so far so good with UTV ADSL

So I got my username and password from UTV and setup my ADSL router when I got home but because I'm moving into a new house I haven't had much spare time on the net lately.

All is well and line is operating pretty good, pings are not as good as what I got with my old BT Business line or NTL 3MB service and of course as its a 2MB line its not as good as my old 3MB NTL connection but its a sight better then the 1MB connection I've been using the past 2 months on a temp basis.

Speed tests results ok too (see above), another benefit over other DSL providers is when using UTV's Northern Ireland proxy server on a UTV connection you can use BBC iPlayer which is very handy :)

Broadband Saga: Getting a telephone line...

So here we are again back to the start of what historically has been extremely painful, those that know me know that I've recently bought myself a house and that I've moved out of my apartment.

Well as part of the usual moving of stuff I now have to get myself a new broadband provider as I can't get NTL in the town I'm now going to be living in and its pretty limited provider wise in the area its basically an unknown wireless provider or a ADSL provider who operates one of Eircom Wholesales resold bit-stream products.

After much reviewing of websites I have decided to go with UTV's bundled 2MB package which includes a "unlimited" option for 5e extra a month so I won't be restricted by set caps that other providers like Eircom, BT or Perlico offer and overall it works out decent enough value at a total cost of 55e per month for phone & Broadband.

So as part of this move I've once again had to get myself an Eircom phone line, those that know me will know I've gone through this saga THREE times before and they I really hate Eircon..sorry Eircom at this stage.

The first time Eircom kept sending the bills to somebody else's address so it took me 3-4 months to get my a/c number as Eircom flat out refused to give it to me over the phone, fax it to me or e-mail it to me and I needed it to change to BT Business, the second time it took a month to get the a/c number and the third time also took weeks to get the a/c number so in the end I canceled the lot and went with NTL's 3MB package.

So here I am, I've just placed an on-line order for a telephone line and based on the details on the site the install "should" be free.

If your home has never had an eircom phoneline but all line work is in place, the connection will be FREE (normally €49.99** inc VAT).

While my house has never had a phoneline as its just been built it does have all the wiring and I can even get an engaged tone off a phone when its plugged in, the nearest install date Eircom would give me is 2nd July so we'll see how things go and I'll keep you all posted.

Fingers crossed.....