Eclipse, Throttling and should I move to IDNet?

[kerrso05]

Hi there  ID Netters

My name is Harry from Northern Ireland and at present I am with Eclipse but I am thinking seriously in moving to IDNet.
I started surfing the Internet about 6 years ago with Freeserve (who then got taken over by Wanadoo) I was reasonably happy with Wanadoo but thought that I could get better value for money and quicker speed so I moved about three years ago to Plusnet.....wrong move  I spent most of my time off line plus they introduced (as soon as I joined) Fair Usage, Traffic Management and Throttling. So when I did get on line they throttled my download speed to 0.2kbs. So I quickly moved to Eclipse who I have been happy with ever since, until last year when  they introduced without notice Throttling and this happens from 8.00am to 12 midnight and it is very bad...about 0.18kbs 
As I use P2P to download I am now being very restricted due to this policy of Throttling. Please understand I am not on this Forum to Eclipse Bash or tear them to threads. I'm on here to get your advice about IDNet.
As I have stated I use P2P but I am thinking of moving to IDnet's package known as "Home Max" with a 30Gb limit.....what I want to know from yourselves, is upload included in this 30Gb limit or is that separate? As my two daughters have a computer each how will I know when the limit is going to be reached.....do I get an advanced Email warning me of this? If not is there a software that I can download to keep an eye on this activity?
If the limit is only on download usage then I feel I can stay within the limit. I would rather have a Capping limit than throttling......which I think is a very harsh way to deal with Customers.
Last year, Eclipse wrote to me and told me that they were putting me onto a LLU system managed by Tiscali (I had no choice on the matter)......will being on a LLU system have any repercussions on me moving back to ADSL...what I mean is will it cost me more to move back to ADSL?
How long does the change over take from Eclipse to IDNet? Plus are there any ex- Eclipse Users on this forum that can confirm/reasure me that this will be a good move for me?
I have written to IDNet (and got a very quick response) asking them do they have any proposals to introduce Traffic Management or Throttling and they confirmed that they don't (but they would say that..wouldn't they??) As IDNet Users have you seen any signs of this policy being introduced?
At the moment I am about 2681 metres away from my Exchange (Samknows Details)...quite a distance away and therefore my line can only safely take a 1meg connection (although Samknows states that I can receive 3.5mbs) can  I ask IDNet for a 1 meg connection only or should I try ADSL Max?
Sorry for this very long winded explanation and questions......I promise I will try to be shorter next time I'm on here 

Thanks

Harry

[Barndog]

Hi Harry, being from N.Ireland myself i migrated 7 days ago from Pipex as i was having the same trouble as you, i just wish i had of heard of idnet sooner, it is like a breath of fresh air being with them, there is no drops in speed that i have noticed from p2p, its just great knowing i can now download when i want and not be restricted, also pipex were stopping me from playing bf 2142 from the evening onwards, with idnet i can play 24/7 if i want, i would recommend idnet to all my friends and i will do...good luck

[Broadback]

Hi, if your usage in any month (calculated from the first) looks like going over your allowance you will receive a very pleasant email from IDNet telling yo so.  Also you can log into your own page (I start from here: http://www.idnet.net/?gclid=CMjx99OynpACFQ6ZQwodq35p7w  )
and see exactly how much you have used so far this month, or previous months, on a monthly or daily basis. 

[Rik]

Hi Harry and welcome to the forum, have a karma to start your career.  

What BB said, with the exception that starting from:

https://www.idnet.net/secure/

takes you straight to the account login page, and uploads do not count.

[Broadback]

Indeed Rik, but then you don't get all those fascinating pictures! 

[cavillas]

Hello Harry,

1. No throttling or traffic shaping.  No plans to introduce it.

2. Uploads not counted in allowances, only downloads.  Warning email sent if approaching allowance although if you go over the limit every 1Gb above is charged at £1.00 and there is no interference with your connection.

3. You could ask Idnet to connect you with MAX and if you have trouble they will always try to get the best speed/connection at a lower rate for you.

4. I am 2.4+ Km away from my exchange and connect at 4Mb, I always download at 3.5+ Mb.

I hope this answers some of your concerns.  Never be afraid to contact IDNET about anything they will always be extremely helpful.

Looking forward to you joining this happy band of users.

[kerrso05]

Hi Harry, being from N.Ireland myself i migrated 7 days ago from Pipex as i was having the same trouble as you, i just wish i had of heard of idnet sooner, it is like a breath of fresh air being with them, there is no drops in speed that i have noticed from p2p, its just great knowing i can now download when i want and not be restricted, also pipex were stopping me from playing bf 2142 from the evening onwards, with idnet i can play 24/7 if i want, i would recommend idnet to all my friends and i will do...good luck

Barndog.......thanks for your greeting and that is great news about no drops in Speed when you are downloading  using P2P (that used to be the case with Eclipse but sadly no more) Barndog, how long did it take you to change over from Pipex to IDNet? and what was your downtime?
I don't if you know the answer to this but what is the best time in the month to move to IDNet? what I mean is...I don't want to pay Eclipse any more than I have too (I'm on a monthly contract)..should I ask for my MAC code after or before my next monthly instalment?
Thanks again and great to hear someone else from Northern Ireland (who has gone through the pain barrier and come out the other end....with IDNet)
Really looking forward to coming to IDNet

Harry

[Rik]

Hi Harry

A MAC is valid for 30 days from request, and must be supplied within five working days. On average, a migration takes 3-5 working days, depending on how busy BT are. Your ideal date for asking for it, therefore, would be about 14-20 days before your next billing date, allowing you time to give it to IDNet and agree an activation date. I'd suggest you move 2-3 days before your billing date to avoid any 'over hang' due to BT being a bit late.

Most ISPs take the MAC request as notice, but confirm with Eclipse that you have ceased to be a customer once you have migrated.

[Noreen]

Harry.

[kerrso05]

Hello Harry,

1. No throttling or traffic shaping.  No plans to introduce it.

2. Uploads not counted in allowances, only downloads.  Warning email sent if approaching allowance although if you go over the limit every 1Gb above is charged at £1.00 and there is no interference with your connection.

3. You could ask Idnet to connect you with MAX and if you have trouble they will always try to get the best speed/connection at a lower rate for you.

4. I am 2.4+ Km away from my exchange and connect at 4Mb, I always download at 3.5+ Mb.

I hope this answers some of your concerns.  Never be afraid to contact IDNET about anything they will always be extremely helpful.

Looking forward to you joining this happy band of users.

Thanks Cavillas (and to all of you that have contributed to this thread)

Cavillas, are you on ADSL Max? I've never been on ADSL Max before so I'm a wee bit nervous of it (after the experience I had with Plusnet when they moved me from a 526 to a 2mg connection I spent the remainder of the time unconnected, to which they blamed everybody and his Granny for my downtime till eventually they did what i asked and moved me to 1 meg but it took 2 months to sort that out) so I don't want that same thing happening again, you understand....I know it works on 1 meg. Does ADSL Max try out different speeds on my line until they get the right one? and if so will my Zoom Modem X6 reconnect everytime or will I have to reboot the modem?
Good to hear that UPloads don't count but is there a way of tracking the ammount of downloads we as a family are doing. I have an application called Dumeter which monitors my downloading activity for my PC but it doesn't monitor the other computers in the House.....I was wondering is there a application that monitors the whole house....I suppose I could put the application on all the other computers and just keep a eye on it or as others have said I can monitor it from IDNets web site (I probably have answered that question...LOL)

You all seem like a happy bunch of "campers" on this Forum (oh dear, not like Plusnets Forum...here we go again bashing Plusnet...sorry)

Thanks

Harry

[Rik]

Hi Harry

Things like DUMeter also count LAN traffic, so if you move files between machines, they'll give you a very distorted picture of usage. You can get an RSS feed daily of your usage from IDNet, and if your projected usage looks to overshoot, you'll get a warning email, no matter how early in the month it happens. It's worth noting that IDNet's charging month is from the 1st, regardless of billing date. In the month in which you join, you get the full allowance, so it's wise to join in the first half of the month, and definitely not in the last few days.

As to Max, if you can post your downstream attenuation, sync speed and noise margin, we can give you a good idea of what you might achieve with Max. Basically, though, it will start off by running your line as fast as possible, reducing the speed gradually until it achieves stability. For most people, it is of benefit, but it does pay to make sure your internal wiring is as 'clean' as possible.

I went from a maximum of a fixed 1Mbps service to 3Mbps with Max.

[kerrso05]

Hi Harry

A MAC is valid for 30 days from request, and must be supplied within five working days. On average, a migration takes 3-5 working days, depending on how busy BT are. Your ideal date for asking for it, therefore, would be about 14-20 days before your next billing date, allowing you time to give it to IDNet and agree an activation date. I'd suggest you move 2-3 days before your billing date to avoid any 'over hang' due to BT being a bit late.

Most ISPs take the MAC request as notice, but confirm with Eclipse that you have ceased to be a customer once you have migrated.

Hello and greetings  Rik

It looks like I have missed my date for moving as it appears my billing date is the 23rd of the month (it looks like I will be receiving an invoice in the next day or so) ......DARN
So are you saying that I should ask for my MAC code from Eclipse on...... .say...... 7th February (will that give everybody enough time to put things in place?)
I take it I will loose my Eclipse Email address? but will receive a new IDNet Email address......what about all my saved Email on Outlook express...will I loose it?
Thanks again

Harry

[Rik]

Hi Harry

Personally, I'd ask for the MAC tomorrow - that gives 30 days notice, which is probably what Eclipse demand. Then, give IDNet a ring (08000 267237 - keep the number, it's the same one for support if you ever need it), and tell them you want to be connected on the 20th, though remember that will leave you nine days to use your bandwidth allowance. Alternatively, come over earlier and accept the loss on the Eclipse account which you will have paid for already.

Once your account is set up, but before you actually migrate, you will be able to set up your idnet.com addresses, as many as you like, each of which has a mailbox size of 100MB with a 10MB attachment limit. These can be used immediately, though you will have to use the Eclipse SMTP server until you actually migrate.

Mail already in OE will remain there (unless you are using IMAP).

Many of us use 'third party' email addresses, to avoid issues when we change ISPs. Apart from a GMail account, I also have my own domain and an email service with 1&1, which costs about £7pa.

Do remember to change your forum email address if you have used the Eclipse one, as otherwise things like requests for password reminders will fail.

[kerrso05]

Thanks again, Rik

That is all sound advice but when you say contact IDNet......do you mean that I should contact IDNet when I get my MAC Code? (because surely there would be no point in contacting without that code in place.....I don't know how long Eclipse take in giving me the code!!!)
I do have a Yahoo Web Mail address....do you think I should change my Profile on here to show it?
Thanks for your help on explaining ADSL Max. I went through all this about having a clean line with Plusnet (a couple years ago because they blamed my line for not connecting.....when all time the it was the 2meg connection they set me at, that was causing all the problems....mind you, once we had that sorted out they Throttled the life out of my connection..it was a nightmare which I never ever want to repeat) and  I therefore invested in a Filtered Faceplate and am wired direct into my Zoom X6 Modem. My figures are so:-

            Downstream       Upstream   
SNR Margin 24.5 dB                  20 dB 
Line Attenuation 52.5 dB          31.5 dB 
CRC Errors 2 11
FEC Errors 21 19
HEC Errors 0 7

Downstream: 1152   Kbps 
Upstream: 288   Kbps 

I hope these are the figures you require (I got them from My Modem)

I'm really glad I came here to find a bunch of very helpful people  ....unlike some forums who just like to put you down and show how superior they are  (not naming any...but I'm sure you have guessed already)

Thanks

Harry

[cavillas]

yes Harry I am on adslmax.  IDNET changed me over when it first appeared here just on 2 years ago and I have had no problems at all.  It justs takes about 10 days to settle down to the best speed your line can handle.  If you need any more advice about improving connections just ask on this board there are some who understand the technicalities rather well.

[Rik]

Hi Harry

Request the MAC from Eclipse, they have five working days to give it to you, though good ISPs can do it immediately. Once you have it, give IDNet a ring and get their advice on the best date to set the migration. If it was me, I'd go as soon as I possibly could.

The figures you have are better than mine (I'm on a 56.4db attenuation), so I'd guess you would get a sync speed of 3500-4200, so a profile of 3000 or 3500 (it depends on how noisy your line is). You may be able to improve that slightly by a number of means, eg:

1) Changing to a router like the 2-Wire 2700, which seems to get better speeds on long lines (I gained 1000 on my profile by changing)

2) Replacing any flat extensions you have with round ones (though with a filtered face plate, these should not be an issue)

3) Changing the ADSL connection cable to a Cat5 netowkr cable with RJ11 plugs at each end - Cat5 cable uses tighter twisting than normal ADSL cables, and so reduces noise pickup

You'll find we're a pretty happy bunch in the forum, being IDNet customers, we don't come here to grouse about the service, but because we enjoy each others company. We don't go in for putting people down, unless they mention Tiscali, that is!! 

[kerrso05]

Hi Rik

So you think my figures are better than yours. Happy days!!!
Samknows Web Site said that I could get a sync speed of 3500 (whatever that means) which ties up with your figures.

There are a few things I haven't grasped(yes....because I am thick!!) in your recent reply to me and they are:-

1. what is the router "the 2-Wire 2700" ? what make is that? and does that mean me changing all my usb adaptors on my computers (I have two Zoom USB Adaptors on two computers)

2.My Filtered face plate sorts any issues flat extensions (because I don't have them)

3.What is a "Cat5 netowkr cable with RJ11 plugs at each end" and were can I purchase it?

Oh by the way................you know your favourite Service Provider ...starts with a T and ends with an I.....well they are the providers/managers of my LLU equipment at my Bangor Exchange.......so now you know why I want to leave Eclipse ....LOL

Thanks

Harry

[Rik]

Hi Harry

1) The 2-wire router is one we've been having a lot of success with, so much so that we've even given it a dedicated board. 2-wire is the manufacturer, a confusing name if ever there was one. It would replace the Zoom modems, allowing you to connect both machines to the net at the same time. You might want to use one or both wirelessly, in which case you might need to add wireless adaptors

3) I'm renowned for trans-alliteration, make that network cable. ADSL nation do them in lengths from 5-20m:

http://www.adslnation.com/phpapps/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=116

And yes, I can fully understand why you want to make the move. I think everyone here will tell you the same thing - until you've tried IDNet, you won't realise how good an ISP can be.

[kerrso05]

Rik

I have bought the Cat5 netowkr cable with RJ11 plugs at each end from ADSL Nation, as you suggested.......looks good...hopefully get that in the next couple of days.

As for the Router, can I get a Wireless Modem/router made by 2wire and if so do you have any links?

Thanks

Harry

[Rik]

Hi Harry

2-Wire's are sold on eBay. I'm just delving through some old posts looking for a recommended seller and will post back with one. The 2700 had 4 ethernet ports, 1 USB and wireless 11g.

[Rik]

Hi again Harry

Take a look at the post from Xild here. Everyone seems to have had good service from that seller.

[kerrso05]

Rik, again thanks for all your trouble.......but an it is a BIG BUT......it appears that this Modem is LOCKED and I need to unlock it. To tell you truth that seems like a whole load of trouble (but maybe not....I don't know  )
Is there instructions to unlock it? and if so does it unlock this newer version that Xild has posted which is the new Dual ssid version of BT Business Hub? Do you have this Modem and if so what do you think of it? There does seem to be very good reports about this Hub

Oh by the way ADSL Nation have just informed me that the Cat5 netowkr cable with RJ11 plugs  has been sent and is on its way to me.....now I call that SERVICE......EXCELLENT SERVICE.

Sorry for being a nuisance and asking all these questions..but the Modem and unlocking does give me some concern...I'm not really technically minded...do you think I could sort it out?

Thanks

Harry

[Rik]

Hi Harry

The term locked is a bit of a misnomer. The 2700s are only intended to be used on the BT network, so they 'phone home' occasionally, and alter the username if it's not correct for a BT network.

To prevent this, all you have to do is 'poison' the DNS table in the router, so when it looks up the BT address, it finds a local entry and goes nowhere.

For DNS poisoning: at IE browser address bar enter http://192.168.1.254/xslt?PAGE=J38 then at "Advanced-DNS Name Table"

In the DNS Name box type: cwmp.cms.smehomehubrms.bt.com

In the IP Address box type in: 10.0.0.0

That should be all you need to do (though repeat it if you ever perform a factory reset).

ADSL Nation are a good firm to deal with, and makes the best filters you can buy, imo. I even keep spares just in case.

Don't think for a moment that you're being a nuisance, we are here to help if we can, and I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that it's a pleasure when we can sort out any problems for a member, whether they are an IDNet customer or not.

[Simon]

All I can add to the above, Harry, is 

I was also a little apprehensive when considering joining IDNet, as I had been with Pipex for many years, and had not used any other broadband provider.  I can confirm that the migration was painless, and only involved simply changing the login user name and password on my router, on the day of the migration, and I was up and running in seconds. 

Compared to the throttled Pipex service, P2P downloading is amazing with IDNet,, and I had never experienced such good speeds before, given the limitations of my line.  I am sure you will be more than happy with IDNet. 

[kerrso05]

Thanks Simon, for the assurance and the experience that you have relayed to me about your move from Pipex to IDNet (my friend in work was with Pipex a number of years ago, and he was always happy with them and he tried to get me to move to them......see how times change, with commercial pressures and greed) . Hopefully tomorrow (as Rik has advised) I will ask Eclipse for my MAC Code and I will have started the move to IDNet...I'm a wee bit nervous about the change after my terrible experience with Plusnet (they promised so much and delivered nothing and again commercial pressures made them change...but not for the good of the customer)

Rik......what can I say....you are amazing. I can't thank you enough for all your help and support. Although, I think I will leave the purchasing of the 2wire Modem until I have moved to IDNet and once I have got a week or so under my belt I will go for it and buy the modem.....at least if something goes wrong with the change over from Eclipse to IDNet I know I can't blame IDNet but the way I have configured the 2wire Modem and I always can fall back onto the Zoom X6 modem. Your advice will remain on line on this thread for me to pick up on once I have purchased it. It sounds like I can squeeze a bit more speed out of my line for opting for the 2wire Modem and that would be great.

I'm looking forward to being a new IDNet Member...thanks for everything......I will keep you all informed how I get on


Harry
Bangor, Northern Ireland