# Broadband Connection - no space available !



## creditworthy (14 Jul 2020)

Hi , Can I just ask if this  makes sense in these modern times ! 
Recent connection  made  for  Broadband only   with a well known company . Following installation , the download speed is 6  !! When queried today they said  that there was no port available in the cabinet on the street to do the    "Fibre  to cabinet / copper to the house   connection  so the connection  is copper  to  both the cabinet and to the house ... if  my  explanation makes any sense . 

I am baffled as to how  if the cabinet is " full " of connections  and there re none available to take a new connection along our street - how on earth does this make sense . 

They said the only option was for them  to contact ( can`t think of who )  to see if there were any ports coming up for availability in the cabinet -  that seems totally prehistoric to me   and I don`t get  it at all ... basically have to wait for a slot to become available  !!   
I would just like to put it out there  to see if that`s totally nonsense . Thank you .


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## MrEarl (14 Jul 2020)

Unlikely as it may seem, I believe that it can actually happen.

Whether you went to Eir, or one of the other providers (excl Virgin or Siro reseller), you are relying on Eir's infrastructure - which is, eh, not great.

If I were you, I would get onto whatever service provider your signed up with and tell them that you aren't paying for what's being offered and you want to be refunded, if you've already made a payment. That may get their attention and see if they can pull a rabbit out of the hat.


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## Boyd (15 Jul 2020)

Is the 6MB on WiFi or wired? Don't get me wrong, it's still terrible but worth to be clear on the test conditions, as they will ask you.


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## KOW (15 Jul 2020)

creditworthy said:


> Hi , Can I just ask if this  makes sense in these modern times !
> Recent connection  made  for  Broadband only   with a well known company . Following installation , the download speed is 6  !! When queried today they said  that there was no port available in the cabinet on the street to do the    "Fibre  to cabinet / copper to the house   connection  so the connection  is copper  to  both the cabinet and to the house ... if  my  explanation makes any sense .
> 
> I am baffled as to how  if the cabinet is " full " of connections  and there re none available to take a new connection along our street - how on earth does this make sense .
> ...


Something similar happend to me a number of years back. Built new house and requested broadband connection from EIR. Engineer told me that not enough capacity to service my house. After a bit of going back and forth Eir changed whatever connection they had to a house three doors up where a very elderly lady lived and did not need the service. 2007.


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## Leo (15 Jul 2020)

Boyd said:


> Is the 6MB on WiFi or wired? Don't get me wrong, it's still terrible but worth to be clear on the test conditions, as they will ask you.



The 6MB refers to the connection to the property, not the router performance.


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## Leo (15 Jul 2020)

creditworthy said:


> They said the only option was for them to contact ( can`t think of who ) to see if there were any ports coming up for availability in the cabinet - that seems totally prehistoric to me and I don`t get it at all ... basically have to wait for a slot to become available !!



There are a limited number of ports available in those cabinets. Unless they plan to upgrade the cabinet, you're relying on someone with a connection cancelling their service.


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## creditworthy (15 Jul 2020)

Thank you for all your help . Yes they phoned  me back saying the same - have to wait until a slot becomes available .  Might as well get  out  the carrier pigeon !!


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## PaddyBloggit (15 Jul 2020)

creditworthy said:


> Thank you for all your help . Yes they phoned me back saying the same - have to wait until a slot becomes available . Might as well get out the carrier pigeon !!



and what are you paying in the meantime? Hope you're not paying for a service that they can't provide!


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## Boyd (15 Jul 2020)

Leo said:


> The 6MB refers to the connection to the property, not the router performance.


Ok, but the OP said the 6MB was the download speed...how would one test that without hitting fast.com or similar website via a browser? 

If the 6MB is all that's coming into the house, then the WiFi must be only around 1MB download speed?! Apologies if that's a stupid question.


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## Zenith63 (15 Jul 2020)

Worth checking if SIRO have pulled fibre into your area, and also if/when Eir will be putting in fibre-to-the-home.  Both are actively rolling out across the country at the moment and would overcome your issue. And of course if you have Virgin Media cable TV their broadband is excellent.


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## Leo (15 Jul 2020)

Boyd said:


> Ok, but the OP said the 6MB was the download speed...how would one test that without hitting fast.com or similar website via a browser?
> 
> If the 6MB is all that's coming into the house, then the WiFi must be only around 1MB download speed?! Apologies if that's a stupid question.



When people talk about the lines and cabinets, they're usually talking about the line capacity. The provider will specify the upper limit of what the line can support, in this case 6MB. 

If you get 6MB to the house, WiFi should deliver very close to that when you're by the router. Distance from the router and obstacles in the way will determine what you get as you move away from it.


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## SparkRite (15 Jul 2020)

I very much doubt that the OP is getting 6MB, as everyone is assuming, remember all he said was:-


creditworthy said:


> Following installation , the download speed is 6  !!


6 what ?

I would suspect, what he meant is, that he is getting 6*Mb*_ (megabits). _Kinda slow in today's terms.
However a steady 6MB is perfectly usable even for Netflix UHD.


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## Zenith63 (15 Jul 2020)

SparkRite said:


> I very much doubt that the OP is getting 6MB, as everyone is assuming, remember all he said was:-
> 
> 6 what ?
> 
> ...


That's splitting hairs a bit now.  Connection speeds are univerally referred to in megabits, which outside of IT is universally shortened to MB or Mb - incorrectly in the former case but we all know what is being talked about here...


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## SparkRite (15 Jul 2020)

Zenith63 said:


> That's splitting hairs a bit now.  Connection speeds are univerally referred to in megabits, which outside of IT is universally shortened to MB or Mb - incorrectly in the former case but we all know what is being talked about here...


Not at all!
Massive difference between the two. 
And as I said I suspect posters here were wrongly using MB as opposed to Mb. 

Universally megabits is shortened to Mb and not as you suggest, either/or MB. 

I find it is generally better when discussing anything of a technical nature to use the correct terminology to help avoid any misunderstanding or ambiguity.


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## Zenith63 (15 Jul 2020)

Lets not derail the thread, I'm aware there's a significant difference.  My point is just that there is no where a user will see a MB figure when referring to bandwidth and it's REALLY common for even IT people to type MB instead of Mb.  So when somebody says they've got a 6MB connection they don't mean megabytes, they mean megabits.

If we're going to be pedantic however, Mb or MB are wrong in this case as they refer to a quantum of data, not speed of transfer.  Connections are generally Mbps or Mb/s.


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## SparkRite (15 Jul 2020)

Zenith63 said:


> Lets not derail the thread, I'm aware there's a significant difference.



I agree, but then you follow on with:-



Zenith63 said:


> If we're going to be pedantic however, Mb or MB are wrong in this case as they refer to a quantum of data, not speed of transfer.  Connections are generally Mbps or Mb/s.



Absolutely NOTHING to do with pedantry. It is vitally important, especially in the written word, that we are all 'singing from the same hymn sheet'.
When speaking with someone we will use the words ' I have a 60 meg service' or suchlike and we all know what they mean.
However when written and some one is peeved with something and just says 'all I'm getting is 6' then it is VERY important to differentiate between
megaBYTES and megaBITS. We don't even know what the OP has paid for and maybe 6Mb(ps) will suffice. I strongly suspect that most people would be happy with 6MB(ps) speeds.
Also it helps towards stopping something that I have seen many times over the years on forums, such as: _" I went to buy a window 100 X 100 mm and they quoted €275, I think this is expensive? " _Three pages later of many posts dis/agreeing and recommending such and such glaziers, the OP comes back and says:-
_"Sorry, I meant CM and not MM"_.

Anyway I still think my post is valid, irrespective of your accusation of ME being pedantic. (per second....hmmm)


@creditworthy I suggest you get on to your provider and request that they actually send someone out to the cabinet to check for a free port. Eir's records are hopelessly out of date and very seldom, if ever, reflect the true state of affairs. I would lay money on it, that there is/are port(s) available.


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## joer (15 Jul 2020)

Hi SparkRite
How would you know that Eir,s records are out of date ? . People do not have to go to a cabinet to know whether there are spare ports  or not.
I do not think that it matters to the customer whether its Mb, MB, Bytes or Bits. When people say they are getting 6 it means its the download speed .


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## Aamstrong (15 Jul 2020)

I had a similar problem this month in South Dublin. Supplier either said I went with their 4g router or cancelled the contract without charge and went to virgin. Since I changed to virgin it is a lot faster.


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## creditworthy (16 Jul 2020)

Speed test is 6 Mbps , I`m not a techie  but neighbour ( who is  connected via the famous cabinet ) is getting a speed of 21 Mbps . Company checked with line provider  and said no slots available .   Have learned a lot  in the past day !! It would never have entered my head to ask a company  about available slots etc , just always assumed it was a case of ask and it shall be connected  . 
 Thank you all.


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## MrEarl (16 Jul 2020)

PaddyBloggit said:


> and what are you paying in the meantime? Hope you're not paying for a service that they can't provide!



Agree 100%


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## Aamstrong (16 Jul 2020)

It's a bit misleading when you look at eir's fibre rollout map, where it says a zone has access to fibre but really if you want a new connection you can't have it. I couldn't believe that tethering off my phone was giving a far faster connection than the wired broadband connection.


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## creditworthy (16 Jul 2020)

No , cancelled   it as was still within the 14 days cooling off period . Thanks , forgot to mention that .


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