I’ve sent you an email in reply.

Tom

We are in Eadestown too and despite being sold broadband by BT last week we are now told that our lines are unsuitable. I have tried speaking to Eircom and BT to establish what the precise problem is with no success – any ideas where we go from here as my husband is trying to run an office from home with satellite broadband which needless to say is not very efficient as well as costly.

Thanks for any advice you might have.

Kim

The 3.5Km range is for optimal connection speeds, it should be possible for houses up to 5km to get some sort of service , probably better than the speeds offered by the wireless providers. But as you said, it’s not really distance, it’s the ‘loss’ on the line that determines the quality of the service, however much beyond 5km (as the line runs) its unlikely to be a runner. Also many houses in the parish are served by very old copper and worse, ‘split lines’, which makes dial-up barely usable but with no hope of ADSL.

As for Kilteel, anyone with an 01 number will be either Rathcoole or Brittas (which I think is now enabled) but will in most cases be too far from the exchanges. The advantage of Kilteel is its views of Saggart Hill and the Kildare plane which offers the possibility of multiple Wireless ISPs (Irish Broadband appears to OK) and of course mobile broadband options (eventually).

The thing to do is even if beyond the 3.5KM inner ring is to get the line checked. If the copper isn’t suitable try getting it upgraded (local council pols are good for a touch now with elections due) its well worth doing even if it takes years as in the long-run houses (in particular family-houses) without decent access to the internet will suffer price-wise relative to their more fortunate neighbours.

The other thing to be aware of, is that as soon as the Exchange is upgraded, Perlico, BT and others will also offer packages (often better than Eircom’s – isn’t competition marvellous!). You should check those out before signing with Eircom’s door-to-door salesmen (as you’ve seen, they’re salesfolks working purely under commission), if you have already signed and you find a more suitable package elsewhere you have a 7-day ‘cooling-off’ period under which you can cancel.

Tom

The “Sales” guy comments on a 3.5km reach would be rubbish in a DSL environment. This might be an optimum distance. Service could extend many km beyond this depending on line quality. Of more relevance is the exchange you are connected to. Beyond Eadestown you are into Naas (enabled) or Blessington (enabled). Beyond Kilteel is likely to be Brittas (not enabled) or Rathcoole (enabled).

Looks like it is actually DSL after all and not WiMax. Sales guy was very shakey on technical detail, so I’ve done my own checking, and based on the fact that WiMax requires Eircom to install an external antenna, I can now assume that a self install modem implies DSL !

Secondly, switch on is Tuesday 24 March. Package will include Setanta Sports and option of voice bundle as well.

David

Signed up today (19 March) for WiMax broadband from Rathmore exchange ! The pre-sales guy from Eircom pulled up his van to the door and 1:30 today, and the deal was done by 2pm.

Services on offer are 1Mb, 3Mb, 7MB, and 7.6Mb with uplink bandwidths of 128k, 384k, 384k, and 672k respectively.

Pricing is Euro 25.09 for the basic package up to Euro 48.60 for the high end service. Connection is Euro 29.99 – for which you get a “free” self install WiFi modem in the post.

Service is expected to be operational by 23 March.

Supposedly the range is 3.5km, so Rathmore as far as Eadestown is being actively sold. Kilteel not, I am told, as coverage will not extend that far.

That is fantastic news! I actually noticed two Eircom vans heading towards Rathmore exchange while out for a walk in the snow this morning, hoping against hope that they were on “broadband business” as the local Omnitel network was down yet again.

We’re just across the road from you in Newtown Grove and are also down in a hole, limiting wireless options to Farther Ryan’s Omnitel aerial, so great news for us too.

Tom

Laurie