NBI FTTH provider with good reputation for latency, contention, etc?

Type 17 · 20-01-2023 5:08pm #1

I've trawled through loads of threads on here, but it's very hard to find useful, up-to-date info, and the Which Provider sticky has lots of queries, but not many answers.

Myself and another nearby household (sis-in-law) have recently moved to Ready To Order status on NBI's fibre network, and are wondering which provider would be reliable, regarding evening contention, latency, jitter, etc.

The households are small, so no issues with bandwidth, and no gamers in either household, but there may be some online TV streaming, so contention is important.

We're with Airwire at present (FTTC, 750m of copper), and they've a very good service, but are not yet signed up with NBI, so we're wondering who else might be worth looking at? (and who is worth avoiding - PM if necessary)

heavydawson · 22-01-2023 1:18pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058280498/nbi-ftth-provider-with-good-reputation-for-latency-contention-etc

Honestly at the entry level 500Mbps package, even if you were contended, you'd still be fine for the streaming requirements (which basically max out at 30mbps per stream (4k HDR) for the likes of Apple TV). personally I use Digiweb. Was using them before NBI, and continued with them when NBI arrived. I've had no major issues, but they are slightly more expensive than the bigger players.

db · 22-01-2023 10:24pm

it's the same product you will get on the same infrastructure so the quality of the broadband will be the same no matter who you go with. What will be different is the quality of customer support.

heavydawson · 23-01-2023 11:21am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120143834#Comment_120143834

That's only partially true. The access network is the same for everyone, but the core network varies from provider to provider. In addition some of the larger providers use VUA versus Bitstream. VUA means customers will branch into the ISP-specific network earlier (in the local/regional exchange), whereas Bitstream traffic (think Internet access only providers, no TV,etc) generally stays in the NBI network until it reaches the primary data centre in Dublin. @NBAiii please correct me if I'm wrong here (I suspect you know this better than I)

Problems with the access network will affect everyone in that network area regardless of ISP (think storm damage).

NBAiii · 24-01-2023 5:26pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120145194#Comment_120145194

You are correct.

Type 17 · 26-01-2023 10:44am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120145194#Comment_120145194

Very interesting, thanks.

So am I right in saying that a smaller ISP using NBI/bitstream is more likely (not guaranteed) to have better contention than a larger ISP using VUA, because larger ISPs' VUA core might be over-subscribed (for more profits)? (I presume that it's possible to have a VUA-using ISP with good contention, but it's not guaranteed).

My sis-in-law is going with S*y for her TV, but I'm wondering if we should play it safe, and get her broadband from a small, reliable ISP?

heavydawson · 26-01-2023 5:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120159427#Comment_120159427

I think with Fibre, the contention is much less of an issue than it used to be. Even if you were heavily contended, you're usable bandwidth is still massive for most peoples needs. I haven't had an issue all in the first 12 months of getting NBI. I'd say get yourself the best 500mb package you can, and chances are you won't have any issues.

The one change I'd suggest you make (and everyone for that matter) is to change the DNS settings to use a non-ISP set of DNS servers (https://www.techradar.com/news/best-dns-server). In my experience, that's one of the most important changes you can make for reliability.

Type 17 · 26-01-2023 8:44pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120161263#Comment_120161263

Agreed on the DNS - I usually give a new (to me) ISP's DNS a chance, to see how it runs, but I've always ended up changing to OpenDNS, Cloudflare or Google after a few weeks.

heavydawson · 27-01-2023 12:47am

And no sooner have I told you I haven't seen issues since I had fibre installed.....

That download/upload is usually 926/113 - so there you go. Sh!t happens :-D

Ah-Watch · 27-01-2023 12:57pm

Last night was the first time I've had any drop in my Digiweb broadband. Would still happily recommend them. Only copped it because Netflix started to freeze

heavydawson · 27-01-2023 3:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120164739#Comment_120164739

I was on to them today about a separate issue and they confirmed there was a system degradation in my area at the time I reported the issues above.

Type 17 · 29-01-2023 10:30pm

Well, no ISP is perfect all the time... 😉

Cyrus · 03-02-2023 1:50pm

i have had a 500mb package with eir, sky, vodafone and digiweb (switched every year for price) and all have been perfectly fine with full speed any time i have checked, i use my own equipment connected to the ont.

Type 17 · 28-03-2023 8:28pm

Just to update the thread, we got connected to Digiweb today, on the second attempt (the first visit, a few weeks ago, determined that the duct with the copper line was blocked, probably under the roadway outside the house (even though the copper still works fine), so it was decided to lay in a new duct on the other side of our site).

So, the fibre was laid from the access point into 30m of new duct up the side lawn, into the garage, across the front garage wall, into the house's attic (it's a bungalow), across the attic (clipped to the sides of woodwork/joists throughout, so it can't be walked on/crushed), and down into a built-in cupboard in the TV room.

We're now getting 550Mb/sec on an Ethernet connection - beats 30Mb/sec on the copper FTTC connection.

Thanks to all for the info above.

NBI FTTH provider with good reputation for latency, contention, etc?

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