelerate-broadband-roll-out-after-deal-with-infravia-1.4787778

Investment provided by this joint venture will allow Eir to increase the pace of expansion of its fibre broadband network, and it is estimated that 200,000 homes will be passed in 2022, increasing to 250,000 homes in 2023.

One would have to imagine this is the sort of investment partner that NBI are currently seeking. FWIW, I'm pretty sure the above rollout pertains to their urban rollout plans.

Gunner3629 · 28-01-2022 12:46pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118544160#Comment_118544160

Absolutely is, to ramp up their own project. Not surprising that InfraVia are French considering Eir is owned by a Frenchman. Its not going to help NBI but good for the overall FTTH landscape that Eir's Urban rollout will be 25 percent faster.

EarWig · 28-01-2022 4:46pm

Apart from the financing, Eir are saying that they can find the resources to implement their plans ahead of schedule. They have a record of delivering too.

Meanwhile, NBI is stuck in learning curve hell. NBI really needs to unstick itself.

amdaley28 · 28-01-2022 7:42pm

I recently rang Vodafone because my contract was up & I wanted to see what they could do for me if I renewed. I would be happy to stay with them as the service has been decent. I normally get about 23 or 24 Mbps which was a big jump from the 3 Mbps I got previously.

I was delighted to be told I could get fibre at 500 Mbps.

Great I said sign me up.

An engineer’s appointment was set up for Oct 29th.

Sure enough on the 29th the engineer showed up.

Not a nice day but fair dues to him he started to check out the ducting in the mud in a lane behind the house.

Ducting was clear but one of the inspection covers on a 90’ bend behind our house is buried about 18” underground so that would need to be raised before he could put the fibre cable through. The reason I know its 18” underground is because a few months ago K & N had the cover up while running cable to a new pole that had been put up about 150 Ft further down the lane. I presume it was fibre they ran to the pole because there’s a coil of cable at the top of the pole.

The engineer took photos etc & made the request for the cover to be raised up to ground level.

Vodafone got a completion date for the work from EIR of Dec 29th.

As sure as night follows day the work wasn’t done.

Vodafone contacted EIR who informed them that the work is now in planning (whatever that is) with no scheduled date for completion of the work.

So I have fibre cable in a ducting in the foot path 100 Ft away from the front of the house & fibre cable hanging on a pole 150 Ft from the back of the house & I can’t get connected to either 🙄

I checked the NBI site Yippee I can get connected sometime between Jan 2025 & December 2026.

I believe it when or if I ever see it. The fibre cable is 100 Ft. from the front my house & 150 Ft from the back of the house

I suppose in 5 years that would be fast in this country 😂

Bass Reeves · 28-01-2022 7:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118544823#Comment_118544823

On helping People get broadband, yes and no. It would be much more efficient for the country if the Dept of communication sat down with both and got them to agree who covered what area.

That way you would not have NBI and Eir crews both providing BB in the same area.

theguzman · 28-01-2022 7:47pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118547150#Comment_118547150

Get in a contractor and dig a new trench to the right pole and lay your own duct with a rope in it. Waiting for them will take forever wheras a few hundred euros spend on your own could speed the entire process up.

Also what's happening with the POTS PSTN service now for those who have got NBI FTTH already? Is it a VOIP system, I'm sure there are plenty of rural businesses who are heavily dependent on their analogue PSTN landline numbers, 021-, 066 etc.

Gunner3629 · 28-01-2022 8:11pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118547159#Comment_118547159

This was discussed in the Oreachtas meeting yesterday between TD and NBI CEO. CEO said there was no indications of encroachment or overlap from Eir from his knowledge. I’m sure there will be some overlap, particularly where EIR/SIRO see financial incentive but it does’t appear to be a significant issue, atleast not right now.

amdaley28 · 28-01-2022 8:37pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118547174#Comment_118547174

We have an alarm which needs a landlines for monotoring purposes but a panel can be fitted to enable the alarm use fibre.

To be honest I don't care if we ever get fibre as what we get through the copper line is plenty for my wife & I.

Yes it would be great to download movies etc instantly but we have more than we could ever watch.

The people I feel sorry for are businesses & people who need fast broadband to work & do business.

My wife & I are both retired.

oscarBravo · 29-01-2022 12:00am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118547174#Comment_118547174

You can have an 021, 066, or whatever number on VoIP.

There seems to be a belief gaining currency that you can't keep your landline number if you port to VoIP. This belief seems to stem from a combination of providers screwing up and losing numbers, and customers not screaming blue bloody murder at ComReg over it, which reduces the incentive on providers not to frig up the porting process.

PaulJoseph22 · 29-01-2022 12:57am

NBI is fine , once you don’t want to keep your existing landline number, they told me I could but in reality, they gave me a different number….

oscarBravo · 29-01-2022 1:44am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118548668#Comment_118548668

NBI have no hand, act nor part in the provision of voice services. If your service provider told you that it was NBI's fault that you couldn't keep your number, then your service provider lied to you.

I have the NBI Bitstream and VUA Process Manual open in front of me. I've searched it for "phone" and it only mentions the phone numbers needed to book an installation appointment; I've searched for "VoIP" and got nothing; I've search for "voice" and every match refers to invoices.

NBI didn't give you a different number, because NBI have no involvement in number porting. Your service provider gave you a different number and lied to you about whose fault it was, and you for some reason decided to believe them instead of invoking your right to complain.

PaulJoseph22 · 29-01-2022 1:55am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118548794#Comment_118548794

Don’t make presumptions, I did complain, they couldn’t give me it on voib, they did however reopen my pots line. My bill still has the new number they gave me and my old number.

clohamon · 29-01-2022 11:06am

Former Minister Denis Naughten TD fingers Eircom's decrepit network and poor surveying as causes of delay..

I was on the ground in Blessington looking at the build-out and it was clear that there were substantial challenges with the condition of the existing network. This was known for many months. I acknowledge that the Minister of State, before Christmas, sat down with the chief executives of both Eir and NBI to help address these delays but with the clear issues on the condition of the existing network, one has to ask the question as to why we had to wait 25 months into the contract for that meeting to take place. I want to know, on foot of this particular meeting, what is now being done by Eir to resolve these particular issues. I also want to know if the issue of the quality of the surveying came up in those discussions because I understand that some of the drawings that the NBI build contractors received had no bearing whatsoever to the existing infrastructure that was on the ground.

...and proposes that WISPS be given temporary sites to provide an interim solution for those with a long wait for the NBP.

As NBI delivers fibre broadband to homes, families will come off these wireless services. Companies, such as Eurona Brisknet in County Roscommon, are pre-selling fibre connections. When people are connected, they are moving that equipment to more isolated homes providing them with a broadband service allowing them to work from home and gain some of the benefit of the connections that have taken place. The reality is there will be only a short window for a return on this supplementary deployment and we need the local authorities and State bodies to provide temporary sites free of charge to allow them to expand their reach. This is a cost-effective way to extend the benefit of the early deployment areas to homes that will be waiting a number of years for a fibre connection.

....and Michael Fitzmaurice TD on Eircom being tight with the cash.

When it comes to hedge cutting, the minimum is being done and there will be problems in a year or two. The way it was measured with Eir, which will not throw money at you, the surveying that was done was unbelievable. I do not know where it got some of the engineers that did the surveying, but the hedge cutting that is going on and the way it is being priced means that contractors are walking away from it.

oscarBravo · 29-01-2022 11:49am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118548810#Comment_118548810

Whatever. Just stop blaming NBI for your service provider's incompetence just because they do.

Bass Reeves · 29-01-2022 11:57am

You have the TD who was minister giving out about the rollout. Nothing about the fact that he handed it to a company with no presence in Ireland, and no experience in telecom's. I not even sure if they have any presence elsewhere in Europe. AFAIK they have no presence in the UK.

Fitzmaurice on about hedge cutting. Eir never carried out routine hedge cutting. Even if they did it's impossible to carry out on heavier hedges. The cost is off-putting. It cheaper to repair/replace cable when it gets damaged.

When the NBI contract was originally handed out and the time frame every one was on about the residual value of the network. I pointed out on a previous NBI thread of the challenges of maintaining such a network. I pointed out that IMO the network had a 30ish year lifespan.

If eir taught it was feasible to cut hedges it would do it under its own existing network. It never did as it was not feasible.

As for rates no large company will throw money at you. The economics probably do not justify it. Fitzmaurice is probably right with faults being an issue from 5+ years time. That is the reality of Ireland. Hedges grow exceptionally fast. Legally farmers have the liability to cut hedges in side roads. There is no onus on them to take the tops off them. As well unless you are willing to butcher every tree at the side of the road a lot would have to be done by hand.

Just a couple of politicians blubbering about what they do not know about.

PaulJoseph22 · 29-01-2022 1:34pm

There really is no need for the rudeness.

National Broadband Ireland : implementation and progress

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