PERMANET Users

[tqde0]

Hello

I have been using the PERMANET 4Mbs service for about a month now and cannot seem to get close to my rated speed. Please dont go onabout contention, as I understand the concept and have tested my connection during Peak & Off Peak times. eg. Just after tea, (18:30- 110 Peak), 50-60, (Off Peak). I have taken a large amount of readings and used numerous speed test sites, including this one.

I understand that these guys are new to the market and when I contact TECH Support it leaves a lot to be desired.

QUESTION: Anyone out there with the same issues using PERMANET???

[mickomania]

You should post this thread in with the "Other Providers" under PERMANET. You might get a few more responses.

[chaperon]

We changed from permanet to kerrybroadband after just 2 months simply because
(1) The tech support is useless and they dont even know what there talking about
(2) The speed 1mbps never materialised and we were luckly to get 256Kbps.
(3) the equipment is crap.You get a radio and a external antenna instead of a fully enclosed dedicated CPE unit and the installation was terrible.They clipped the cable crooked and when they drilled a hole in the wall they knocked a huge lump of plaster from the outside.

My recommendation is STAY FAR AWAY FROM PERMANET until they get there act together (maybe)

The installer from Kerry Broadband was in and out without any fuss and even filled the plaster which was knocked out by Permanet.I know have the 1 Mbps package from them and I am getting constant speeds of 850-950Kbps. That will do me just fine.

[tqde0]

Just updating you all with my experiences of Permanet

I originally posted on speed and reliability issues. I got a response from PERMANET, one of their guys, Mark O Raw, tested my speed from there presense in Dublin back to my cable modem in Kerry. The speed is consistent with what I am suscribing to, (2MB Down / 1MB Up). The bottleneck is my router, I now have a call in with Linksys to find out why its throttleing so much bandwidth.

My other problem was a Static IP problem, where the wrong static IP was assigned to my modem, this caused the frequent disconnects that I was experiencing, however when Mark did his testing this was revealed and the DCs are now a thing of the past.

All in all, the permanet guys have been very helpful and have certainly provided me with a professional and knowledgable service.

The previous post regarding the installer is weird as the installer visited my home and did a top notch job. Especially, as he had to run the cable from one side of the house, through the attic and into the comms room. My wall fine, my roof fine and cable looks lovely in comms room.

ALL IN ALL, to date my experience has been good

[chaperon]

I am glad to hear that everything is ok for you now. I on the other hand had no success with their tech support. I rang approx 4 times and each time someone would call back. I never heard from them so I got rid of the system and got another company to provide access. I have not had any problems since. just google for forums regarding Permanet and it tells the same story. Slow, unreliable, no support, horror installations & just a crappy system with a load of downtime. I know these guys are new but they should not sell a service that is only half running. And that goes for all ISP`s, anybody else agree????

[niley]

I've had permanet installed now for 2 weeks (the Biz 2MB service). When I ordered the service, they told me there was about a 3 week lead time. 2 and a half weeks later they rang me to arrange a time to install it, and so a week after that I had broadband, in the middle of nowhere Kerry.
Initially I wasnt too pleased to be honest, as opposed to the 1512 download speed I had ordered, I was getting ~ 600. Also they'd only given me an internal IP, not the public IP I ordered the Biz service for in the first place. I rang them up the next evening, they told me someone from technical support would get back to me. The following day someone did ring me back, I told them my woe's, they said they'd pass the public IP request along to whoever it was that handled such requests, the guy also said he was noticing alot of errors on my connection, with would probably account for my poor speed results. He said they'd "keep an eye on it" (Didnt believe that for a second).
Later that day someone rang me back regarding the IP request, asked me 2 questions, 1, what was my firewall software, 2, what was my anti-virus software. Evidently they dont want their network brought to a halt by someone with a few rogue processes running on their PC. They must have been happy enough with the answers, as before lunch I had an email with my public IP.
For about 1 and a 1/2 weeks I put up with the dismal download speed, Then I rang them again, but this time I never got the promised call back. 2 days later I went up onto the roof to check out if there were any branches of trees or anything in the way, and to have a look at the antenna alignment (permanet will tell you you've not supposed to touch their equipment, so dont blame me if you annoy them). Before permanet ever installed their antenna Id chopped the top of some tree's which I knew were going to be in the way.
Anyways there was nothing in the way, but sure enough the antenna wasnt aligned correctly. The guy installing it had an RF signal strength meter with 4 or 5 leds on it, but I could tell just by looking at the antenna it was pointing way off line. So I pulled out a spanner, realigned the antenna by about 0.5 of a degree, and went back to check on the download speed. right away it was running at 1488, close as be damned to 1512.
So anyways, Permanet works at the speeds it claims, provided enough care is taken when installing it. Its technical support is Ok, but they dont always ring back, especially with claims of reduced speeds being the problem. The connection drops for 10-50 mins at a time, at random times, only once have I seen an explanation for this on their Service Status section of their website.
Also, I forgot to mention, according to my GPS, Im 8.2 miles from the Base Station.
And if you read all that, fair play to you.
-Niall

[mickomania]

Finished. phew!

That was quite an epic

[flyingpinkelephants]

Originally Posted by niley

The guy installing it had an RF signal strength meter with 4 or 5 leds on it, but I could tell just by looking at the antenna it was pointing way off line. So I pulled out a spanner, realigned the antenna by about 0.5 of a degree, and went back to check on the download speed. right away it was running at 1488, close as be damned to 1512.

It seems to me that in order to ensure that the data rate tranfers are helped to kept down it makes sense to deliberatly misalign the antenna and reduce the ability to down load volumes and ease traffic pressure

Must remember that trick

flyingpinkelephants

[Bigpaddy_irl]

Originally Posted by niley

I've had permanet installed now for 2 weeks (the Biz 2MB service). When I ordered the service, they told me there was about a 3 week lead time. 2 and a half weeks later they rang me to arrange a time to install it, and so a week after that I had broadband, in the middle of nowhere Kerry.
Initially I wasnt too pleased to be honest, as opposed to the 1512 download speed I had ordered, I was getting ~ 600. Also they'd only given me an internal IP, not the public IP I ordered the Biz service for in the first place. I rang them up the next evening, they told me someone from technical support would get back to me. The following day someone did ring me back, I told them my woe's, they said they'd pass the public IP request along to whoever it was that handled such requests, the guy also said he was noticing alot of errors on my connection, with would probably account for my poor speed results. He said they'd "keep an eye on it" (Didnt believe that for a second).
Later that day someone rang me back regarding the IP request, asked me 2 questions, 1, what was my firewall software, 2, what was my anti-virus software. Evidently they dont want their network brought to a halt by someone with a few rogue processes running on their PC. They must have been happy enough with the answers, as before lunch I had an email with my public IP.
For about 1 and a 1/2 weeks I put up with the dismal download speed, Then I rang them again, but this time I never got the promised call back. 2 days later I went up onto the roof to check out if there were any branches of trees or anything in the way, and to have a look at the antenna alignment (permanet will tell you you've not supposed to touch their equipment, so dont blame me if you annoy them). Before permanet ever installed their antenna Id chopped the top of some tree's which I knew were going to be in the way.
Anyways there was nothing in the way, but sure enough the antenna wasnt aligned correctly. The guy installing it had an RF signal strength meter with 4 or 5 leds on it, but I could tell just by looking at the antenna it was pointing way off line. So I pulled out a spanner, realigned the antenna by about 0.5 of a degree, and went back to check on the download speed. right away it was running at 1488, close as be damned to 1512.
So anyways, Permanet works at the speeds it claims, provided enough care is taken when installing it. Its technical support is Ok, but they dont always ring back, especially with claims of reduced speeds being the problem. The connection drops for 10-50 mins at a time, at random times, only once have I seen an explanation for this on their Service Status section of their website.
Also, I forgot to mention, according to my GPS, Im 8.2 miles from the Base Station.
And if you read all that, fair play to you.
-Niall

Hi Niall, What does their antenna system look like? what make is the modem they installed in your house?

[Hespy]

Living on the sticks in North Kerry is good if you want to go to the beach or climb mountains, but up until recently, bad if you wanted broadband. But these same mountains make ideal locations for masts, so we got a connection through permanet.
Once I made the call, an installer was around in a few days and I was set up. But all was not as it should have been. The connection was down more than it was up. So I called tech support one evening at around 6.
The installer came at 8 o clock the next morning ;-z, changed the power supply, and it's been working perfectly since then. The connection was dropping for 10 minutes or so every few days, but this is becoming less common. My speed is almost always close to the maximum.
The tech support is absolutely excellent, and very personal. They are willing to explain networking issues which aren't even directly related to their service.
For €25 a month, I get 512D 128U, (just today i've upgraded to 1512D 512U, i'll post my experience with this next week) and unlimited transfer.
All in all, I recommend them 100%.

[nenil]

Originally Posted by niley

So anyways, Permanet works at the speeds it claims, provided enough care is taken when installing it. Its technical support is Ok, but they dont always ring back, especially with claims of reduced speeds being the problem. The connection drops for 10-50 mins at a time, at random times, only once have I seen an explanation for this on their Service Status section of their website.
Also, I forgot to mention, according to my GPS, Im 8.2 miles from the Base Station.
And if you read all that, fair play to you.
-Niall

Hi Niall, I also have Permanet - Home 2Mb and have frequent disconnects (every hour or two that sever connections for very short periods, very visible when gaming where I am booted back to the login and joining queues), and others disconnects for ~10 minutes. What was their explanation, for these can you remember?

Paul

[serrgem]

I agree with a lot of the posts as my experiences are somewhat similar.

I got Permanet installed a few months ago and although their support is thin on the ground, when you do get hold of them they are good adn helpful.

As to the service, being in the middle of Kerry it was pretty much the only option available at the time and certainly the only one that seemed any way professional. The speeds I have been getting are as good or better that I expected and certainly met Permanets' stated speeds. Ther service has gone down once or twice but only for a few minutes.

Overall I would fully recommend the service and even if ADSL arrives in remote areas of North Kerry (probably never) I would be happy to stick with Permanet, especially at the price.

[Hespy]

Their main tech support guy is called Mark O'Raw. The first time I got through to him, he gave me his mobile number so i could contact him directly with any future problems. I won't give it out here, but i'm sure if you ask him nicely, he'll tell you!

[deegecrotty]

HI I got Permanet last week , and so far it has been a bit iffy to be honest. Where i am based in Co. Wexford they are the only option so far. Their cable modem seem to the cheapest of the cheap. i have noticed when their service goes down the blasted thing does not give out a ip address unless i put the modem in standby , not very clever and a pain in the butt when the modem is in the attic. I have the house cat 5 wired and hub is in the attic so the modem had to be beside that. The installers just told me to plug it into the hub and it should work. But of course this was not the case, it needs a cross over cable for it to work, you think they would know that! One thing i notice also is the ip address assigned to each PC seems to be off their network and not at the router (cable modem in their case) as most other broadband providers supply. I am now looking for a cable router so that it gets their DHCP assigned IP adddress and my network goes thro a NAT. That way if their network goes down my PC's on the lan will still get an ip address and still communicate with each other. Also i am a bit worried even when i am transferring files from one PC to another i will not be sending pointless info onto their network witj out a proper router installed. I signed up for the 2 mbit biz service but seem to be at the moment on the 2mbit home service. not to bother about that yet as i say at least i have broadband most of the time at the moment , except at peak time when it gets a bit iffy and tends to go down for a few minutes. Any suggestions on a got router are most welcome )

[tqde0]

Originally Posted by deegecrotty

HI I got Permanet last week , and so far it has been a bit iffy to be honest. Where i am based in Co. Wexford they are the only option so far. Their cable modem seem to the cheapest of the cheap. i have noticed when their service goes down the blasted thing does not give out a ip address unless i put the modem in standby , not very clever and a pain in the butt when the modem is in the attic. I have the house cat 5 wired and hub is in the attic so the modem had to be beside that. The installers just told me to plug it into the hub and it should work. But of course this was not the case, it needs a cross over cable for it to work, you think they would know that! One thing i notice also is the ip address assigned to each PC seems to be off their network and not at the router (cable modem in their case) as most other broadband providers supply. I am now looking for a cable router so that it gets their DHCP assigned IP adddress and my network goes thro a NAT. That way if their network goes down my PC's on the lan will still get an ip address and still communicate with each other. Also i am a bit worried even when i am transferring files from one PC to another i will not be sending pointless info onto their network witj out a proper router installed. I signed up for the 2 mbit biz service but seem to be at the moment on the 2mbit home service. not to bother about that yet as i say at least i have broadband most of the time at the moment , except at peak time when it gets a bit iffy and tends to go down for a few minutes. Any suggestions on a got router are most welcome )

I understand your frustration however to be fair to Permanet, it is common knowledge that unless you are directly connecting your PC to the Permanet box you will need a crossover cable OR a router has All LAN Ports Supporting Auto-Crossover (MDI/MDI-X) - No Need for Crossover Cables. My suggestions are Linksys WRT54G, http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satel...VisitorWrapper, or the buffalo WHR-G54S, http://www.buffalo-technology.com/pr...5&categoryid=6

The above are a selection of whats availabe, plus these are fairly easy to setup, they both provide NAT, DHCP & Firewall functionality. My preference would be for the linksys products as the are a division of CISCO, however I used both. Both these products can be accessed & setup from your web browser.

When you get the router, it will usually have an IP address 192.168.x.x, then all you need to do is connect PERMANET modem to router and PCs tru CAT5 to router. In the router, configure the WAN side to PERMANET, the DHCP so that your PCs have an IP should you loose WAN and you are away.

Yours comments regarding the PERMANET quality of service are interesting as I am using their 4MB service, 3 DOWN/1 UP and I have exactly the same problems, frequent DCs and speeds that are a bit slow. I have installed another connection from Irish Broadband and am currently testing them against each other, I will post my results here when finished.

If you need any furhter help drop me a mail and I will do best I can.

In conclusion, to paraphrase the X FILES, " You are not alone" LOL

[deegecrotty]

Cheers for that tqde0. Most helpfull. I think i will go for the Linksys WRT54G. Hopefully it will work.

Will let you know how i get on once i get it.

[Robxxx7]

I've had Permanet for a good 3-4 months now, and i also suffer from the random disconnects, its a bit off-putting at times, but i get used to it ... its better than my alternative (dial-up) ...

I use Linksys WRT54G and it works well ... assigns the IP address' to the PC's, so i still have my LAN up even if the internet is down ..

[Hespy]

I echo exactly what Robxxx7 says about the random disconnects. Btw, has anybody queried Permanet on this issue?
I also use a Linksys router I picked up on EBay. (Router + PCMCIA Wireless Network card for €60). They're wireless B, but I only use it for internet access around the house so thats not an issue. If I want to transfer large files (which I very rarely do), I use a cable.

[tqde0]

I did query them and it would appear that one of their backbone routers is dodgy. They have had CISCO in to look at it, however CISCO were not able to pin point the problem. SO in a stroke of technical brilliance, permanent have decided to replace the router with a shiney new one. They have done this and from my end the DCs are less, down from 8 - 10 per day to perhaps 1 - 2. I am monitoring the 1-2 DCs as this may be the new system bedding in. Anyway am bulk buying large roll of string and 2 cans as backup, just in case. Seriously, they may actually have solved this prob.

[Robxxx7]

Well its good to hear that they may have found the source of the problem...I'll have to keep any eye on my connection for the next few days or so and see whether the disconnects have reduced ...