View Full Version : Never had cable before.. Getting 20meg..Need advice
Hello.
I am moving house soon and there is virgin media available but i have never used it before.
*Is the 20Mb broadband actually 20mb unlike the BT broadband equivalent of "8mb" when its not actually 8 but it could be anything between 2 and 8mb?
*I head that cable internet users share bandwidth with neighbors and so if all your neighbors are using the internet at the same time does this mean my internet speed will be slower?
*There will be four of us living in my new house and i wish to have internet in each of the 4 bedrooms. Like broadband, does cable internet only come into the house from one point/socket and so a router is used to share the network connection around the house in a network? There seems to be Cable sockets in each of the 4 bedrooms and so this is confusing me.
*With virgin media will they supply me with a free Cable router or will they just give me a modem that i have to just plug straight into my current broadband router i have?
Sorry for all the questions, but im totally new to the this whole cable thing! thanks.
MovedGoalPosts
11-09-2007, 20:54
Cable speeds aren't affected by distance from the exchange, as is the case with ADSL. Thus you should be able to get much closer to the claimed 20Meg download speed, subject to other network factors.
Cable, like ADSL is a contended service. Thus you will be affected by those nearby that use that shared bandwidth. Indeed this is usually the most significant reason why people complain of slow speeds on cable.
Yes there will only be one cable connection to the property, connected to the single modem that is supplied by Virgin Media. To share that connection you will need to supply a router.
AbyssUnderground
11-09-2007, 21:02
Cable enters the house through its own cable, it doesn't use the phone socket like ADSL. You will need a DSL router (the kinda with an ethernet WAN port on it) to share the connection between computers (Linksys WRT54g is a common choice).
DerekRothwell
11-09-2007, 21:40
Cable speeds aren't affected by distance from the exchange, as is the case with ADSL. Thus you should be able to get much closer to the claimed 20Meg download speed, subject to other network factors.
Cable, like ADSL is a contended service. Thus you will be affected by those nearby that use that shared bandwidth. Indeed this is usually the most significant reason why people complain of slow speeds on cable.
Yes there will only be one cable connection to the property, connected to the single modem that is supplied by Virgin Media. To share that connection you will need to supply a router.
Oh how I larfed!!!!
20MB Virgin Media is absolutely fantastic for me.
2.35MB/s youll love it! (just be careful of the STM, you do know about that shaping dont you?)
lets hope its as good for you as it is for me.
Its crap Im getting shaped all the time!!!
superbiatch
11-09-2007, 23:34
Traffic shaping is in place on those that download a lot, do a search on this site as there has been many threads started about traffic shaping. If you are planning to use general internet surfing it 'shouldn't' affect you too much.
Happy surfing, i'm stuck with ADSL 'up to 8 meg' connection ;) (actually get about 1 atm :()
Its crap Im getting shaped all the time!!!
same here,connection drops in the morning every other day,totally ignoring my complaining email. dont wanna call them, costs me 25p/min,telewest was much better b4,leaving vm for BE,cheaper no cap or traffic shaping.
janipewter
13-09-2007, 15:35
Cable enters the house through its own cable, it doesn't use the phone socket like ADSL. You will need a DSL router (the kinda with an ethernet WAN port on it) to share the connection between computers (Linksys WRT54g is a common choice).
Actually you need a Cable Router, not a DSL Router.
TraxData
13-09-2007, 16:20
20MB Virgin Media is absolutely fantastic for me.
2.35MB/s youll love it! (just be careful of the STM, you do know about that shaping dont you?)
lets hope its as good for you as it is for me.
Not if he/people in the house dont get home till 4pm+
soon gonna hit the STM limit..then complain about only gettin 5mbit :D
homealone
13-09-2007, 19:49
Actually you need a Cable Router, not a DSL Router.
mine says it is a cable/DSL router ;)
janipewter
14-09-2007, 11:23
It probably is but that's misleading by the manufacturer/retailer, as 1) it will most likely not work with ADSL in this country (most Cable/DSL routers only do PPPoE, as far as I know ADSL in the UK uses PPPoA), not to mention even if you were in a country in which it was compatible (such as the USA), you'd need an Ethernet ADSL modem to connect to it. :)
just be careful of the STM, you do know about that shaping dont you?
No i dont, whats this all about? (i like to leave my computer on overnights downloading stuff) does this mean it may just be better for me to get a slower connection rate?
leaving vm for BE,cheaper no cap or traffic shaping
What is BE? Am i best off going with someone els?
janipewter
14-09-2007, 12:13
https://www.bethere.co.uk/
AbyssUnderground
14-09-2007, 12:13
Actually you need a Cable Router, not a DSL Router.
DSL is cable, same difference.
janipewter
14-09-2007, 12:14
"DSL is cable"
what?
chickendippers
14-09-2007, 13:01
No i dont, whats this all about? (i like to leave my computer on overnights downloading stuff) does this mean it may just be better for me to get a slower connection rate?
Basically if you download more than 3 GB of stuff between 4pm and midnight your 20 MB speed will be reduced to 5 MB for a period of 4 hours. More information: http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/internet/traffic.html
If you leave your computer on overnight/during the day to download stuff then you won't be affected by traffic management and you'll get faster download speeds as general internet congestion is lower anyway.
"DSL is cable"
what?
ADSL is different to DSL.
janipewter
14-09-2007, 15:28
No it isn't, ADSL is a type of DSL.
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