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Should I quit Virginmedia?
I've been with VM for years now; currently we take TV (XL package)
/phone (talk evening/weekends package alongside several 3rd party companies via a dialer box)/broadband (L package; 4 Mb) from them at a total cost of 49.45 GBP/month. I'm now thinking of changing this, driven by (a) a feeling that I'm paying too much overall and (b) family pressure to get access to Sky 1(!) which we lost after the Sky-VM spat earlier this year. I'm wondering about changing back to BT, swapping to Sky TV, and then adding in broadband probably via Sky but if not via another operator (my current hardware setup means I'm stuck with a VM monopoly for all services of course). However my major concern is that currently I'm very happy what VM delivers, notably our broadband has hardly ever gone down and works extremely efficiently. I've hardly ever had to get involved with the notorious Customer Service, just because I have no need of them. Therefore I'm wondering if I'm just setting myself up for a fall by switching away from VM, apparently without knowing how good the competitive service will be until it's up and running? I live about a mile from the nearest BT exchange, which sounds OK I think? And bt.com's postcode speed checker claims 5.5Mb max. OTOH, I might just try and get through to VM retentions and try and blag a price reduction on my current service, and to hell with Sky 1! The other issue is that I want to add in a hard-disk recorder (ie V+ or Sky+ as appropriate) so as that will involve a one-off outlay, I don't want to make that decision until the choice of TV supplier is finalised). Any thoughts to help my make up my mind?! Thanks |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
On Sat, 29 Dec 2007 18:54:19 +0000, Lobster wrote:
I've been with VM for years now; currently we take TV (XL package) /phone (talk evening/weekends package alongside several 3rd party companies via a dialer box)/broadband (L package; 4 Mb) from them at a total cost of 49.45 GBP/month. (OP is considering swapping) However my major concern is that currently I'm very happy what VM delivers, notably our broadband has hardly ever gone down and works extremely efficiently. I've hardly ever had to get involved with the notorious Customer Service, just because I have no need of them. Why not ditch the TV and phone, and speak to Retentions to get a deal on the broadband. Note that there's a hefty reconnection fee for getting a BT line back in. Therefore I'm wondering if I'm just setting myself up for a fall by switching away from VM, apparently without knowing how good the competitive service will be until it's up and running? Yes, its tricky. Any neighbours with non-cable broadband you can speak to? bt.com's postcode speed checker claims 5.5Mb max. Expect somewhat less than that, then! OTOH, I might just try and get through to VM retentions and try and blag a price reduction on my current service, and to hell with Sky 1! Yup - eventually it'll come back, Sky want the customers. The other issue is that I want to add in a hard-disk recorder (ie V+ or Sky+ as appropriate) so as that will involve a one-off outlay, I don't want to make that decision until the choice of TV supplier is finalised). Get a normal DVD/PVR unit and you can plug either service in. I bought a sony RDR-HXD870 which is great - freeview, series recording, one-touch, timeslip, HD upscaling, all the crap that sky and VM claim to do with their "plus" boxes, but without the hassle of paying either of them money to badly deliver 100+ channels of tripe in a sporadic manner. And tell the family if they want Sky1, to pony up the ante... :-) |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
On 29 Dec, 18:54, Lobster wrote:
I've been with VM for years now; currently we take TV (XL package) /phone (talk evening/weekends package alongside several 3rd party companies via a dialer box)/broadband (L package; 4 Mb) from them at a total cost of 49.45 GBP/month. I'm now thinking of changing this, driven by (a) a feeling that I'm paying too much overall and (b) family pressure to get access to Sky 1(!) which we lost after the Sky-VM spat earlier this year. I'm wondering about changing back to BT, swapping to Sky TV, and then adding in broadband probably via Sky but if not via another operator (my current hardware setup means I'm stuck with a VM monopoly for all services of course). However my major concern is that currently I'm very happy what VM delivers, notably our broadband has hardly ever gone down and works extremely efficiently. I've hardly ever had to get involved with the notorious Customer Service, just because I have no need of them. Therefore I'm wondering if I'm just setting myself up for a fall by switching away from VM, apparently without knowing how good the competitive service will be until it's up and running? I live about a mile from the nearest BT exchange, which sounds OK I think? And bt.com's postcode speed checker claims 5.5Mb max. OTOH, I might just try and get through to VM retentions and try and blag a price reduction on my current service, and to hell with Sky 1! The other issue is that I want to add in a hard-disk recorder (ie V+ or Sky+ as appropriate) so as that will involve a one-off outlay, I don't want to make that decision until the choice of TV supplier is finalised). Any thoughts to help my make up my mind?! Thanks Well you would save some cash if you went for sky's offer of 3 for £26 thats phone, TV & broadband, but if you went just broadband and TV it would cost the same. You would pay £30 line rental to BT, and for every quarter you would pay £108 compared to £150 with VM. Pretty much the same service. However If you have a good experience with VM you are very lucky, but worth a try to haggle with the price a bit, if that dont work then tell them your leaving, they will then offer you a reduced price or you are free to go elsewhere. either way you win. Sky is probally as bad as VM for customer service, for thier broadband but I have never had any problems with thier TV service and i think sky has a few extra channels, and a few more radio stations. As for your broadband there is no way of really knowing what speed you will get until there service comes on, which at the start Sky had major problems handling all the orders and many people waited months before the service was switched on, if it ever was. But if you really dont want the hassle which it will be if you do decide to leave VM, because BT are likley to take a few days to reconnect you phone line if it has been disconnected at the exchange, then Sky will take 10 days to activate the broadband on the new line, and I assume you will be getting a dish installed from sky, which you will have to arrange and then be in for them to install it all. I think your lucky to have had not problems with VM, so stay with them, they probally will increase you broadband speed or something in the next year or sometime anyway and just ask for a better deal and they should give you some improvement. |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
"Mark McIntyre" wrote in message ... On Sat, 29 Dec 2007 18:54:19 +0000, Lobster wrote: I've been with VM for years now; currently we take TV (XL package) /phone (talk evening/weekends package alongside several 3rd party companies via a dialer box)/broadband (L package; 4 Mb) from them at a total cost of 49.45 GBP/month. (OP is considering swapping) However my major concern is that currently I'm very happy what VM delivers, notably our broadband has hardly ever gone down and works extremely efficiently. I've hardly ever had to get involved with the notorious Customer Service, just because I have no need of them. Why not ditch the TV and phone, and speak to Retentions to get a deal on the broadband. Note that there's a hefty reconnection fee for getting a BT line back in. Therefore I'm wondering if I'm just setting myself up for a fall by switching away from VM, apparently without knowing how good the competitive service will be until it's up and running? Yes, its tricky. Any neighbours with non-cable broadband you can speak to? bt.com's postcode speed checker claims 5.5Mb max. Expect somewhat less than that, then! OTOH, I might just try and get through to VM retentions and try and blag a price reduction on my current service, and to hell with Sky 1! Yup - eventually it'll come back, Sky want the customers. The other issue is that I want to add in a hard-disk recorder (ie V+ or Sky+ as appropriate) so as that will involve a one-off outlay, I don't want to make that decision until the choice of TV supplier is finalised). Get a normal DVD/PVR unit and you can plug either service in. I bought a sony RDR-HXD870 which is great - freeview, series recording, one-touch, timeslip, HD upscaling, all the crap that sky and VM claim to do with their "plus" boxes, but without the hassle of paying either of them money to badly deliver 100+ channels of tripe in a sporadic manner. And tell the family if they want Sky1, to pony up the ante... :-) Entirely agree. You will be surprised what you can get out of Retentions. The TV feed is as good picture-wise or better than Sky and it doesn't pixelate in the rain or snow. The phone service is expensive but unless you still have a BT line to your house you should look carefully at the cost of reverting - and then see what you can blag out of an automaton at BT if you do have a line. The other possibility is to go for a VOIP line on your broadband (I have one as a second line and it is brilliant) and just use VM for incoming and limited outgoing. The VM broadband feed - no matter others may say - is probably the best and most reliable on the market. It certainly meets or is very close to quoted speed at almost all times - which it is guaranteed you will not get with ADSL. (To confirm that try www.speedtest.net at different times of day - you'll be within 100K or so of 4Mb every time.) It does depend where you live, but if the feed is solid (as mine is - two outages of more than 10 mins in five years) then stay with it. VM are proposing to update most customers to at least 10Mb within the next year or so. -- Woody harrogate three at ntlworld dot com |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
"Lobster" wrote in message
... I've been with VM for years now; currently we take TV (XL package) /phone (talk evening/weekends package alongside several 3rd party companies via a dialer box)/broadband (L package; 4 Mb) from them at a total cost of 49.45 GBP/month. I'm now thinking of changing this, driven by (a) a feeling that I'm paying too much overall and (b) family pressure to get access to Sky 1(!) which we lost after the Sky-VM spat earlier this year. I'm wondering about changing back to BT, swapping to Sky TV, and then adding in broadband probably via Sky but if not via another operator (my current hardware setup means I'm stuck with a VM monopoly for all services of course). Sky have a "try cheap" offer on (or did around 3 weeks ago). i picked up a voucher in W H Smiths - £75 for a dish, decoder, card, fitting and a 4 months free on some of the packages. Sky were very good - installed in 4 days, so pretty easy and quick. you have to decide in the 3rd month if you keep the subscription - if not you scrub it and just get the "FreeSat" + foreign channels on the satellite. i will make my mind up if we keep this and ditch VM tv in a couple of months - but so far satelite seems to give a better picture on a modern box than i get from the VM Samsung, and the EPG is much more stable & complete. Shame that over 50% of the "200 free channels" seem to be in Arabic... However my major concern is that currently I'm very happy what VM delivers, notably our broadband has hardly ever gone down and works extremely efficiently. I've hardly ever had to get involved with the notorious Customer Service, just because I have no need of them. Therefore I'm wondering if I'm just setting myself up for a fall by switching away from VM, apparently without knowing how good the competitive service will be until it's up and running? I live about a mile from the nearest BT exchange, which sounds OK I think? And bt.com's postcode speed checker claims 5.5Mb max. OTOH, I might just try and get through to VM retentions and try and blag a price reduction on my current service, and to hell with Sky 1! The other issue is that I want to add in a hard-disk recorder (ie V+ or Sky+ as appropriate) so as that will involve a one-off outlay, I don't want to make that decision until the choice of TV supplier is finalised). Sky was much better than the fiasco 2 months earlier on a similar deal i tried 1st from Currys. Currys managed to lose the kit, denied it was a problem until i insisted, and never rang back despite promises on 3 different sets of calls. Then they admit it is a problem, tell me the kit is out of stock and can the order (although it took a while to get the refund). It cost me 10 to 15 calls, 3 hours of 0870 phone calls over 8 weeks before they agreed to refund the money. And then they had the cheek to headline the letter "sorry you dont want the equipment you ordered". and there was me thinking that ordering on the web would be cheaper, easier and less trouble..... Any thoughts to help my make up my mind?! Thanks -- Regards - replace xyz with ntl |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
Mark McIntyre wrote:
On Sat, 29 Dec 2007 18:54:19 +0000, Lobster wrote: I've been with VM for years now; currently we take TV (XL package) /phone (talk evening/weekends package alongside several 3rd party companies via a dialer box)/broadband (L package; 4 Mb) from them at a total cost of 49.45 GBP/month. (OP is considering swapping) However my major concern is that currently I'm very happy what VM delivers, notably our broadband has hardly ever gone down and works extremely efficiently. I've hardly ever had to get involved with the notorious Customer Service, just because I have no need of them. Why not ditch the TV and phone, and speak to Retentions to get a deal on the broadband. Reckon they're likely to do that if I ditch the other stuff at the same time? I'd be interested to know what 'target' deal I could expect for what I'm paying for my current service?? Therefore I'm wondering if I'm just setting myself up for a fall by switching away from VM, apparently without knowing how good the competitive service will be until it's up and running? Yes, its tricky. Any neighbours with non-cable broadband you can speak to? Unfortunately none that I know of. OTOH, I might just try and get through to VM retentions and try and blag a price reduction on my current service, and to hell with Sky 1! Yup - eventually it'll come back, Sky want the customers. Presumably there's no other way of getting Sky 1 other than subscribing to Sky? The other issue is that I want to add in a hard-disk recorder (ie V+ or Sky+ as appropriate) so as that will involve a one-off outlay, I don't want to make that decision until the choice of TV supplier is finalised). Get a normal DVD/PVR unit and you can plug either service in. I bought a sony RDR-HXD870 which is great - freeview, series recording, one-touch, timeslip, HD upscaling, all the crap that sky and VM claim to do with their "plus" boxes, but without the hassle of paying either of them money to badly deliver 100+ channels of tripe in a sporadic manner. I'd considered but kind of written off that route, on the basis that to make use of the non-Freeview channels provided by VM/Sky, you have to have the VM/Sky box to do it? Is that not right? David |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
On Sat, 29 Dec 2007 20:00:22 +0000, Woody wrote:
The other possibility is to go for a VOIP line on your broadband (I have one as a second line and it is brilliant) and just use VM for incoming and limited outgoing. I do exactly this, but with a cheapo evenings/weekends package from onetel chucked in. So I'm paying VM 11.00 for the copper, Sipgate for daytime calls, and onetel for evening calls. |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
On Sat, 29 Dec 2007 23:46:15 +0000, Lobster wrote:
Mark McIntyre wrote: On Sat, 29 Dec 2007 18:54:19 +0000, Lobster wrote: I've been with VM for years now; currently we take TV (XL package) /phone (talk evening/weekends package alongside several 3rd party companies via a dialer box)/broadband (L package; 4 Mb) from them at a total cost of 49.45 GBP/month. (OP is considering swapping) However my major concern is that currently I'm very happy what VM delivers, notably our broadband has hardly ever gone down and works extremely efficiently. I've hardly ever had to get involved with the notorious Customer Service, just because I have no need of them. Why not ditch the TV and phone, and speak to Retentions to get a deal on the broadband. Reckon they're likely to do that if I ditch the other stuff at the same time? Yup. Their reasoning: as long as you still have a live cable into the house they can hope to persuade you into taking back other services some other time. I'd be interested to know what 'target' deal I could expect for what I'm paying for my current service?? Sorry, can't help you there. Yup - eventually it'll come back, Sky want the customers. Presumably there's no other way of getting Sky 1 other than subscribing to Sky? None that I'm aware of that is legal :-) I'd considered but kind of written off that route, on the basis that to make use of the non-Freeview channels provided by VM/Sky, you have to have the VM/Sky box to do it? Is that not right? Depends. If you have SCART output on your digibox, and don't mind recording in non-HD, as far as I know you can do it. However I don't actually have either VM or Sky TV (*no* interest in a zillion channels of football etc). David |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
Woody wrote:
"Mark McIntyre" wrote in message ... On Sat, 29 Dec 2007 18:54:19 +0000, Lobster wrote: I've been with VM for years now; currently we take TV (XL package) /phone (talk evening/weekends package alongside several 3rd party companies via a dialer box)/broadband (L package; 4 Mb) from them at a total cost of 49.45 GBP/month. (OP is considering swapping) However my major concern is that currently I'm very happy what VM delivers, notably our broadband has hardly ever gone down and works extremely efficiently. I've hardly ever had to get involved with the notorious Customer Service, just because I have no need of them. Why not ditch the TV and phone, and speak to Retentions to get a deal on the broadband. Note that there's a hefty reconnection fee for getting a BT line back in. Therefore I'm wondering if I'm just setting myself up for a fall by switching away from VM, apparently without knowing how good the competitive service will be until it's up and running? Yes, its tricky. Any neighbours with non-cable broadband you can speak to? bt.com's postcode speed checker claims 5.5Mb max. Expect somewhat less than that, then! OTOH, I might just try and get through to VM retentions and try and blag a price reduction on my current service, and to hell with Sky 1! Yup - eventually it'll come back, Sky want the customers. The other issue is that I want to add in a hard-disk recorder (ie V+ or Sky+ as appropriate) so as that will involve a one-off outlay, I don't want to make that decision until the choice of TV supplier is finalised). Get a normal DVD/PVR unit and you can plug either service in. I bought a sony RDR-HXD870 which is great - freeview, series recording, one-touch, timeslip, HD upscaling, all the crap that sky and VM claim to do with their "plus" boxes, but without the hassle of paying either of them money to badly deliver 100+ channels of tripe in a sporadic manner. And tell the family if they want Sky1, to pony up the ante... :-) Entirely agree. You will be surprised what you can get out of Retentions. The TV feed is as good picture-wise or better than Sky and it doesn't pixelate in the rain or snow. Strange that, I've had satellite since the late 1980s and have lost picture only a couple of times and that was in extremely heavy rain, not had any problems with pixalation any other time. The picture quality I find more channels on satellite to be better, plus you get more channels and decent interactive and the boxes aren't as slow as cable boxes and the standard boxes also have a full EPG and not just the Sky+ / Sky HD boxes. Now I've only had cable TV for a couple of years or so, and that suffers pixalation without the need of rain or snow, sound drops, channels down for some time, all channels down for some time etc etc. Cable TV is unreliable compared to satellite (though you need to make sure your dish is aligned correctly and isn't too small for the job). I have cable TV simply due to being given it free for 2 years and a recently upgraded on a loyalty discount package, if I had to pay the full amount for it - I wouldn't pay it - not worth the full asking price. Before I was given the phone line for free and evening and weekend calls package and caller display for free with Virgin Media I was VoIP only for 2 years. I use a PAP2 ATA and had Sipgate and VoIPStunt (with local number) that 2 years cost me £6 in total, due to using completely free credit on my mobile to top up my VoIPStunt account. I now use the VM line for the inclusive and 0800 calls and VoIP for other calls (now with VoIPStunt sending out my VM number as CLID). I used to have cable line before but switched to BT 6 years back when cable became dearer than BT, but dropped BT when I got cable broadband installed at new address after spending almost 18 months trying to get it connected up as they kept saying I wasn't in a digital area even though I was, still they paid compensation. Broadband from VM I have been mostly happy with, wouldn't really want to go elsewhere for that. -- Worried about debt? http://www.cccs.co.uk |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
Mark McIntyre wrote: Lobster wrote: I've been with VM for years now; currently we take TV (XL package) /phone (talk evening/weekends package alongside several 3rd party companies via a dialer box)/broadband (L package; 4 Mb) from them at a total cost of 49.45 GBP/month. (OP is considering swapping) However my major concern is that currently I'm very happy what VM delivers, notably our broadband has hardly ever gone down and works extremely efficiently. I've hardly ever had to get involved with the notorious Customer Service, just because I have no need of them. Why not ditch the TV and phone, and speak to Retentions to get a deal on the broadband. What ? Retain the WORST service they provide ! Only YOU could suggest that. Graham |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
Mark McIntyre wrote: Lobster wrote: bt.com's postcode speed checker claims 5.5Mb max. Expect somewhat less than that, then! On exactly what basis other than the idea came out of your backside ? Graham |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
Woody wrote: The VM broadband feed - no matter others may say - is probably the best and most reliable on the market. It certainly meets or is very close to quoted speed at almost all times - which it is guaranteed you will not get with ADSL. Uh ? With VM's 4 meg service I was normally down to 500kbps at peak times. With an '8 meg' service from Idnet over a BT line I rarely see less than 5 Mbps even at peak times and see peak speeds of 7 Mbps. Both figures from the speedtester at thinkbroadband.com and Bbmax You're talking complete and total nonsense about VM's alleged 'great' broadband. It's actually total ****e. Graham |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
Lobster wrote: Mark McIntyre wrote: On Sat, 29 Dec 2007 18:54:19 +0000, Lobster wrote: I've been with VM for years now; currently we take TV (XL package) /phone (talk evening/weekends package alongside several 3rd party companies via a dialer box)/broadband (L package; 4 Mb) from them at a total cost of 49.45 GBP/month. (OP is considering swapping) However my major concern is that currently I'm very happy what VM delivers, notably our broadband has hardly ever gone down and works extremely efficiently. I've hardly ever had to get involved with the notorious Customer Service, just because I have no need of them. Why not ditch the TV and phone, and speak to Retentions to get a deal on the broadband. Reckon they're likely to do that if I ditch the other stuff at the same time? I'd be interested to know what 'target' deal I could expect for what I'm paying for my current service?? I pay 'half price' for the XL TV and they've given me 9 months worth of free phone calls too so far (free upgrade to whatver daft name they give that package) but you have to keep badgering them every 3 or 6 months to renew those deals. So I pay £11 for the phone (with free calls - better than your deal) and £10.50 for the TV. That's £21.50. They also ought to offer you the 4 meg broadband for £4.50. So that would be £26 total instead of £49.45 but expect them to quibble over offering too many deals. They seem to rely on people paying list price without querying what's available to make any money. Graham |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
{{{{{Welcome}}}}} wrote: Woody wrote: The TV feed is as good picture-wise or better than Sky and it doesn't pixelate in the rain or snow. Strange that, I've had satellite since the late 1980s and have lost picture only a couple of times and that was in extremely heavy rain, not had any problems with pixalation any other time. I get regular pixellation and occasional complete loss of picture for seconds at a time with VM. Graham |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
On Sun, 30 Dec 2007 07:03:46 +0000, Eeyore wrote:
Path: be1.news.blueyonder.co.uk!pe1.news.blueyonder.co.u k!blueyonder!pe2.news.blueyonder.co.uk!blueyonder! cyclone01.ams!news.ams.newshosting.com!hwmnpeer03. ams!news.highwinds-media.com!xlned.com!feeder1.xlned.com!newsrouter-eu.astraweb.com!news.astraweb.com!router1.astraweb .com!not-for-mail Message-ID: Date: Sun, 30 Dec 2007 07:03:46 +0000 From: Eeyore Organization: Eeyore's gloomy place X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.8 [en] (Windows NT 5.0; U) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: uk.telecom.broadband,uk.tech.digital-tv Subject: Should I quit Virginmedia? References: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Lines: 23 NNTP-Posting-Host: b7b31cea.news.astraweb.com X-Trace: DXC=kgmJS9[E18U[3fhUe^HC[[email protected]:dlV5Z`OR5EfEaRW1Kfo5C?]RREDYWKC`Z^[L0`VVDkfbP X-Received-Date: Sun, 30 Dec 2007 07:03:47 GMT (be1.news.blueyonder.co.uk) Xref: be1.news.blueyonder.co.uk uk.telecom.broadband:107512 uk.tech.digital-tv:119869 Woody wrote: The VM broadband feed - no matter others may say - is probably the best and most reliable on the market. It certainly meets or is very close to quoted speed at almost all times - which it is guaranteed you will not get with ADSL. Uh ? With VM's 4 meg service I was normally down to 500kbps at peak times. With an '8 meg' service from Idnet over a BT line I rarely see less than 5 Mbps even at peak times and see peak speeds of 7 Mbps. Both figures from the speedtester at thinkbroadband.com and Bbmax You're talking complete and total nonsense about VM's alleged 'great' broadband. It's actually total ****e. Graham Just because your service was bad with VM doesn't mean everyone elses is as well.Mine's spot on but,unlike you,i'm not claiming that that means everyones is. |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
Daffy Duck wrote: Eeyore wrote: Woody wrote: The VM broadband feed - no matter others may say - is probably the best and most reliable on the market. It certainly meets or is very close to quoted speed at almost all times - which it is guaranteed you will not get with ADSL. Uh ? With VM's 4 meg service I was normally down to 500kbps at peak times. With an '8 meg' service from Idnet over a BT line I rarely see less than 5 Mbps even at peak times and see peak speeds of 7 Mbps. Both figures from the speedtester at thinkbroadband.com and Bbmax You're talking complete and total nonsense about VM's alleged 'great' broadband. It's actually total ****e. Graham Just because your service was bad with VM doesn't mean everyone elses is as well.Mine's spot on but,unlike you,i'm not claiming that that means everyones is. Fair enough, but the comments in user groups illustrate that the vast majority of comments about VM are very negative. You appear to be lucky that you're on infrastructure originally operated by Telewest (Blueyonder) rather than NTL. How long that may give you an advantage is anyone's guess I reckon. Graham |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
Eeyore wrote:
They seem to rely on people paying list price without querying what's available to make any money. Well yeah. I was going to ask if you quibbled the price at your local supermarket or restaurant that you frequented, but then you probably do ;-) -- Carl Waring DigiGuide: Full: http://getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=1495 Freeview (free): http://getdigiguide.com/?p=4&r=1495 Web-based: http://getdigiguide.com/?p=3&r=1495 http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1166929362 |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
Eeyore wrote:
Woody wrote: The VM broadband feed - no matter others may say - is probably the best and most reliable on the market. It certainly meets or is very close to quoted speed at almost all times - which it is guaranteed you will not get with ADSL. Uh ? With VM's 4 meg service I was normally down to 500kbps at peak times. With an '8 meg' service from Idnet over a BT line I rarely see less than 5 Mbps even at peak times and see peak speeds of 7 Mbps. Both figures from the speedtester at thinkbroadband.com and Bbmax You're talking complete and total nonsense about VM's alleged 'great' broadband. It's actually total ****e. Graham Well it didn't take you long, did it. Still holding that grudge against and positive comments about VM I see :-( -- Carl Waring DigiGuide: Full: http://getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=1495 Freeview (free): http://getdigiguide.com/?p=4&r=1495 Web-based: http://getdigiguide.com/?p=3&r=1495 http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1166929362 |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
Uh ?
With VM's 4 meg service I was normally down to 500kbps at peak times. With an '8 meg' service from Idnet over a BT line I rarely see less than 5 Mbps even at peak times and see peak speeds of 7 Mbps. Both figures from the speedtester at thinkbroadband.com and Bbmax You're talking complete and total nonsense about VM's alleged 'great' broadband. It's actually total ****e. Graham I notice that you get quite bad service from VM. But looking at all the post's that are made by VM customers at the moment it seems that Virgin Broadband is as good as ADSL. The chance of you getting a good speed depends on where you live, like ADSL depends on the length and quality of your line. Put simply if you live in an area where VM have got a good setup with sufficient backhaul then you will be fine and enjoy a more relieable and faster connection the possibly on ADSL. But if you unlucky then you will suffer like mad with them. There are somepeople who get the full 20meg all the time on VM's broadband, and yes I have seen it and used it wheras there are others like you who dont. You wont find out what speed you will get with VM until you join them, just like ADSL. |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
Carl Waring wrote: Eeyore wrote: They seem to rely on people paying list price without querying what's available to make any money. Well yeah. I was going to ask if you quibbled the price at your local supermarket or restaurant that you frequented, but then you probably do ;-) No. All the 'deals' I have were offered to me. Graham |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
The VM broadband feed - no matter others may say - is probably the best
and most reliable on the market. It certainly meets or is very close to quoted speed at almost all times - which it is guaranteed you will not get with ADSL. (To confirm that try www.speedtest.net at different times of day - you'll be within 100K or so of 4Mb every time.) It does depend where you live, but if the feed is solid (as mine is - two outages of more than 10 mins in five years) then stay with it. VM are proposing to update most customers to at least 10Mb within the next year or so. Totally agree with that. We have VM at home and use ADSL via various providers at a number of other locations. Most all are poorer in caparison especially on longer phone lines. Only one gets anywhere near the -fabled- 8 Meg rate and even then its rarely that!. As to customer service which pile of dog-doo do you want to step into today?.. Nb: why is it that Telco's both fixed and mobile have the poorest customer service among all the other utilities .. Well excepting EDF energy;!... -- Tony Sayer |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
naza wrote: Uh ? With VM's 4 meg service I was normally down to 500kbps at peak times. With an '8 meg' service from Idnet over a BT line I rarely see less than 5 Mbps even at peak times and see peak speeds of 7 Mbps. Both figures from the speedtester at thinkbroadband.com and Bbmax You're talking complete and total nonsense about VM's alleged 'great' broadband. It's actually total ****e. I notice that you get quite bad service from VM. But looking at all the post's that are made by VM customers at the moment it seems that Virgin Broadband is as good as ADSL. More nonsense. They have hopelessly inadequate capacity (bandwidth). In other words, they've oversold the service. The chance of you getting a good speed depends on where you live, like ADSL depends on the length and quality of your line. Apparently the 'average' speed on ADSL is over 5 Mbps. Hardly bad and with ADSL2+ it'll be faster. With VDSL (in the pipeline), the twisted pair can deliver download speeds as high as 50 Mbps. Put simply if you live in an area where VM have got a good setup with sufficient backhaul then you will be fine and enjoy a more relieable and faster connection the possibly on ADSL. Where do they have sufficient backhaul ? Clearly not where I live. But if you unlucky then you will suffer like mad with them. There are somepeople who get the full 20meg all the time on VM's broadband, and yes I have seen it and used it wheras there are others like you who dont. You wont find out what speed you will get with VM until you join them, just like ADSL. ADSL is more predictable. You can get a good estimate of your line speed from the various online calculators. Once you have ADSL, backhaul capacity issues and not a problem as long as you're not a cheapskate looking to save the last penny. Simply choose a good ISP. With cable there's only one choice and it's rubbish. Graham |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
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Should I quit Virginmedia?
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Should I quit Virginmedia?
On 30 Dec, 12:04, Eeyore
wrote: naza wrote: Uh ? With VM's 4 meg service I was normally down to 500kbps at peak times. With an '8 meg' service from Idnet over a BT line I rarely see less than 5 Mbps even at peak times and see peak speeds of 7 Mbps. Both figures from the speedtester at thinkbroadband.com and Bbmax You're talking complete and total nonsense about VM's alleged 'great' broadband. It's actually total ****e. I notice that you get quite bad service from VM. But looking at all the post's that are made by VM customers at the moment it seems that Virgin Broadband is as good as ADSL. More nonsense. They have hopelessly inadequate capacity (bandwidth). In other words, they've oversold the service. The chance of you getting a good speed depends on where you live, like ADSL depends on the length and quality of your line. Apparently the 'average' speed on ADSL is over 5 Mbps. Hardly bad and with ADSL2+ it'll be faster. With VDSL (in the pipeline), the twisted pair can deliver download speeds as high as 50 Mbps. Put simply if you live in an area where VM have got a good setup with sufficient backhaul then you will be fine and enjoy a more relieable and faster connection the possibly on ADSL. Where do they have sufficient backhaul ? Clearly not where I live. Clearly not, but VM is a business, if you live outside of a city then they will probally not have invested much into the network whereas in built up areas it would make business sense as they stood to make a lot of money, just in the same way BT invest very little into people whi live in the countryside. You can see how ADSL & cable are similar. But if you unlucky then you will suffer like mad with them. There are somepeople who get the full 20meg all the time on VM's broadband, and yes I have seen it and used it wheras there are others like you who dont. You wont find out what speed you will get with VM until you join them, just like ADSL. ADSL is more predictable. You can get a good estimate of your line speed from the various online calculators. Once you have ADSL, backhaul capacity issues and not a problem as long as you're not a cheapskate looking to save the last penny. Simply choose a good ISP. With cable there's only one choice and it's rubbish. Not really. When joining a cable service if you were to ask a few people in you area what speeds that were getting that would give you quite a good indication of what speed you would get, becuase there is little chance that the wiring is a problem or the fibre optic cable. But I suppose you cant get to much information about VM speeds before hand on the internet as much as you can ADSL but ADSL is no more predictable. An example being my own line, people around me get from 4-6mbps and when I joined with my ISP if got this sort of figure, BT wholesale also supported this claim and Samknows and these other information sites just get thier info from there. When it came to connecting the line, which previously never had any broadband service they found a problem of some sort and cancelled the order, they never told me what the problem was, The order was resubmitted and went through. I got a lower speed and BT wholesale's broadband check now claimed my line can only do 500kbps on ADSL Max. Now all these information sources were wrong and still are, I get above 500kbps, the reason being since my broadband various bits of my line have been replaced increasing the sync speed from 2200kbps to 3776kbps on average. The information from these soruce only take into account line length and some information about the predicted quality of the cable. Now VM network does not have any of these problems, but rather contention problems which ADSL has but how many people get full 8mbps. If on ADSL people where getting 8mbps then most likley ADSL providers would have the same issues as VM but that simply isn't the case. Chossing a Good ISP will not change the laws of physics, a good ISP will do a little more to resolve your issue's but thats about it. They cant really do that much to force BT to do something about you line. |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
tony sayer wrote: Eeyore scribeth thus naza wrote: Uh ? With VM's 4 meg service I was normally down to 500kbps at peak times. With an '8 meg' service from Idnet over a BT line I rarely see less than 5 Mbps even at peak times and see peak speeds of 7 Mbps. Both figures from the speedtester at thinkbroadband.com and Bbmax You're talking complete and total nonsense about VM's alleged 'great' broadband. It's actually total ****e. I notice that you get quite bad service from VM. But looking at all the post's that are made by VM customers at the moment it seems that Virgin Broadband is as good as ADSL. More nonsense. They have hopelessly inadequate capacity (bandwidth). In other words, they've oversold the service. The chance of you getting a good speed depends on where you live, like ADSL depends on the length and quality of your line. Apparently the 'average' speed on ADSL is over 5 Mbps. Hardly bad and with ADSL2+ it'll be faster. With VDSL (in the pipeline), the twisted pair can deliver download speeds as high as 50 Mbps. Yep?.. Any idea when?..or is that a -pipe- dream;?.. It exists NOW. BT however are apparently currently thinking more along the lines of using fibre to the cabinet and using ADSL2+ thereafter. They have trialled VDSL2 though. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VDSL2 "In United Kingdom, BT Group trialed VDSL2 during 2006. BT currently plans to launch ADSL2+ from early 2008 as part of its 21CN program to upgrade of its core network. In July 2007, Sir Christopher Bland, the chairman of BT said that BT was considering fibre to the curb and that VDSL2 was a 'likely development going forward' but that no final decisions had yet been taken." Put simply if you live in an area where VM have got a good setup with sufficient backhaul then you will be fine and enjoy a more relieable and faster connection the possibly on ADSL. Where do they have sufficient backhaul ? Clearly not where I live. Neither does BT in a lot of rural areas. I don't believe that. Without doubt you're almost certainly seeing not a *BT* problem but a problem related to your ISP. But if you unlucky then you will suffer like mad with them. There are somepeople who get the full 20meg all the time on VM's broadband, and yes I have seen it and used it wheras there are others like you who dont. You wont find out what speed you will get with VM until you join them, just like ADSL. ADSL is more predictable. You can get a good estimate of your line speed from the various online calculators. Once you have ADSL, backhaul capacity issues and not a problem as long as you're not a cheapskate looking to save the last penny. Simply choose a good ISP. With cable there's only one choice and it's rubbish. I really think you have a very biased and blinkered view. I think it's a very accurate view. I know of several people in locations off the VM network who would pay more than what they do for ADSL from any provider as after all with very rare exception it all runs over BT wires;!. There's nothing wrong with BT wires (or their DSLAMS). I expect these people you know don't understand how to choose a decent ISP more likely. Are ANY of them with IDNet for example ? Course some of the VM network was built better then others but some of the BT network wasn't all that clever either!... We have a location in Cambridge .. yes the hi-tech hub of England that struggles to get much more then 1 to 1.75 meg on a 5:1 contention service!... On twisted pair ? How far from the exchange ? Graham |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
naza wrote: Eeyore wrote: Where do they have sufficient backhaul ? Clearly not where I live. Clearly not, but VM is a business, if you live outside of a city then they will probally not have invested much into the network I DO live in a city. You idea just crashed and burned. Graham |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
But if you unlucky then you will suffer like mad with them. There are somepeople who get the full 20meg all the time on VM's broadband, and yes I have seen it and used it wheras there are others like you who dont. You wont find out what speed you will get with VM until you join them, just like ADSL. ADSL is more predictable. You can get a good estimate of your line speed from the various online calculators. Once you have ADSL, backhaul capacity issues and not a problem as long as you're not a cheapskate looking to save the last penny. Simply choose a good ISP. With cable there's only one choice and it's rubbish. Graham I really think you have a very biased and blinkered view. I know of several people in locations off the VM network who would pay more than what they do for ADSL from any provider as after all with very rare exception it all runs over BT wires;!. Course some of the VM network was built better then others but some of the BT network wasn't all that clever either!... We have a location in Cambridge .. yes the hi-tech hub of England that struggles to get much more then 1 to 1.75 meg on a 5:1 contention service!... Better move here. I get 3 megs easily out here in the sticks.. Well oddly enough the fastest service we have is out in the fens at Friday bridge!.. Yes it does exist .. never found out why it was called that!... -- Tony Sayer |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
naza wrote: Eeyore wrote: ADSL is more predictable. You can get a good estimate of your line speed from the various online calculators. Once you have ADSL, backhaul capacity issues and not a problem as long as you're not a cheapskate looking to save the last penny. Simply choose a good ISP. With cable there's only one choice and it's rubbish. Not really. When joining a cable service if you were to ask a few people in you area what speeds that were getting that would give you quite a good indication of what speed you would get, becuase there is little chance that the wiring is a problem or the fibre optic cable. So that explains actual 500 kbps speeds does it ? I get TEN TIMES that down a bloody phone wire ! Stop making idiotic excuses for VM ! Graham |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
naza wrote: Now VM network does not have any of these [line related] problems, but rather contention problems which ADSL has NO. ADSL does NOT have any inherent significant contention problems. Not for ages. BT has fixed that ages back. That's why they don't quote a contention figure for MAX. It's still a popular myth however that there are such problems but it IS a myth. There may be congestion/contention problems over the *ISP's* network but that's down to them and YOUR decision to use them. but how many people get full 8mbps. Me for one ! If on ADSL people where getting 8mbps then most likley ADSL providers would have the same issues as VM but that simply isn't the case. Chossing a Good ISP will not change the laws of physics, a good ISP will do a little more to resolve your issue's but thats about it. They cant really do that much to force BT to do something about you line. You simply don't understand that realities of how ADSL works. Idnet can say this (and they do) . "No contention on our network is achieved by not oversubscribing our broadband services and ensuring that bandwidth investment exceeds customer demand. This means that our goals of the highest performance and reliability can be maintained" http://www.idnet.net/solutions/homeofficebroadband.jsp# That's ALL it takes. It's called investment. VM doesn't (can't) invest since it's mired in debt. That's why it's crap. End of story. Graham |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
In article , Eeyore rabbitsfriendsandrel
scribeth thus naza wrote: Now VM network does not have any of these [line related] problems, but rather contention problems which ADSL has NO. ADSL does NOT have any inherent significant contention problems. Not for ages. BT has fixed that ages back. That's why they don't quote a contention figure for MAX. It's still a popular myth however that there are such problems but it IS a myth. There may be congestion/contention problems over the *ISP's* network but that's down to them and YOUR decision to use them. but how many people get full 8mbps. Me for one ! Next to the exchange is it then?.. If on ADSL people where getting 8mbps then most likley ADSL providers would have the same issues as VM but that simply isn't the case. Chossing a Good ISP will not change the laws of physics, a good ISP will do a little more to resolve your issue's but thats about it. They cant really do that much to force BT to do something about you line. You simply don't understand that realities of how ADSL works. Idnet can say this (and they do) . "No contention on our network is achieved by not oversubscribing our broadband services and ensuring that bandwidth investment exceeds customer demand. This means that our goals of the highest performance and reliability can be maintained" http://www.idnet.net/solutions/homeofficebroadband.jsp# However they do say this;!... Please note: The maximum speeds that your line can support are determined by the equipment at the exchange within the first 10 days of service. Speeds are affected by your proximity to your local telephone exchange and the quality of your phone line. Actual download speeds can vary from below 2 Mbps during peak times, up to a maximum of 7.15 Mbps. -- Tony Sayer |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
On 30 Dec 2007, Eeyore wrote
Daffy Duck wrote: Just because your service was bad with VM doesn't mean everyone elses is as well.Mine's spot on but,unlike you,i'm not claiming that that means everyones is. Fair enough, but the comments in user groups illustrate that the vast majority of comments about VM are very negative. You appear to be lucky that you're on infrastructure originally operated by Telewest (Blueyonder) rather than NTL. How long that may give you an advantage is anyone's guess I reckon. Hmmm..... I've been with NTL for 7 years (Reading UBR); started with the 512 service in December, 2000, and was gradually increased to the 4meg service. I invariably get around 3850/3900 down and 380 up on speed tests; have had maybe 4 or 5 short outages over the years -- the sort of thing all ISPs suffer now and then; and haven't needed to have many dealings with support (thank god, from what I've read). Since I'm not a fanboy, I tend not to post in user groups saying how solid my connection is; but those who point out that user groups provide a skewed sample of customer satisfaction have quite a solid point. FWIW, I'm not enthralled -- at all -- with the way the company has gone since they (a) merged with TW/BY, and then (b) rebranded as VM. The fixed-line phone was always bad value; the new non- contract Virgin Mobile charges are considerably more expensive than the old ones were; the willy-waving over Sky was boringly juvenile (we cancelled the VM telly after that and went to Sky -- should have done it years ago if only for the Arts and Performance channels); the imported BY support department seems deeply flawed to me (way out of their depth, and often out of the corporate loop); charging 25p/min for support is absolutely inexcusable; and I've been migrating my e-mail to my own domain over the past year or so to keep my options open. But that said, I've always been happy with the speed and reliability of my ex-NTL *broadband* service, and won't drop that unless it goes the way the rest of the company seems to be going. And so far, the broadband continues to deliver what it says on the box. -- Cheers, Harvey |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
tony sayer wrote:
But if you unlucky then you will suffer like mad with them. There are somepeople who get the full 20meg all the time on VM's broadband, and yes I have seen it and used it wheras there are others like you who dont. You wont find out what speed you will get with VM until you join them, just like ADSL. ADSL is more predictable. You can get a good estimate of your line speed from the various online calculators. Once you have ADSL, backhaul capacity issues and not a problem as long as you're not a cheapskate looking to save the last penny. Simply choose a good ISP. With cable there's only one choice and it's rubbish. Graham I really think you have a very biased and blinkered view. I know of several people in locations off the VM network who would pay more than what they do for ADSL from any provider as after all with very rare exception it all runs over BT wires;!. Course some of the VM network was built better then others but some of the BT network wasn't all that clever either!... We have a location in Cambridge .. yes the hi-tech hub of England that struggles to get much more then 1 to 1.75 meg on a 5:1 contention service!... Better move here. I get 3 megs easily out here in the sticks.. Well oddly enough the fastest service we have is out in the fens at Friday bridge!.. Yes it does exist .. never found out why it was called that!... Has Grunty Fen got broadband yet? :-) Or even electricity? |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
HVS wrote:
(we cancelled the VM telly after that and went to Sky -- should have done it years ago if only for the Arts and Performance channels); But that said, I've always been happy with the speed and reliability of my ex-NTL *broadband* service, and won't drop that unless it goes the way the rest of the company seems to be going. So do you reckon you're paying a premium for having TV and broadband from different providers rather than one? David |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
but how many people get full 8mbps.
Me for one ! Exactly you for ONE. One person does not reflect the state of the whole network. Because you were getting crap speeds on VM does not mean that every single person who joins VM or are connected to VM are getting the same service. The Same for ADSL just becuase your getting a great service does not mean everyone else is. There are probally people out there who are with IDnet who dont get the same speeds as you, yet they will get the same level of customer service. How many Customers Does IDnet have exactly? |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
tony sayer wrote: Eeyore scribeth thus naza wrote: Now VM network does not have any of these [line related] problems, but rather contention problems which ADSL has NO. ADSL does NOT have any inherent significant contention problems. Not for ages. BT has fixed that ages back. That's why they don't quote a contention figure for MAX. It's still a popular myth however that there are such problems but it IS a myth. There may be congestion/contention problems over the *ISP's* network but that's down to themand YOUR decision to use them. but how many people get full 8mbps. Me for one ! Next to the exchange is it then?.. Around 800m as the crow flies. About 1.5 miles is what a BT engineer said. Actually, I'm currently only syncing at about 7500kbps. I must check if it's that cordless phone messing it up. Still good for an actual 5713 kbps download right now though. http://www.speedtest.bbmax.co.uk/res...8026&v=3137379 Graham |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
On 30 Dec 2007, Lobster wrote
HVS wrote: (we cancelled the VM telly after that and went to Sky -- should have done it years ago if only for the Arts and Performance channels); But that said, I've always been happy with the speed and reliability of my ex-NTL *broadband* service, and won't drop that unless it goes the way the rest of the company seems to be going. So do you reckon you're paying a premium for having TV and broadband from different providers rather than one? Yes, undoubtedly -- at least £10/month, maybe £15. The cost isn't the main factor, though; I'd rather pay a bit more to get what I want than a bit less to settle for what's been bundled. (If my circumstances changed, I'd obviously reassess the priorities, though.) FWIW -- and this is very much horses-and-courses, I realise -- I don't like bundled products of any kind, really. It's the old eggs-in-basket thing: on the computer, I use separate AV, firewall, and security programs rather than a suite; I have a separate scanner and printer rather than an all-in-one; separate answering machine and phone; would never buy a TV with an integral DVD player; that sort of thing. -- Cheers, Harvey |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
naza wrote: Uh ? With VM's 4 meg service I was normally down to 500kbps at peak times. With an '8 meg' service from Idnet over a BT line I rarely see less than 5 Mbps even at peak times and see peak speeds of 7 Mbps. Both figures from the speedtester at thinkbroadband.com and Bbmax You're talking complete and total nonsense about VM's alleged 'great' broadband. It's actually total ****e. I notice that you get quite bad service from VM. But looking at all the post's that are made by VM customers at the moment it seems that Virgin Broadband is as good as ADSL. More nonsense. They have hopelessly inadequate capacity (bandwidth). In other words, they've oversold the service. The chance of you getting a good speed depends on where you live, like ADSL depends on the length and quality of your line. Apparently the 'average' speed on ADSL is over 5 Mbps. Hardly bad and with ADSL2+ it'll be faster. part of the system is already ADSL2+ - the LLU providers are using it at least. Current measured speed, as opposed to nominal line rate from modem training seems to be significantly lower than your quoted number - care to give a reference? this one is from a survey a few months back and quotes 2.6 Mbps. http://www.computing.co.uk/vnunet/ne...nd-lags-behind latest Ofcom report i could find was for end 2006, "At the end of 2006 the estimated average headline connection speed was 3.8Mbit/s, up from 1.6Mbit/s in 2005. Headline speeds of over 2Mbit/s were used by 31% of homes and SMEs, compared to only 2% a year earlier." http://www.ofcom.org.uk/research/cm/broadband_rpt/ With VDSL (in the pipeline), the twisted pair can deliver download speeds as high as 50 Mbps. Er, yes - but only if you are near enough to spit on the BT Exchange. VDSL seems to be optimised for street cabinet to end point, with only short copper links if you want anything like the headline speeds. The achievable speed drops off fairly rapidly with distance, so using it on the UK installed copper phone lines isnt going to give anything like those speeds for most users. VDSL is in use in Germany in places: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7098992.stm and switzerland http://www.swisscom.com/GHQ/content/...SL.htm?lang=en Notice from the pricing VDSL is around 10 times the cost of entry level DSL.... 1 thing worth remembering is that the VDSL manufacturer advertising will trumpet the highest achievable speeds, but the carriers that use it need it to be easy to use and reliable. What has happened so far is the DSL "stuff" that gets deployed for real use has a capped speed to improve consistency. Put simply if you live in an area where VM have got a good setup with sufficient backhaul then you will be fine and enjoy a more relieable and faster connection the possibly on ADSL. Where do they have sufficient backhaul ? Clearly not where I live. But if you unlucky then you will suffer like mad with them. There are somepeople who get the full 20meg all the time on VM's broadband, and yes I have seen it and used it wheras there are others like you who dont. You wont find out what speed you will get with VM until you join them, just like ADSL. ADSL is more predictable. You can get a good estimate of your line speed from the various online calculators. Once you have ADSL, backhaul capacity issues and not a problem as long as you're not a cheapskate looking to save the last penny. Simply choose a good ISP. With cable there's only one choice and it's rubbish. This might be how you see it - but since the speed for ADSL "last hop" already varies over a 10:1 or more range based on distance from the BT exchange, whereas cable is pretty much independent on where you are on the feed, i cant see how that can be true in general. now - comparing the BT / LLU implementations against some parts of the VM network may give a different picture..... the flip side is that the speed variations for ADSL are inherent to the technology - but cable backhaul is something VM can fix with some money and effort. Graham -- Regards - replace xyz with ntl "Eeyore" wrote in message ... |
Should I quit Virginmedia?
The message
from HVS contains these words: On 30 Dec 2007, Eeyore wrote Daffy Duck wrote: Just because your service was bad with VM doesn't mean everyone elses is as well.Mine's spot on but,unlike you,i'm not claiming that that means everyones is. Fair enough, but the comments in user groups illustrate that the vast majority of comments about VM are very negative. You appear to be lucky that you're on infrastructure originally operated by Telewest (Blueyonder) rather than NTL. How long that may give you an advantage is anyone's guess I reckon. Hmmm..... I've been with NTL for 7 years (Reading UBR); started with the 512 service in December, 2000, and was gradually increased to the 4meg service. I invariably get around 3850/3900 down and 380 up on speed tests; have had maybe 4 or 5 short outages over the years -- the sort of thing all ISPs suffer now and then; and haven't needed to have many dealings with support (thank god, from what I've read). Since I'm not a fanboy, I tend not to post in user groups saying how solid my connection is; but those who point out that user groups provide a skewed sample of customer satisfaction have quite a solid point. FWIW, I'm not enthralled -- at all -- with the way the company has gone since they (a) merged with TW/BY, and then (b) rebranded as VM. The fixed-line phone was always bad value; the new non- contract Virgin Mobile charges are considerably more expensive than the old ones were; the willy-waving over Sky was boringly juvenile (we cancelled the VM telly after that and went to Sky -- should have done it years ago if only for the Arts and Performance channels); the imported BY support department seems deeply flawed to me (way out of their depth, and often out of the corporate loop); charging 25p/min for support is absolutely inexcusable; and I've been migrating my e-mail to my own domain over the past year or so to keep my options open. But that said, I've always been happy with the speed and reliability of my ex-NTL *broadband* service, and won't drop that unless it goes the way the rest of the company seems to be going. And so far, the broadband continues to deliver what it says on the box. As an NTL customer, I'd say you've neatly summed it up. The service has been pretty well rock solid over the years, only suffering during the NTL/Telewest merger (where I suspect the Telewest customers had more to complain about) and now with the NTL/Telewest VM rebranding fiasco (although the situation seems to almost back to normal). The only issue I have with your assesment is over the introduction of the 25p/min tech support charge. My initial reaction was like yours, but since they still provide a free-fone access to a network status information service and the 25p/min charge is refunded when the problem proves to be of their making, I'm inclined to see their point of view. If you suffer an outage of service, the first thing to try is the free-fone status service to check whether they're already aware of (and dealing with) a problem local to your area). If your loss of service can be accounted for by such an already known problem, all you can do is sit tight anyway until it either resumes or their own repair deadline has passed (in which case you use the free-fone number again to get an update). You only resort to the 25p/min number when you're certain the problem _isn't_ one of your own making (typically windows problems, often due to malware infestation) and the modem lights indicate a cable problem that isn't being accounted for by the free-fone network status service. According to inside information, prior to the introduction of the 25p/min charge, tech support were spending a good 90% of their resources trouble shooting windows issues rather than modem/cable/network problems. I can well believe this and fully understand the reasoning behind the introduction of a very modest (by comparison to other ISP's) tech support charge. Provided the free-fone access to network status service remains in place, I have no problem with that 25p/min (refundable when the fault is a VM service issue) tech support number. -- Regards, John. Please remove the "ohggcyht" before replying. The address has been munged to reject Spam-bots. |
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