# Vodafone SIRO Broadband with EWI



## anonon (15 Aug 2020)

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone else had any issues getting set up on Vodafone SIRO.  As I have external insulation they have to apply to the council for permission to dig a hole outside and will take another 28-35 days!  Ive already given notice to quit to my existing provider and now fear having no service.  Called Vodafone to see what they could suggest but no real joy - pre paid dongle in the interim - god knows how much top up would cost between Netflix and 3 teenagers.  Thought they would be a better provider but not so sure now!  In a predicament


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## SparkRite (15 Aug 2020)

anonon said:


> pre paid dongle in the interim - god knows how much top up would cost between Netflix and 3 teenagers



€25.98 for 2 months with GOMO.
If you have good reception in your area, may be an option.
But you will be limited to 80GB per month.


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## Lightning (16 Aug 2020)

anonon said:


> Hi,
> I was wondering if anyone else had any issues getting set up on Vodafone SIRO.  As I have external insulation they have to apply to the council for permission to dig a hole outside and will take another 28-35 days!  Ive already given notice to quit to my existing provider and now fear having no service.  Called Vodafone to see what they could suggest but no real joy - pre paid dongle in the interim - god knows how much top up would cost between Netflix and 3 teenagers.  Thought they would be a better provider but not so sure now!  In a predicament



Three Pay as You Go Sim in a 4G modem. Unlimited data. 28 EUR per 28 days.


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## Zenith63 (16 Aug 2020)

What’s the issue with having external insulation, they don’t want to drill through it?

I got the Eir FTTH a couple of months back and had them feed the fibre through a soffit and into the attic, rather drilling through a wall. I happened to have connectivity from the attic so this suited me much better, any chance something similar might work for you to sidestep the external insulation issue?


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## Leo (17 Aug 2020)

anonon said:


> As I have external insulation they have to apply to the council for permission to dig a hole outside and will take another 28-35 days!



Bit unusual, is your house directly on the street and are they seeking to bore in under the pavement?


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## elleyg (28 Aug 2020)

anonon said:


> Hi,
> I was wondering if anyone else had any issues getting set up on Vodafone SIRO.  As I have external insulation they have to apply to the council for permission to dig a hole outside and will take another 28-35 days!  Ive already given notice to quit to my existing provider and now fear having no service.  Called Vodafone to see what they could suggest but no real joy - pre paid dongle in the interim - god knows how much top up would cost between Netflix and 3 teenagers.  Thought they would be a better provider but not so sure now!  In a predicament


Hi,
Yes, my mam was trying to move from her current broadband provider to Sky who couldn't puncture her insulation to attach the satellite also virgin media would not do it to drill for new cables through it as it punctures the seal on it and voids the effectiveness of it as rain can seep in and rot the underneath nor will they take the responsibility for it so she had to stay with her current provider who are dreadful!  Also we had the gas meter replacement guy out this week in our house and he couldn't replace it as the insulation was surrounding the outside meter box, so that can't be done without breaking the seal, great!!  I'm sure the insulation companies are fully aware of these issues but nothing was advised to us by them at time of purchase.  We've had ours over 10yrs now, great for the insulation but could have done with some practical advise around service provider issues.
Elleyg


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## Phil_space (19 Oct 2020)

I was with Vodafone and tried to move onto Siro a couple of years ago. Got an engineer out and when he saw my external insulation said it couldn't be done. I have sinced moved to Digiweb but working from home has exposed my slow internet speeds. There is fibre to the cabinet but copper to the house. As such I need to look at Siro again. I'd be interested in anyone who has external insulation and has had it installed to give me some advice before an engineer comes again and says it can't be done. @Zenith63 was it much of a job getting it through the soffits/attic? Will I need to convince an engineer to do it? Any advice appreciated.


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## Zenith63 (19 Oct 2020)

Phil_space said:


> @Zenith63 was it much of a job getting it through the soffits/attic? Will I need to convince an engineer to do it? Any advice appreciated.


Nope definitely not a big job, in-fact it's much easier for the installer.  They have to go up to the roof anyway and put a mounting point there, then string the cable over from the nearest pole.  In a 'normal' install they'd then have to run the cable down the wall, put a hole in your wall and make it neat and tidy in your living room say.  In my case he just drilled a small hole in the plastic soffit, poked the cable through and terminated the fibre in the attic, job done.  No persuasion required, just told him that's where it needed to terminate and he did it.  Now if you were asking them to come in a soffit, then start running it around you attic and down a couple of stories inside the house that would obviously be a lot more work and a different story .

The key is to ask why they cannot install with external insulation.  Do they not think they can get a good fix for the mounting point where the cable from the pole will arrive, or are they not happy fixing the cable down the outside of the wall?  If the former you might just need to get somebody else to put the fixings into the wall before they get there or something like that.  It would be a small cost/inconvenience compared to the years of great Internet connectivity imho!


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## Zenith63 (19 Oct 2020)

No prob at all, though if the queries will help future visitors it would be best to just post them here...


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## Phil_space (27 Oct 2020)

Have been on to Digiweb and have Siro engineer coming to take a look next week, so will provide an update after that. Quick question @Zenith63 why did you terminate the fibre in the attic? Did you then run the cables round the house yourself?


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## Phil_space (2 Nov 2020)

Just an update. Had Actavo here today and engineers were very non-committal about what a solution might be to my Siro installation. Whilst the only option is an overhead one, after a brief discussion, during which Actavo could not offer any solution, I asked could the fixing point be placed on the soffit of the gable end of the house and then the cable traced underneath the soffit to a potential entry point on the frame of the front door. They said that 'might work' but that it was my responsibility to attach the fixing point to the soffit and they only gave vague suggestions as to where this should be positioned. My understanding is that they will not do any work on a house with EI and the homeowner must do all the preparatory work themselves. They gave me a number in Actavo to ring when I had done all of the work. So I now have to try to find someone who will attach a fixing point to the soffit and then hope that the ESB don't reject this when they come to fix the fibre cable! So not sure where I go from here. Perhaps mobile broadband


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## Zenith63 (3 Nov 2020)

Phil_space said:


> Have been on to Digiweb and have Siro engineer coming to take a look next week, so will provide an update after that. Quick question @Zenith63 why did you terminate the fibre in the attic? Did you then run the cables round the house yourself?


Missed this reply previously sorry!

Yes was doing some work on the house anyway so I ran CAT5 cables to most rooms and terminated them all in the attic.  Also terminated the Virgin Media coax up there (it enters through the attic in most houses so just moved their termination unit up there).  So now have all that mess in the attic and out of the way.

To get any value out of the higher speeds that are available these days, you really need a wired ethernet connection to your laptop/desktop/TV whenever possible.  1Gb/s Internet access is of little use to you over even the best Wifi, which struggles to do better than 100Mb/s.

Regarding your external insulation query, would you try getting onto the original installers and ask them to do it?  At least that way whatever guarantee they gave will be honoured.  Alternatively if you can get into the attic and crawl out towards the soffits you'll be able to see if there is anything behind them that is sturdy enough to be screwed into.  In some cases there may be little there, in others there could be a joist that the soffit is fixed to, then all you need is a handyman to get up there on a ladder and screw an eye bolt through the soffit into the joist.


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## Phil_space (3 Nov 2020)

Thanks @Zenith63. Very useful.


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## talbot (25 Jul 2022)

Wondering if anyone else has experience of successfully installing ftth with wall insulation?


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