I moved to Sligo over a month ago. One of my first and most important tasks was to get broadband into my new appartment. I had 2 options: 1) wireless broadband from Fastcom [1] or 2) DSL from Eircom [2] (It’s possible to get DSL from other providers but since Eircom are the only providers of phone lines it seemed like too much hassle). I was keen to get DSL since I’d had quality of service issues [3] with wireless broadband when I lived in Dublin.

So first I had to get a phone line installed. I ordered the line on Sept. 24th. The line was eventually setup October 17th. So it took three weeks and two days to get the line installed even though all the line work was in place (all that was missing was the connection point inside the apartment - the linework was all in place). It probably would have taken longer if I hadn’t kept phoning them up and asking them to hurry it along.

Once the phone line was installed the line passed the broadband check on the Eircom website. But I couldn’t order online (if you order online you get free connection). After phoning them it turned out that the order was being rejected because it was a new line. Because it was a new line it has never been tested for broadband compatibility. So a technician has to test the line. Lines can fail for various reasons such as being too far from the exchange or having a fault on the line. According to the person I spoke to the pass rate for lines is around 80%. I put the order through over phone but I have to pay 30€ connection fee. I was given an estimated date of November 2nd.

My modem arrived yesterday (Oct. 25th) and my order was complete.

So I finally got broadband and it’s good enough. I’m getting 1.7Mbps on a 2M line. But the process took way too long.

It took me over a month from moving in to finally getting broadband. I think part of the problem is that I didn’t have a lot of options. Eircom are the only provider of phone-lines in this country so there’s no incentive for them to provide an efficient service. I couldn’t cancel my order with them and order a phone line from someone else.

Fo comparison, it’s costing me 55€ per month for 2M broadband and it took over a month for installation. Compare this to Helsinki where I spend some of my time. There it costs 45€ per month for 10M broadband with same-day installation.