Virgin Media

[Mattatooi]

So just got notice that Virgin Media is being installed in our street at start of Jan. We had VM years back when we lived in an area that had it. But since we moved was unable. Interested in switching over to VM.

However, just a few questions if anyone knows? How do they get the cable from the street to my house? And from what I believe, this cable is just coax, and its fibre to a cabinet in the street ? I have BT Infinity 2 at the moment, and I get speeds of around 70Mbps. Cant get anymore due to length of copper to their cabinet. But I believe VM would be better equipped for future proofing.

Anyone experience in this? My front garden is stones and what not, though we are wanting to clear that and tarmac it down to fit 2 cars in and just have a small little corner patch of flowers.

 

[Iamchamps]

If your a new build area you will likely be getting fttp which is now done using micro ducting very tidy and efficient in laying. Then a box in the outside of your house will convert light to RF. There will be no option to take phone with that unless you are in a area ready for there new voice over cable.

If you live a few hundred yards from existing network you will get siamese coax cable which is like you said fibre to the cabinet or a cabinet which runs another cabinet then run from that.

They will dig up to the edge of your border and put a little box (tee) and then when and if you book to have service installed it will come from there so if you have stones at the moment it will be a good time to have it done as Virgin won't dig up your Tarmac or block paving.

I have the second option to my house which is Siamese coax and hit 200mb all day every day. You will have people telling you the speed has issues blah blah which I can agree does happen but the usual convicts are crap computers trying to speed test, trying to speed test over wireless when your device has no chance of achieving that, speed testing when you have 20 people connected using the service or very unlucky and you are in a high utilisation area which means at peak times your speed may be slow. The last one will have a fix for eventually but as you are going to be in a new build very unlikely.

Thanks

 

[Mattatooi]

Its not a new build area. Houses are built in the 70s. I have a 3' high brick wall on my front border to the footpath. Have single tarmac drive all way up side of house to garage. To side of tarmac is 2 areas of stones at different heights with a small brick wall.. anyway wanting to rip all this out at some point anyway to do said driveway extension. Between stone area and my front wall of my house is a concrete walkway about 1m wide.

Are you saying because VM only being put in, its more likely to be FTTP?

 

[Iamchamps]

Sorry when I say new build I mean new build for Virgin. Like 3 miles from the closest network for instance. An area they have never touched or been near before. A good example is part of Papworth near Cambridge that is now FTTP.

If there are no streets or roads anywhere near you with existing service then it will be more than likely FTTP.

 

[Mattatooi]

Nah there is no VM in this town. This is brand new.

 

[Iamchamps]

Sounds like it will be FTTP then, micro ducting and super fast internet

 

[Mattatooi]

yeah just checked samknows and it says there is no VM cable in the area. So it does appear to be brand new territory for VM. We got letter couple days ago to expect distruption to our house as they put it in the street, so its "cable". Here in N.I, most of Belfast is hooked up but all the surrounding towns have not had it. Appears they are expanding then. Its a good thing, as BT are a shower of....

 

[JohnD]

watch where the duct comes up by your house, and consider digging your own trench through the garden. You might be lucky, but in my previous town they glue the cable to walls, drape it across flowerbeds etc. The installers don't even carry a spade. I was lucky (or clever enough) to get the sales office to commit to an underground installation because it was the dedicated line for my alarm, and after refusing three surface offers, the local PM got a trenching crew to come and lift my block paving and drill a hole through the garage floor. I doubt there are many people who got that.

It was only laid in a groove scraped in the sand under the blocks, so perhaps I would have done better to dig my own trench.

Maybe the crew will be amenable to a cash offer.