In recent weeks, various customers have reported issues with their broadband connections where it can disconnect intermittingly throughout the day. The problem may only even manifest itself on certain days creating huge difficulties in narrowing down its cause. Obviously this creates a huge strain on the working day and we’ve only recently managed to find the cause. We found that peer-to-peer software such as uTorrent, Bitcomet, Bearshare and Limewire have been the primary source of the problem. In all cases, the software was not even in use. This means that simply by having the software on the pc can impact the stability of your network.

There are also different symptoms of having this software installed such as fluctuations in the actual speed of your internet access. Again, this can all occur without even using the software.  The fact that it’s running in the background chewing up bandwidth is one thing but the number of ‘open connections’ it creates are ultimately being persecuted by the Internet Service Provider. For each of the symptoms there are varying fixes, such as patches to the software, tweaks to its configuration and modifications to the port settings on the router. None of which will be suggested here.. The only fix on offer here is to remove the software from your pc.  

Once removed, your network stability will return to normal. For more information regarding this topic, we have posted the solution to I Found A Fix.

I hope you too have Found A Fix.

Why not prevent this at source? You can simply enable web filtering at the broadband level and remove access to specific sites instantly. You can choose from a range of categories such as ‘Gambling , ‘Social Networking’, or ‘Violence’, etc and block all such sites at once. If a website has been included by mistake, you can specify that it never be blocked. Say Goodbye to IrishJobs.ie or Daft.ie and setup Web Filtering today! No Server required, we only need to change your internet settings on the company router, setup your account and implement your criteria for future web browsing in the workplace.

By using OpenDNS instead of Eircom, you will be able to use their DNS Servers for web access. To do so, change your broadband DNS addresses to 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220. You can follow the steps here.

Thankfully, there are now 3rd party websites which can send large files on your behalf. One of these companies, Dropsend allow you to send files up to a massive 1GB to your intended recipient. You Send It is another alternative. 

Note: We usually recommend not to send any attachments to colleagues internally. Instead, you should be copying the files to your shared folders and hyperlinking as required.

If this is true, why do these same companies enforce their customers (us) to use their outgoing mail servers?

If you don’t know what I mean, then I’ll try to explain. If I am using a mail client such as Microsoft Outlook to send mail, my outgoing mail server is set as mail.pctechnix.ie. Eircom for example, has no problem with this. Slap yourself on the back Eircom.

Other Irish Broadband Providers are not so straightforward. Irish Broadband will only allow you to use smtp.irishbroadband.ie and NTL enforce smtp.upcmail.ie. Perlico also have a confusing list of ones you can use. There are more providers that can be added to the guilty list but I’d like to stick to my main point.

These settings will not mean much to most residential users (once they find the settings), especially if their pc remains homebound, but the mobile user has a headache in store. If you take your laptop which has been configured to send mail using one broadband provider and move to another location with broadband provided by another (who enforces their outgoing mail server) then you will have to modify your settings every single time.

I’ll hold my hands up and admit that I don’t understand why they do this. Possibly there’s a valid reason for it? Maybe I’ll delete this post in embarrassment of my own ignorance but this in general does not bode well if you plan on taking your laptop on a road trip.

The reality is much different. My current home broadband provider is from Eircom. I wanted to switch as I don’t need a house phone and I don’t like Line Rental. The idea of renting a phone line is ludicrous. So when I noticed that ICE Broadband were in my area I decided to give them a try. On paper it seemed like a good idea;

No line rental:   No download limit: Speed offering of 3mb download and 1mb upload

Installation Fee is €0 if you take a 24 Month Contract. Price per Month €37.99

I made the call. By the end of the week I was genuinely impressed that the Engineer was on my roof installing the Broadband Aerial. The aerial itself is a bit oversized and indiscreet but overall the installation was professional. When it came to checking the quality of the service however, this is where ICE Broadband couldn’t deliver.

I insisted on doing a Speedtest as all broadband customers should and we learned that the speed was only 600kbs. Put simply, I was only receiving 20% of the service I had paid for. The engineer got on his phone back to the helpdesk, did what they could and stated that I should wait to “see how things go over the weekend”. I am usually an optimistic person but my hopes were low and rightfully so. Monday came and there was still no improvement. So I called ICE to let them know that my broadband connection was still Frozen. The joke didn’t go down well. Tumbleweed flew by..

We made a deal though. I made another joke which had broken the ICE. They promised me that they were working on improving their coverage in the area and that someone would contact me to let me know when things would pick up. That was my end of the bargain – That I would wait!! Their end was not to charge me until the service was working. I wanted to wait because in the end I still wanted to use their services. Not anymore though! They broke their promise when within 4 weeks of that conversation I had been charged 3 months in advance and I still had not even used their broadband. I was grateful that I had not cancelled my existing Eircom connection.

When I made the next call, the accounts department made another deal. They would get me the proper service and I would then have 3 months free. Sounds good but 2 more months have passed and I’m now cancelling my direct debit because lets just say I don’t trust them not to charge me for the fourth month. Since all this, I’ve sent several emails and I’ve heard nothing back and sadly, this is where ICE Broadband are just like most of  the other Irish companies, selling is usually their only area of efficiency. I just wonder… How many people are receiving the Broadband they are paying for…? That’s one statistic i’d like to find out.

In summary, ICE Broadband leaves me feeling rather cold…