National Broadband Ireland : implementation and progress

Fatal Except1on · 18-09-2023 11:41am

Does anyone know if NBI vendors enforce a fair usage policy? I'm with Vodafone a few weeks now and am curious about whether or not 1.5-2TB or more a month is going to get me in hot water.

viewer · 19-09-2023 12:39pm

My area has just gone ready to connect (Aghafad, Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan) and I have gotten an install date of 09 Oct from Vodafone.

The thing is I havent seen any sign of NBI on my road, I have seen vans with NBI on them driving around the general area over the past several months but no sign of new poles or laying cable.

Will there will be a surge of activity on my road around my install date? I am very sceptical that I would have anything installed this year.

Has anyone had similar experiences with installs?

heavydawson · 20-09-2023 9:59am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121129526#Comment_121129526

I'd expect to see the DP (black boxes on poles) if your area was ready to go. Do you see any of those say within 500 metres of your house in either direction?

baz9375 · 20-09-2023 11:03am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121132870#Comment_121132870

These are what the NBI DPs look like.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121129526#Comment_121129526

viewer · 20-09-2023 2:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121132870#Comment_121132870

From memory (I'll have to take a walk and have a look at some stage) I think I have seen black box on another road about 1KM away, certainly not in the immediate 300-400 metres on my road.

NBI have told me "The build is currently ready to connect in your area which would mean that the main infrastructure is completed, on the dates provided a technician will visit your site to speak to you regarding your connection and if any additional works are required they will be carried out on your behalf."

I wonder how long it would take them to put new fibre that distance?

viewer · 22-09-2023 9:45am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121133176#Comment_121133176

Took a walk and I saw one of the above boxes about 300 metres up the road, it had a single white strip in the centre instead of the two as in the above picture. If that is the direction it is going to come from then a few poles will need to be installed as the last telephone pole is about 100 metres away as my telephone line comes from the opposite direction - my neighbours houses are all more recent builds about 10-15 years old.

I need to be more observant.

dollylama · 23-09-2023 1:28pm

I heard something in passing on either the news or Matt Cooper yesterday about NBI pushing out to 2028 but I don't see any headlines about this

Did anyone else hear this or have any info?

The Cush · 23-09-2023 1:41pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121146593#Comment_121146593

Not the NBP but the commercial rollout areas, the small pockets not in the NBP intervention areas.

All homes not included in National Broadband Plan to be connected in five years | Newstalk

"Now under the National Broadband Plan, our areas will get there by 2026.

"Based on the department's engagement with the commercial operators, they believe a lot of the commercial operators will get there by 2028."

dollylama · 23-09-2023 2:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121146642#Comment_121146642

Ah okay, well that weighs favourably for NBI I imagine

Separately, I met a team from Diffusion about a month ago who were surveying routes to premises and poles in an area not marked till 2026 and still showing as survey pending on NBI's map. They were working their socks off.. out sun up till sun down and they spent a good week surveying a small pocket of houses. This wasn't a drive along the road with the window down type survey either.. they were up and down the road on foot, in ditches, in fields, in and out of houses.

They had tablets with all premises showing and lines showing the suggested route of existing telecoms to each premise. In our case, the line was incorrect and they were only delighted when I showed them the correct route. Good to see such thorough work going on behind the scenes

looksee · 26-09-2023 5:08pm

Got broadband installed on 1st September, all good, installation fine. Except the Circet engineer didn't have a tv box with him so someone was to ring within 48 hours to arrange for someone else to come (Vodafone).

Monday 4th, Vodafone rep called, made appointment for Friday 8th

Friday 8th, no show, called them, no record of the appointment. Made an appointment for Friday 15th.

Friday 15th, Vodafone called to cancel. Appt made for 20th.

Wednesday 20th Vodafone called to cancel. Appt made for Friday 22nd

Friday 22nd, Vodafone called to cancel. Appt made for Monday 25th

Monday 25th, Vodafone called to cancel. Appt made for today. Much aggravation and giving out to call centre person, not their fault but who do you complain to? Manager supposed to call me but didn't.

Today, Circet turned up, did a very good job of accommodating the problem of the tv being on the opposite side of the room to the modem. Just gone.

Circet 9/10. Vodafone 0/10. Why did I allow myself to think that Vodafone would be ok?

kennyt · 26-09-2023 5:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121133176#Comment_121133176

Hi, A lot of activity in recent weeks/months at on my cul de sac.

I see one of these NBI DPs 1km away. Is that too far? you said about 500 meters?

Website shows "Network Build In Progress" Anticipated date for connection:July 2024 - September 2024

If the DPs are up? would i be right thinking i am close to connection?

Thanks

heavydawson · 28-09-2023 1:24pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121160237#Comment_121160237

Ballpark estimate from when you see network build activity in your area to being connected is 1-1.5 years, so I'd say your anticipated date for connection is about right. If you're lucky they'll pull it forward a bit. I think they've hit their stride in terms of accurate estimated delivery times.

monster1 · 28-09-2023 4:36pm

Has anybody used beacon fibre? It's live in our area.. it says 44.99 a month for first 6 months for 2Gbs fibre, no mention of the cost after

newhouse87 · 28-09-2023 4:58pm

Anyway to speed up council giving license to kn to block road and unblock duct so i can get ftth like all the neighbors here with years.

Jofspring · 05-10-2023 7:36am

I see eir is 44.99 a month for 24 months but at the bottom it says price to increase by 3% every April. Surely that means it's not 44.99 for 24 months?

Are people's experiences with eir still awful. We just went live to order and eir were at the door before anyone else. Signed up because a survey will definitely be needed for getting it into my house but can cancel and go with someone else if they are still awful to deal with.

looksee · 05-10-2023 9:23am

There is your problem, I was with Eir since they were P&T, with no problems. But when I tried to leave them - because they could not supply a service to my address - then the issues started. They create a circular situation where you cannot contact them once you have cancelled (ie, on leaving the previous house) as you do not have a current account number. But the bills keep coming even though you do not have an account. Or something like that, its a few years ago. Only because I was able to contact them through Boards - no longer possible - was I able to sort the situation. Good luck trying to cancel.

On the other hand I went with Vodafone, I should have known better, I have been with them for mobile for a few years. If I had been in employment (I am retired) I would have had to take off a total of 7 days to get my broadband installed. Five times I spent the day hanging about waiting for them only to be told mid-afternoon that they were not coming. They did throw some money at the problem eventually to make me go away, but it was a very cavalier attitude towards my time.

TruthEnforcer · 05-10-2023 11:39am

Just received confirmation on the NBI site that we are "Ready To Connect" ..and decided on the combined TV/ Broadband package for €50 pm

Rang Sky yesterday and got sorted ..but each time I asked was it a Fibre Connection, he said it was ..and they would be sending me out a package for self connection !

But we don't have any physical connection to the recently installed NBI Inspection chambers that's about 200 yards from the house.

Do they not require an actual Fibre Connection and work via WiFi to the NBI installation ?

Ah-Watch · 05-10-2023 1:51pm

On the point of missed or repeat appointments. This are outsourced, not undertaken by Eir or Sky or Vodafone. It's a very mixed bag with KN / Circet or whatever they're called. I had 5, yes 5 appointments in the space of a month from them to install Eir FTTH last month because they couldn't get their house in order. When the install did happen the lads installing was sound but why take 5 appointments to string a FTTH cable 20meters- it's really not that complicated, really. Actavo installed in a SIRO line in the same house the previous week ( for a home office set up) and they were hassle free, turned up when they said they would and couldn't have been more helpful and professional even when they had a more indirect route of running the cable.

Eir, as the provider have been great too when I had to call them and it's not often you hear people saying that. They needed to bundle the sim with the broadband package and the guy on the phone resolved the issue on one call and quite quickly- none of this we'll come back to you in 10 days stuff. Based on that interaction alone it seems like Eir service is improving (fingers crossed I haven't shot myself saying that)

Mobius2021 · 05-10-2023 2:03pm

I have a question that I'm curious about.

I see some people signing up for 1Gbps services. What sort of use cases do people have where that speed would be required? Maybe it's for the faster upload speeds (think 500Mbps package offers 50Mb upload and the 1Gbps has 100Mbps upload)?

I'm eagerly awaiting fibre to come to my house as part of NBI, using Three 4G at the moment. 2 adults and 2 kids in the house, I WFH from time to time. Even if the 4 of us were all streaming 4k at the same time I cannot see a need for more than 500Mbps at the moment.

Great to see a level of future proofing with up to 2Gbps being available.

My fibre ETA is Jan 2025 to Dec 2026, going to be a long wait. 🙂

oscarBravo · 05-10-2023 4:52pm

My rule of thumb is that if you're not sure why you'd need more than 500Mb/s, then you don't need more than 500Mb/s.

Mobius2021 · 05-10-2023 5:05pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121198367#Comment_121198367

Definitely, I certainly don't need more than that - wonder are people just going for the "bigger is better" approach.

Reckon I could have every TV in the house streaming 4k, have the consoles downloading games and torrents going full blast with a 500Mb line and still have plenty of bandwidth to spare.

Any limiting factors would tend to be elsewhere - torrent peers will only upload to you so fast, Netflix etc. cap out at a max bitrate. For all some know their network hardware in their device might be topping out at 100Mb.

First world problems - I'm currently lucky to be getting 20Mb during peak times with my 4G router. :-)

allanpkr · 05-10-2023 7:48pm

well just had my nbi survey done , only another 2/3 yrs to wait , just hope im still alive by then.lol 65 yrs old now....i remember when pat rabbitte was communication mininister i emailed his office and said with broadband ireland cannot keep playing catch up. the future doctors , finance almost everything will be dealt over broadband. irelands size is not a hindrance , its a must every home business must have fibre broadband it must be future proof. now im waiting since. btw eir came to top of my road and to bottom of my road probably 10yrs ago i think. but 5 houses havnt got it. wil i go with eir ever , wil i f......

Orebro · 06-10-2023 9:28am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121199026#Comment_121199026

We've had a fairly shocking history of ministers and failed projects in communications. Pat Rabbitte couldn't have managed a corner shop never mind a broadband rollout. It always seems to take shifty characters to get things done in Ireland, Denis Naughten in this case.

clohamon · 06-10-2023 1:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121200193#Comment_121200193

Maybe for another thread, but the current plan was started on Pat Rabbitte's watch in mid 2014 when DCENR/DECC eventually started tendering for serious advice. Denis Naughten entered the department in 2016 convinced 5g was the answer. By his own account he had to be talked out of it by officials.

TruthEnforcer · 06-10-2023 5:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121196756#Comment_121196756

Well..got on to SKY and they confirmed that they have notified NBI of my order so all will depend on when the actual connection to the house can be made

guyinkk · 07-10-2023 12:16pm

Apologies if this has been covered previously... a family member's house is now registering as available for fibre on the NBI network. Their property is 500 meters from the road, with the first part of their lane being a right of way over a neighbour's land. They renovated an old house so the ducting that carries the 'old' telephone wire to the house isn't suitable for reuse (I'm guessing here tbh). Question: Who's responsible for getting the fiber cable to the house? Is it the home owner that needs to sort this or will NBI have a solution for people who's property is located well off the side of the road like this. Thanks....

viewer · 10-10-2023 8:41am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121129526#Comment_121129526

Install day finally arrived.

2 guys turn up, one in a van with a hoist. The distribution point was about 300m down the road. So one guy took the cable down the road using the eircom telephone poles and the other put the cable into the house and set up the NBI box and vodafone gigabox.

They started around 9:20 and were gone by 11:45. I was very impressed, I had thought it would have taken all day to run the cable and take several men but I was wrong, one man took about 2 hours and a lot of that was cutting ivy and other vegetation growing up the poles.

Here are my new speeds(wired connection)

I was getting about 39Mbps Down and 2Mbps up with Imagine but it varied during the day.

Very happy with the new setup.

Timeline for anyone who is interested:

The connection estimate for years on the NBI site was Oct - Dec 2023.

Pre-Order - Aug 25

Ready to connect - 12 Sept

Install date arranged - 18 Sept

Installed - 09 Oct.

clohamon · 10-10-2023 11:34am

The Department has just updated its intervention map to include Geodirectory information from Q2 2023.

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/5634d-national-broadband-plan-map/

sandyxxx · 10-10-2023 5:24pm

Question!....Who's job is it to get land access permission....

KN are sending a rep tomorrow with a landowner form....is the owness on me to track down the landowner and secure permission or do they look after it....about a km of poles!

theguzman · 11-10-2023 8:54am

So my area has gone to Pre-Order status now, It was down as October to December 2023 and I have being entering my Eircode almost daily and this morning it has changed to Pre-Order.

The DP was installed on the pole outside my house 3 months ago and I cut all branches and made a perfect path for the cable to follow to the old Eir Copper overhead into the house since. Literally my installation will be incredibly straight forward just to run a new overhead fibre cable, drill into the attic and i'll pull it through and clip it down to the other end of the house and drop down via a duct to the computer room. My attic is a fully floored and lit attic which was an abandoned attic conversion which never went all the way. I know there is no attic installations but its no ordinary attic either. Lets see, once I get it into the house I can connect it to my own Cat6 internal wiring so no biggie either way

I'm currently with EIR approaching the end of contract, I am wondering who to go with? I think i'll ditch Sky for the TV as our Satellite dish get out of sync once a year due to storms, so ideally I want a "cable TV" option which is either Vodafone or Eir I think. I won't touch any former Wisp due to how they all fought to stop the NBP to begin with. I don't want Eir either since they are the reason I'm getting fibre now as not 10-15 years ago.

Any ideas?

National Broadband Ireland : implementation and progress

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