Ireland, they say, has finally come of age in broadband access. According to official statistics, 90 per cent of the country’s population can now receive some form of broadband signal. But what are the real choices that people have? Is Eircom still the only game in town for rural communities? Is 3G broadband available everywhere? And how do cable, wireless and satellite broadband enter the mix?
The majority of broadband subscriptions in Ireland are still over the old-fashioned phone line. But other technologies are catching up fast. Here’s a summary of what those technologies are, where they’re available and how much they typically cost.
Fixed line DSL
This is the most common type of broadband and it comes through your copper telephone line. Speeds vary from one megabit per second (1Mbs) to almost 20Mbs, although the highest speeds are only available in a very small number of urban areas. Most fixed line DSL services are now bundled with telephone services. An entry-level bundle typically costs about €35-€40 per month, including line rental.
3G mobile broadband
This is the fastest growing form of broadband in the country. It works using the mobile phone network. You buy a USB ‘stick’ or ‘dongle’ from one of the four mobile phone operators and insert it into your laptop’s USB port. The ‘stick’ picks up the mobile broadband signal and connects you to the internet. 3G broadband speeds vary from about 0.3Mbs to about 3Mbs, although operators often claim they are capable of up to 7.2Mbs. A 3G broadband service costs around €20 per month and can be used on a bill-pay or pay-as-you-go basis. The service is available in all cities, large towns and suburban areas (except for Meteor, which is only available in Dublin and Cork).
Cable broadband
Both NTL and Chorus (which are part of the same company, UPC) offer broadband services. These range from 1Mbs to 20Mbs and are usually part of a bundle with telephone and television services. Over half of NTL/Chorus customers can receive this broadband. The service costs from €22 per month.
Fixed wireless broadband
Many towns and cities can now receive wireless broadband services from companies such as Irish Broadband and Ice Broadband. This service works by placing an antenna on top of your house. The antenna receives a wireless broadband signal from a nearby mast. Speeds vary from 1Mbs to 6Mbs. The service costs from €20.
Satellite broadband
This is for very rural areas with no alternative broadband access. Speeds are low (starting at 0.5Mbs) and the cost is high (starting at €100 per month). Companies such as Digiweb and Eircom offer this service.
There are some other things to note about broadband services in Ireland:
Speed: how fast is fast enough?
The entry-level broadband package is one megabit per second (1Mbs). This is normally fast enough to browse the internet comfortably, send emails and shop online. Anything higher than 1Mbs is useful for downloading big files, such as music, photos and videos.
Data caps: a limit on your downloads
Most broadband services have a monthly limit (or ‘data cap’) on the amount of information or files that you can download each month. Most people will never exceed these data caps, which are typically 10 or 20 gigabytes. However, if you wish to download videos and films, you might reach this data cap quickly: an average film takes about 0.7 gigabytes of space to download. Once a data cap is breached, the operator will slow your broadband service down until the next month begins. This is to discourage further heavy downloading.
* Adrian Weckler is the Technology Editor of the Sunday Business Post
Tags: Adrian Weckler, broadband
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A well thought out, comprehensive article. Cheers.
I was with NTL for the TV.
Week after week after week would come a letter from NTL - offering €22 broadband.
Week after week I would tear up same letter, (and of course recycle it :o).
The one day I realised I needed NTL.
Bingo! NTL shot into my brain.
To the phone I went, the guy arrived (at the stated time) and broadband was duly installed. This is a good few months ago and I am very happy with the service.
So NTL are not all bad!
One thing though… those cheerful letters offering €22 broadband from NTL.
Nope. They did not stop :)))
I was hoping this article would set out relative value for money for each of the operators.
I have a 3mobile internet connection which promised a 3mbs download speed but NEVER exceeded even 80-100 Kbs. When i queried it they said that the values advertised were guide speeds in ideal conditions and that the amount of users of their service in any one area would have an adverse effect on this
Yes, these are the options, but we already knew them. A comprehensive list is offered by the Irish Government: http://www.broadband.gov.ie/
What this country lacks is good information on the quality of these services: the difference between what is promised and what you actually get, how often you get a poor service, how soon is it fixed, how hard is it to get in touch with the ISP’s support centre. That’s the kind of information nobody offers, and, before you sign a 1-year or 2-year contract, you better know what you get yourself into.
I think I must fall under the rural area, although only 30 minutes drive from Cork city! I have no alternative but to get the Satellite broadband which is an expensive option. This promise of nationwide availability is a joke, everyone should have access to affordable broadband
V Dumitrescu. Bang on. I was in touch again with Three mobile at the weekend about the connection and they pretty much said ‘ah, it is poor connection because you are on an old modem dongle!! Ypu need to upgrade to the new one’
I said fair enough i’ll take that but they want to charge me €129 for it cos i don’t qualify for an upgrade due to the tariff i’m on, even tho if i was a new customer i would get it anyway….
I found http://ratemyisp.ie/ratings/ to be useful when looking at the broadband options in Ireland. It lists each of the services along with customer reviews and ranks them accordingly.
A question from a reader, Paul.
Hi, I’m going to get satellite broadband. should I get digiweb or satellite broadband Ireland?
Reply by Adrian Weckler, Technology journalist
Dear Paul
I’d like to answer your question in two parts.
Firstly, satellite broadband is very, very expensive compared to other forms of broadband. While the monthly fee is reasonable, starting at €30 or €35, the installation and equipment charge is huge: at least €500 from any provider. One of the reasons it is so expensive is that satellite broadband is usually a last resort option for home users. In other words, it is the option to turn to when all other avenues have been exhausted. Typically, this is because a customer lives in a very rural or remote area of the country. With this in mind, I’d like to know: where do you live? The reason for the question is that the government is currently rolling out its National Broadband Scheme, which guarantees to cover every part of Ireland. This is concentrated mostly in the west of the country, where coverage from other broadband operators is patchiest. You can check to see whether your area is next to be covered under the National Broadband Scheme by clicking on http://www.three.ie/nbs (but yes, you do need a broadband connection to see that in the first place).
To come back to your question as to which company offers the best satellite package, it’s hard not to choose Digiweb, based on the packages on offer from the two providers you’re considering. Aside from the fact that Digiweb has been in the satellite broadband business for years, it appears to be considerably cheaper than Satellite Broadband Ireland’s offerings. Digiweb’s basic price is €35 per month and €590 for equipment and installation on a 3.6Mbs package. While SBI quotes €30 per month for the same service, its equipment and installation costs are far higher, at over €800 (when Vat is taken into account). At those levels, you would need to stay with SBI for almost four years before the two packages evened themselves out, price-wise.
Hope this helps.
Adrian Weckler