Wireless broadband

T

tosullivan

Registered User
Messages
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Just want to get some feedback from people who use clearwire or digiweb or equivalents and what the service is like?

Is it possible to get this for your primary home and bring the unit with you if you go away for a few days and use it somewhere else in the country?
 
Digiweb require that the receiver they install must have a clear line of sight to their transmitter. This transmitter is located on top of the highest building they can find e.g. in Drogheda it is on top of the Lourdes hospital. Frustratingly, an obstruction like a tree or a shed can decide whether or not you receive their signal. In my estate, for example, the guy across the road can receive their signal, but I can not! Digiwebs` engineers must also fix the receiver to an exterior or interior wall, and relay a cable to the modem.
Clearwire is slightly different. They don`t operate on a line of sight principle, but quality of signal does vary in their coverage areas. The installation is much faster, as it does not require a receiver to be fixed. It only requires a modem pointed in the general direction of their transmitter. This modem can be taken with you wherever you go, as long as they have coverage in those areas.
Pricewise Digiweb is cheaper with a 2Mbps download package for €240 per annum. Clearwire have a 1Mbps package for €29.95 per month (€359.40). So that equates to half the speed for €119 extra per annum. They are also sneaky in that they charge €39 extra if you do not sign up for 2 years (minimum 1 year contact).
Finally if you like downloading music from peer to peer sites like MP3Rocket or Limewire, don`t get Clearwire. They have a fair usage policy based on their findings that the top 5% of individuals downloading files were drastically slowing down internet surfing for others. Digiweb have no such policy, so you should find that Clearwire has a more reliable service.
 
From a mobile or portability perspective, you should maybe have a look at some of the 3g offerings, making sure you would have coverage in the main areas you would plan to move to etc. I think the best deals are 3 and Vodafone offering 20euro pm packages, altough watch the caps.

Wexfordman
 
We have had eircom wireless broadband for a year now with no problems whatsoever. We always have a good signal and the box is plugged in upstairs and we use it all over the house on a laptop.
 
The problem with eircom is that you must activate and pay line rental to get broadband from them. In this era of mobile phone usage, many people (especially the younger generation living in apartments etc.) don`t want or need a fixed landline. The problem in Ireland is that some people must choose eircom (or other providers who require a fixed line) if there is no wireless service available. It is also more expensive this way (eircom ~ €600 per annum including unwanted line rental).
 
We use our landline so its great for us obviously dosnt suit everyone though.
 
We were very slow with broadband uptake in Ireland. I think one of the main reasons was the lack of wireless service providers. Although this situation has improved, it is still ridiculous that coverage depends on where you live.
 
I got Irish Broadband wireless broadband installed recently. Internet is very quick and no problems with internet access

However technical support is very poor but very expensive! Customer service is not great either......

Not really wireless either as a radio needs to be installed on the roof and a wire drilled into the house.....I didn't have coverage in my area for the 'plug-in' broadband apparently
 
I find that this forum deals with the topic well: Blacknight

You can test your bb speed/performance on the site.

This is what my wireless bb is achieving today:
Date 06/07/2007 20:14
Download Speed 918 kbps (112 KB/s)
Upload Speed 492 kbps(61 KB/s)
Qos 87 %
RTT 33 ms
Maxpause 226 ms
 

Did you sign up to a 1 Mb download speed package? If so, your speed is very good (918 kbps). I find that at peak surfing times, epecially from 6pm- 9pm, download speeds can reduce by nearly a half.
[broken link removed]also gives stats on speed/ performance
 
Its working now.I lost patience and hit the stop button,then it started to work.Technical eh?
 

Compare yours to mine:

Date 07/07/2007 18:40
Download Speed 1.12 Mbps
Upload Speed 118 Kpbs
Quality of Service 54%
Round Trip Time 47 ms
Maxpause 433ms

By the way, I am serviced by ClearWire braodband and I am subscribed to a 1 Mb download package. As you can see, I am somehow exceeding this which I cannot explain. The QoS at 54% is lower than yours but I am not sure of this significance. I am using a Belkin 54g Router to transmit from the modem, at a distance of 5m from this router.
 
You specifically mentioned ClearWire and Digiweb in your first post. These are wireless. Are you saying that you are also interested in satellite, 3G, cable etc.?
 
not really sure when you put it that way
I thought clearwire & digiweb were for people without landlines?

Are they still wireless systems?
 
Yes, they are wireless, and so are the 3g products from voda, 3 and o2. The 3g products are perhaps the most mobile or flexible from a location point of view. If you have a few location sin mind, you should check the coverage with each operator ad see how you get on. O2 will have edge roled out by end of year, which will give you speeds of about 256k even when out of 3g coverage area.

Dont confuse wireless broadband (broadband delivered via a mast for example) with wifi (wich is just a local wireless device attatched to a landline normally so your laptop can hook up to it).
 
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