Two weeks ago, on Sunday 30 March 2011 Luxembourg profited from an extremely warm Spring day. On the same date Luxembourg Online lost a loyal customer that has done more to improve their quality than their entire customer service department, called notoriously “Service Contentieux”.
From old experience I recorded the signal level of the Motorola router and later the log files.
As a positively thinking person, I expected the service break to be temporary. It was not. In the last two weeks, Luxembourg Online using Eltrona cable network has been many times offline in Kaltreis during the sunny hours of the day. I really did not expect it to happen so quickly. This brought many puns to my mind when looking at the blinking leds of the router: Luxembourg Offline, winternet service provider, snow surfing from November to February.
On 31 March I signed a 12-month ADSL Flat Solo contract with Orange and had the first contact with their sloppy (unfortunately) marketing staff, promising immediate activation and a free WiFI Router when walking out of the shop. None of the two promises was true – the delivery time is 4-6 weeks. I hope their technical service will be better than their marketing – otherwise I will have to start still another consumer blog...
Economically changing from Luxembourg Online to Orange will be worth the effort. The monthly subscription will drop from €28 to €26. Orange will provide me with a free Zyxel WiFi router and a technician's visit. In the ADSL Solo there is no need to subscribe a PT telephone line – even if they use the PT infrastructure - which was the main reason I opted for Orange. And finally as a cherry on the cake, I can cancel the Eltrona cable television subscription. In 2010 this was as much as €186.08 per year (corresponding to €15.51 per month), including €57.10 + VAT for authors' rights.
Of course, the main reason for switching the service provider is not only economic. The Luxembourg Online service to this address is simply unreliable and their customer service, I cannot help repeating Service Contentieux – not too far from Service Contagieux, behaves arrogantly.
lauantai 2. huhtikuuta 2011
sunnuntai 6. maaliskuuta 2011
There is no free visit by an Eltrona employee...
My Eltrona cable Internet service has been stable for months now. I have paid conscientiously my monthly fees of 28€. Additionally, at the end of the last year I also received an invoice of €200 for the installation of an amplifier (that, by the way, did not solve the problem at the time).
This invoice I also paid, as the service had been stable since Autumn.
However, the current stability of the service, in my opinion, comes from one of the following two reasons:
In the coming Spring and Summer, we shall see which of the two options holds true!
This invoice I also paid, as the service had been stable since Autumn.
However, the current stability of the service, in my opinion, comes from one of the following two reasons:
- either Eltrona has indeed done something to solve the problem...
- or the problem has temporarily gone away because of the cold weather.
In the coming Spring and Summer, we shall see which of the two options holds true!
lauantai 20. marraskuuta 2010
Luxembourg Online - now online most of the time
At the end of the summer 2010 I was rather unhappy with the service of Luxembourg Online. In order to improve the situation, I drafted a fairly comprehensive letter and sent it to the company by e- and snail-mail. In this letter, I told that I have stopped paying the bills until the service has been improved.
By the way, I have noticed that these Central-Europeans have a lot of respect for written communication, especially when addressed to the boss. It sometimes even seems that answering letters is the principal management system. And there is nothing wrong with this - once you know it, you can use it. Even if paying attention to the quality of service, motivating the people to care for customers and supervising the execution of work systematically might give better results than mere correspondence, especially in technical domains.
I got a swift reply to my letter, telling me that it is all my fault, because I had installed a cable to bring the signal from the cellar to my bureau.
I was not very happy with this answer, because I had carefully verified that when the problem occurred, it also occurred in the cellar when I attached my modem directly to the newly installed amplifier. Surely, the cable damped the signal a few dBmV, so in my bureau the service failures were perhaps more frequent than in the cellar. But they appeared in the cellar as well, I was sure of this.
Taking into account the efforts of Luxembourg Online to keep its customers, I found a good candidate for new ISP - Orange with their ADSL Flat Solo. Their monthly fee was two euro less than my current price, but I would need to have an other modem and a different cable.
This happened in September. I decided that next time when there were be excessive service cuts, I would switch to Orange.
Surprise! I am still with Luxembourg Online. Since September, I have noticed some service problems in the logs of the modem, but none of them has happened when watching videos online or using my VoIP telephone. In fact, the service has been online and I have been quite happy with it.
But perhaps, when the Summer comes and the strong Luxembourgish sun starts again roasting the Eltrona distribution boxes, the signal will fade away as it did last Summer. This time, I will go as well, without even starting any correspondence with the old provider. They have had their chance.
By the way, I have noticed that these Central-Europeans have a lot of respect for written communication, especially when addressed to the boss. It sometimes even seems that answering letters is the principal management system. And there is nothing wrong with this - once you know it, you can use it. Even if paying attention to the quality of service, motivating the people to care for customers and supervising the execution of work systematically might give better results than mere correspondence, especially in technical domains.
I got a swift reply to my letter, telling me that it is all my fault, because I had installed a cable to bring the signal from the cellar to my bureau.
I was not very happy with this answer, because I had carefully verified that when the problem occurred, it also occurred in the cellar when I attached my modem directly to the newly installed amplifier. Surely, the cable damped the signal a few dBmV, so in my bureau the service failures were perhaps more frequent than in the cellar. But they appeared in the cellar as well, I was sure of this.
Taking into account the efforts of Luxembourg Online to keep its customers, I found a good candidate for new ISP - Orange with their ADSL Flat Solo. Their monthly fee was two euro less than my current price, but I would need to have an other modem and a different cable.
This happened in September. I decided that next time when there were be excessive service cuts, I would switch to Orange.
Surprise! I am still with Luxembourg Online. Since September, I have noticed some service problems in the logs of the modem, but none of them has happened when watching videos online or using my VoIP telephone. In fact, the service has been online and I have been quite happy with it.
But perhaps, when the Summer comes and the strong Luxembourgish sun starts again roasting the Eltrona distribution boxes, the signal will fade away as it did last Summer. This time, I will go as well, without even starting any correspondence with the old provider. They have had their chance.
sunnuntai 22. elokuuta 2010
The problems persist...
Back from holidays! During the 5 days in July and August the service has been nearly reliable. I was able to do a couple f phone calls and pay my regular bills through the Luxembourg Online cable connection.
However, when looking at the log files of the last two days or so, it is apparent that the problems have not been solved:
* Friday - Saturday 20-21 August 2010
* Saturday - Sunday 21-22 August 2010
The next steps are as follows: First, I will refuse the payment of the July invoice - the example on this page show sufficient evidence of bad service. Second, I will contact the Helpdesk to see what can be done. The ultimate solution is to change the ISP and the technology.
However, when looking at the log files of the last two days or so, it is apparent that the problems have not been solved:
* Friday - Saturday 20-21 August 2010
* Saturday - Sunday 21-22 August 2010
The next steps are as follows: First, I will refuse the payment of the July invoice - the example on this page show sufficient evidence of bad service. Second, I will contact the Helpdesk to see what can be done. The ultimate solution is to change the ISP and the technology.
sunnuntai 27. kesäkuuta 2010
Evidence based decision making
Between Saturday 26 June and Sunday 27 June I carried out the following test: I moved the cable modem to the cellar and plugged it directly in to Eltrona's coaxial splitter, with a piece of coax with plugs fixed by Eltrona at the time when the first installation was made. (The WiFI function of the cable modem is useless in the cellar, that' why I wanted it to be installed in my office on the 1st floor.)
The logic behind this exercise of evidence based decision making was as follows: If there are no interruptions while the modem is in the cellar, the problem is either my 75 ohm RG-6U cable or the connectors I had screwed to the two ends of the cable. If, however, interruptions still appeared while the modem was in the cellar, then changing the cable and fittings would be of no use.
After the installation, the signal levels looked even better than upstairs in a stable situation. The downstream signal was amplified by 5 dBmV, and 42 dBmV was the sufficient signal level to communicate upstream. On the other hand, in the stable functioning of the connection, the +/-0 dBmVa and 46 dBmV seem to be sufficient. Signal to noise ration did not improve from 34/35 dB.
After checking the logs in the next morning, the same old T3's were there: From 1.30 to 1.40 Luxembourgish time, the service was down again.
* Saturday - Sunday 26/27 June 2010
The conclusion is that changing the cable and connectors will not solve the problems. Either the disturbances come from the cable modem (which I doubt) or they come from Eltrona's side of the network.
The logic behind this exercise of evidence based decision making was as follows: If there are no interruptions while the modem is in the cellar, the problem is either my 75 ohm RG-6U cable or the connectors I had screwed to the two ends of the cable. If, however, interruptions still appeared while the modem was in the cellar, then changing the cable and fittings would be of no use.
After the installation, the signal levels looked even better than upstairs in a stable situation. The downstream signal was amplified by 5 dBmV, and 42 dBmV was the sufficient signal level to communicate upstream. On the other hand, in the stable functioning of the connection, the +/-0 dBmVa and 46 dBmV seem to be sufficient. Signal to noise ration did not improve from 34/35 dB.
After checking the logs in the next morning, the same old T3's were there: From 1.30 to 1.40 Luxembourgish time, the service was down again.
* Saturday - Sunday 26/27 June 2010
The conclusion is that changing the cable and connectors will not solve the problems. Either the disturbances come from the cable modem (which I doubt) or they come from Eltrona's side of the network.
lauantai 26. kesäkuuta 2010
On 25 June, a friendly employee from Eltrona called me. He confirmed that Eltrona has investigated into all components of their network and that they can see the service breaks, but that the breaks are not caused by their installations.
What can I say? I believe them, they should know. Hence the problem must be in my house, either the modem, the connectors or the cable -there are no other possibilities. Eltrona even suggested a on-site visit, which I had to postpone until September, the end of a busy period at work and some holidays.
To do something, I replaced to connectors at the two ends of the cable, to assure a tighter connection. Immediately after the change, the transmission signal levels were perfect, but then the service went down again. And the breaks continued all evening. In the morning of 26, everything was perfect again, at least for some time.
Next week, I plan to go to Eltrona shop and buy a new "double blindage" coax to replace the current one, bought from Auchan satellite receiver department a couple of years age. That MUST solve all the problems!
What can I say? I believe them, they should know. Hence the problem must be in my house, either the modem, the connectors or the cable -there are no other possibilities. Eltrona even suggested a on-site visit, which I had to postpone until September, the end of a busy period at work and some holidays.
To do something, I replaced to connectors at the two ends of the cable, to assure a tighter connection. Immediately after the change, the transmission signal levels were perfect, but then the service went down again. And the breaks continued all evening. In the morning of 26, everything was perfect again, at least for some time.
Next week, I plan to go to Eltrona shop and buy a new "double blindage" coax to replace the current one, bought from Auchan satellite receiver department a couple of years age. That MUST solve all the problems!
torstai 24. kesäkuuta 2010
Offline, again
Today again, I sent an e-mail to the helpdesk, reporting yesterday's service breaks. Previously, they phoned me back, not today. I have not received an e-mail response for months, telling that they have (1) received my problem statement, (2) telling the follow-up number for the "call" and (3) promising to do something - this does not seem to be part of Luxembourg Online's business culture.
What seems to lack in this holy union of Luxembourg Online and Eltrona is any sort of transparency. If it is so difficult to provide a reasonable service between 18-22 on working days, then just tell it!
As the log files of today tell, the service was down again around 17.30 local time. Who knows what follows this evening... And as so often, the connection fell again while I was writing this report!
Signal to Noise Ratio 22.5 dB
Power Level -13.3 dBmV
Frequency 0 Hz Down
Thursday 24 June 2010
What seems to lack in this holy union of Luxembourg Online and Eltrona is any sort of transparency. If it is so difficult to provide a reasonable service between 18-22 on working days, then just tell it!
As the log files of today tell, the service was down again around 17.30 local time. Who knows what follows this evening... And as so often, the connection fell again while I was writing this report!
Signal to Noise Ratio 22.5 dB
Power Level -13.3 dBmV
Frequency 0 Hz Down
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