Hi, can anyone advise on a reliable internet/broadband provider in the Somerton/Carr's Mill area?
Our current provider is Sky and the internet keeps dropping off, which isn't ideal when you're working from home for the foreseeable and regularly dropping out of work calls. I've also heard that many of the providers use the same line, so maybe Eir and Sky are on the same line, so wouldn't be any benefit in switching to Eir? Does anyone know which providers share the same line?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Internet / Broadband
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Random Citizen
- Posts: 30
- Joined: 30 Nov 2014, 21:12
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Sorry for hijacking...
I'm also with Vodafone and in Turvey. Do you see a pattern to your Internet drops? Mine drops consistently (I can see the disconnect in the router logs) when I'm about 10-20% into a big download (like a Java or a game [Sims!] update).
Eir, Sky and Vodafone use the same infrastructure going back to the local exchange.
Switching between them with that service will make little difference.
Since April, direct fibre is being rolled out across Donabate, with Openeir completing tests at the moment.
Having spoken with them, the service will go live in the coming weeks meaning speeds up to 1 gigabit, and as it is direct fibre you should not be sharing with a neighbour and as a result, no loss of service even at peak times.
They are far behind schedule with the rollout, but it is badly needed.
A couple of things to keep in mind,
1.unlike the broadband you currently have, direct fibre has either a 1tb or 2tb limit for users, while generous you should still check on your current monthly usage
2. Price, it is more expensive especially when the contract ends. Read everything ask questions
3. Drilling may be required to get the fibre cable into your address and if you have external insulation you may have to pay for that to be done yourself as installers do not want to risk property damage.
4. The ducting the fibre runs through may need ckeanibg/ replacing, should that be on your property, once again, it may be down to you to resolve.
Those are not to put anyone off, but so you are aware of what happens to receive this ultrafast broadband service when it switches on here.
Switching between them with that service will make little difference.
Since April, direct fibre is being rolled out across Donabate, with Openeir completing tests at the moment.
Having spoken with them, the service will go live in the coming weeks meaning speeds up to 1 gigabit, and as it is direct fibre you should not be sharing with a neighbour and as a result, no loss of service even at peak times.
They are far behind schedule with the rollout, but it is badly needed.
A couple of things to keep in mind,
1.unlike the broadband you currently have, direct fibre has either a 1tb or 2tb limit for users, while generous you should still check on your current monthly usage
2. Price, it is more expensive especially when the contract ends. Read everything ask questions
3. Drilling may be required to get the fibre cable into your address and if you have external insulation you may have to pay for that to be done yourself as installers do not want to risk property damage.
4. The ducting the fibre runs through may need ckeanibg/ replacing, should that be on your property, once again, it may be down to you to resolve.
Those are not to put anyone off, but so you are aware of what happens to receive this ultrafast broadband service when it switches on here.
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Vlad the Impaler
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The Virgin cable has been fine for me.
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Bottlebrush-PJ
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Hi all,
Thanks for the responses. They're very helpful.
@Tomat, you've provided some very useful and detailed info there, much appreciated. Do you know who will be the provider of this direct fibre that is being rolled out across Donabate? Will this just be Eir or will other providers such as Sky etc. be using this direct fibre line also?
In Somerton/Carr's Mill, there isn't any Virgin Media broadband line to avail of here.
Thanks for the responses. They're very helpful.
@Tomat, you've provided some very useful and detailed info there, much appreciated. Do you know who will be the provider of this direct fibre that is being rolled out across Donabate? Will this just be Eir or will other providers such as Sky etc. be using this direct fibre line also?
In Somerton/Carr's Mill, there isn't any Virgin Media broadband line to avail of here.
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Donabate2005
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Excellent news, it can’t come quick enough!Tomat wrote: ↑08 Sep 2020, 13:04 Eir, Sky and Vodafone use the same infrastructure going back to the local exchange.
Switching between them with that service will make little difference.
Since April, direct fibre is being rolled out across Donabate, with Openeir completing tests at the moment.
Having spoken with them, the service will go live in the coming weeks meaning speeds up to 1 gigabit, and as it is direct fibre you should not be sharing with a neighbour and as a result, no loss of service even at peak times.
They are far behind schedule with the rollout, but it is badly needed.
A couple of things to keep in mind,
1.unlike the broadband you currently have, direct fibre has either a 1tb or 2tb limit for users, while generous you should still check on your current monthly usage
2. Price, it is more expensive especially when the contract ends. Read everything ask questions
3. Drilling may be required to get the fibre cable into your address and if you have external insulation you may have to pay for that to be done yourself as installers do not want to risk property damage.
4. The ducting the fibre runs through may need ckeanibg/ replacing, should that be on your property, once again, it may be down to you to resolve.
Those are not to put anyone off, but so you are aware of what happens to receive this ultrafast broadband service when it switches on here.
We have fibre to the cabinet in Somerton / carrs mill area and it’s been very poor since March.
FTTH (fibre to the home) will be available from all companies who lease from Openeir so,, Sky, Eir, Vodafone, Pure Telecom etc.
An engineer today was running tests in the area to check that the distribution points are all properly connected,, final testing and splicing to be done then we should finally be able to enjoy reliable broadband, subject to a survey of the connection to your property as I mentioned in my original post.
Remember too if you have a monitored alarm running with your current provider,, FTTH will likely not cover that, check with your alarm company to see whether they have a GSM based alternative.
Each distribution point covers 12 properties. Look out for the Eircom covers with the codex written in white paint to see where they are near you.
An engineer today was running tests in the area to check that the distribution points are all properly connected,, final testing and splicing to be done then we should finally be able to enjoy reliable broadband, subject to a survey of the connection to your property as I mentioned in my original post.
Remember too if you have a monitored alarm running with your current provider,, FTTH will likely not cover that, check with your alarm company to see whether they have a GSM based alternative.
Each distribution point covers 12 properties. Look out for the Eircom covers with the codex written in white paint to see where they are near you.
Tomat, you seem to have quite some knowledge perhaps i can tap into. I have spoken to eir and they say they cannot assist me. Basically all the guys under the ground i have spoken to say the copper from the road to my house has me snookered as it by their speed measurement is "appalling". Should i wait for the rollout you mention or go with one of the satellite guys?.
appreciate your input and others.
appreciate your input and others.
Re Vodafone and dropouts, what should I be looking for in the logs?
I get the same problems, where the internet will just stop for 3 or 4 minutes, usually when watching Amazon or Netflix, and then having to reload and scroll to the last watched bit.
I get the same problems, where the internet will just stop for 3 or 4 minutes, usually when watching Amazon or Netflix, and then having to reload and scroll to the last watched bit.
Based on what the engineers have told me, the fibre to the home/ direct fibre service will begin in the coming weeks.
I know people who have set it up elsewhere and are delighted with it as no sharing of whichever service you order 150mb/ 500mb/ 1gb
Im holding in for it.
Re satellite broadband, my brother lives in a rural area and gets about 40mb so is thrilled to get even that. It involved the ubstallation of an antenna on the side of the house and the costs linked with that, monthly bill is around 65e I think, but he has no alternative
At this point it is down to how urgent you need service. But whoever you select, check to see whether there are monthly caps on usage and what the penalties are for exceeding them.
I know people who have set it up elsewhere and are delighted with it as no sharing of whichever service you order 150mb/ 500mb/ 1gb
Im holding in for it.
Re satellite broadband, my brother lives in a rural area and gets about 40mb so is thrilled to get even that. It involved the ubstallation of an antenna on the side of the house and the costs linked with that, monthly bill is around 65e I think, but he has no alternative
At this point it is down to how urgent you need service. But whoever you select, check to see whether there are monthly caps on usage and what the penalties are for exceeding them.
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luckycat007
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In Beverton virgin media has been very good...500mbps tier.
Delighted that you have a fast reliable service in Beverton, envious too.
I had thought of trying Virgin again despite an appalling service from them 3 years ago, however a neighbour switched to them about 4 weeks ago on the 360mb plan, they told me speeds have varied between 16! and 280 depending on the time of day. I can't waste my money on an experience like that again.
FTTH appears soon.
I had thought of trying Virgin again despite an appalling service from them 3 years ago, however a neighbour switched to them about 4 weeks ago on the 360mb plan, they told me speeds have varied between 16! and 280 depending on the time of day. I can't waste my money on an experience like that again.
FTTH appears soon.Hi Tomat
I am in Beverton and on the 240 plan with Virgin. When I signed up I ask what was the min speed i would get and was told 120.
I was not getting this and when I rang to complain I was told there was two broadband signals from the modem and I was setup on the wrong one. All I had to do was select the 5GHz single and happy days. No issues since.
You have a 14 day cooling off period.
I am in Beverton and on the 240 plan with Virgin. When I signed up I ask what was the min speed i would get and was told 120.
I was not getting this and when I rang to complain I was told there was two broadband signals from the modem and I was setup on the wrong one. All I had to do was select the 5GHz single and happy days. No issues since.
You have a 14 day cooling off period.
Dual and routers are very useful but only if the broadband speed itself is reliable. 5ghz signal is better for high speed needs such as gaming, but signal quality and strength travels a shorter distance from the router. You also need devices which can run on the 5ghz bandwidth, a lot of older laprops/ pc's/ tablets don't have that option
The new housing developments around the peninsula mat well have a more reliable virgin media broadband, but as my neighbour has discovered most other locations are still running on their "daisy chain" configurarion wher your speed depends on who else is on the "line" (known as contention. Direct fibre, from whichever provider, removes that problem but networks know they can charge extra for it. I look forward to its going live
Apologies for the essays I have been writing, but I hope it gives some useful information and tips., for when the peninsula finally arrives at a 21st century broadband service.
I
The new housing developments around the peninsula mat well have a more reliable virgin media broadband, but as my neighbour has discovered most other locations are still running on their "daisy chain" configurarion wher your speed depends on who else is on the "line" (known as contention. Direct fibre, from whichever provider, removes that problem but networks know they can charge extra for it. I look forward to its going live
Apologies for the essays I have been writing, but I hope it gives some useful information and tips., for when the peninsula finally arrives at a 21st century broadband service.
I
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SMcDermott
- Posts: 7
- Joined: 30 Sep 2020, 21:25
We are in Glaslinn on the Portrane road with Virgin broadband and I've noticed that service can drop off quite a bit at peak times after 5pm. However from reading the messages on this board it looks like we already have the best option.
I'm just wondering if other Virgin customers have noticed the same dip in the evenings?
I'm just wondering if other Virgin customers have noticed the same dip in the evenings?
An update on FTTH
Spoke with 2 providers today
Orders for FTTH will be bookable from mid November.
One company currently shows you can book it on their site but when you online chat, they confirm it is not in fact live.
Hopefully there will be some strong offers for this service and as the fibre is direct to your door, you will see very little loss of speed at any time as you will not be sharing the line with anyone else.
Anyway, finally there is (fibre optical) light at the end of the tunnel.
Spoke with 2 providers today
Orders for FTTH will be bookable from mid November.
One company currently shows you can book it on their site but when you online chat, they confirm it is not in fact live.
Hopefully there will be some strong offers for this service and as the fibre is direct to your door, you will see very little loss of speed at any time as you will not be sharing the line with anyone else.
Anyway, finally there is (fibre optical) light at the end of the tunnel.
I use virgin, I have their 1gb package had the 500Mb previously. I do see some drop off occasionally but in general it's good. One thing to watch out for is how you are doing your speed test. Some of the speedtest sites including Virgins are not set up for higher level speed tests.SMcDermott wrote: ↑07 Oct 2020, 11:39 We are in Glaslinn on the Portrane road with Virgin broadband and I've noticed that service can drop off quite a bit at peak times after 5pm. However from reading the messages on this board it looks like we already have the best option.
I'm just wondering if other Virgin customers have noticed the same dip in the evenings?
The most reliable way that I have found is to download the speed test tool from the Microsoft Store vs. running it via browser, especially if you are running Windows 10. Then select either Airspeed or Virgin for testing. I have the 1GB service, not FTTH its just fibre to the cabinet.
I've had Vodafone, eir and Sky in Carrs Mill over the years and Sky was the best by far in terms of support. When something went wrong with the others the support was terrible, beyond awful. That said, Sky was still unreliable and was awful during the first lockdown.
Moved to a house with fibre and use Virgin now. Very fast (200mbps average I'd say) and reliable compared to the others but no idea if the support is any good.
That said, the Virgin Media TV bundle is terrible to use compared to Sky - slow and unresponsive. I'd go back to Sky for TV, but not broadband.
Moved to a house with fibre and use Virgin now. Very fast (200mbps average I'd say) and reliable compared to the others but no idea if the support is any good.
That said, the Virgin Media TV bundle is terrible to use compared to Sky - slow and unresponsive. I'd go back to Sky for TV, but not broadband.
Not a technical person at all but we live in Beverton and have always had poor broadband - never got above 100mpbs and the broadband would drop at least once a day for no reason - we were with Eir
Decided to move to SKY recently as they had a 12 month half price offer and reckoned it couldn't be any worse
Anyway the Engineer who came out on behalf of SKY ran a new cable outside the house and drilled a new hole through the wall to the new sky router - he told us the existing cable was corroded and this could be the reason for the poor broadband
Turns out he was right we are getting 300 mpbs and hasn't dropped once over the last month or so and we don't know ourselves
Our house is approx 20 years old so suggest you check your cable if the broadband is poor
Decided to move to SKY recently as they had a 12 month half price offer and reckoned it couldn't be any worse
Anyway the Engineer who came out on behalf of SKY ran a new cable outside the house and drilled a new hole through the wall to the new sky router - he told us the existing cable was corroded and this could be the reason for the poor broadband
Turns out he was right we are getting 300 mpbs and hasn't dropped once over the last month or so and we don't know ourselves
Our house is approx 20 years old so suggest you check your cable if the broadband is poor
Fibre to the Home, with speeds up to 1gb has finally launched in the peninsula.
Booked and installation set for the end of this week.
Multiple providers including Sky, Eir, Pure Telecom and Vodafone offering the service.
Some with a 150mbs speed option, but most offering either 500mbs or 1gb speeds.
Log onto any of their websites and have your Eircode handy, plus if you want to keep a land-line phone number have your UAN and/ or CRN handy too.
Booked and installation set for the end of this week.
Multiple providers including Sky, Eir, Pure Telecom and Vodafone offering the service.
Some with a 150mbs speed option, but most offering either 500mbs or 1gb speeds.
Log onto any of their websites and have your Eircode handy, plus if you want to keep a land-line phone number have your UAN and/ or CRN handy too.
Have been working on Vodafone 500mb fibre broadband for the past month. Def better than virgin media who seem to have contention issues now.
Anyway...bottom line Vodafone 35 euro per month for 500mb broadband and landline phone ( I don't use it)
The reduced cost plus having an alternative option to virgin media ( with Eircom, sky and Vodafone) was very attractive and has worked out well.
Was a 20+ year virgin customer.
Anyway...bottom line Vodafone 35 euro per month for 500mb broadband and landline phone ( I don't use it)
The reduced cost plus having an alternative option to virgin media ( with Eircom, sky and Vodafone) was very attractive and has worked out well.
Was a 20+ year virgin customer.
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Bottlebrush-PJ
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- Joined: 01 Sep 2020, 15:56
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Just got in contact with Sky to check our availability in Carr's Mill and appears we can get it.
An engineer is calling to us next week to install "Sky Ultrafast Max" fibre broadband (up to 1GB).
€50 installation fee. Our monthly bill for tv and broadband is going from €89 to €103 per month, which isn't bad.
Hoping for big improvements in reliability and speeds!
An engineer is calling to us next week to install "Sky Ultrafast Max" fibre broadband (up to 1GB).
€50 installation fee. Our monthly bill for tv and broadband is going from €89 to €103 per month, which isn't bad.
Hoping for big improvements in reliability and speeds!