Re: Virgin Media to Double Broadband Speed
 

any one else force upstream channel changes before the upgrade?

found it a breeze on 30mb, very rarely did i get same channel after hard reset of hub, but on 60mb i cant get off channel 1 and latency is peaking at 60 - 100 ms at peaky times and normally i can find a channel that stays at 60 ms max peaks which is best i can get any time of day since being with vm a year ago.

i liked the option being there so when those random couple of hours of insane latency happen i could choice to find the best of the worst before deciding what game to button bash

Re: Virgin Media to Double Broadband Speed
 

They still advertise the maximum speed, but they are just more honest on the website. However with VM, if you aren't getting what you are paying for, then they will work on the network to try and get that speed for you (unless you go through the overseas call centres, who will just tell you that there is no fault). I was paying for 100mb, but could only get 75mb on a good day. So VM sent round an engineer who identified a fault on the network, and now I can get 105mb.

Re: Virgin Media to Double Broadband Speed
 

Just been told that although my area is upgraded that my connection won't be until the discount code on my account clears next month :rolleyes:

Re: Virgin Media to Double Broadband Speed
 

I'll be happy to inform you that you are wrong. Just as with standard ADSL on BT not everyone can get 20Mb or 24Mb due to line length so everyone on VDSL / Infinity can't get 80Mb due to line length from cabinet.

If 80Mb weren't available in your area you wouldn't have the option to order 60Mb, just as with old ADSL which ran to 8Mb and 20Mb (on BT Total Broadband), if you received a quote over 8Mb you were in a 20Mb-capable area, no question.

Your home isn't capable of 80Mb, your area will have homes that are as they're closer to the cabinet, simples.

Re: Virgin Media to Double Broadband Speed
 

I don't think he understands simples, since he couldn't quite grasp that if there's two options and it's not the first one then it must be the other.

Anyhow back to my original point, which was that unlike VM, BT deployed their double-speed upgrade across the whole network in one go, nobody has yet shown anything to prove otherwise. They said it'd be done by Spring, they did it in Spring, unlike VM who took till the end of March two years on last time they promised me an upgrade...

Re: Virgin Media to Double Broadband Speed
 

So? The networks are built differently, and BT don't have to deal with kit that is anywhere up to 12 years old

Re: Virgin Media to Double Broadband Speed
 

They did the 8a - 17a profile upgrade for the most part last year, just needed the rate caps lifting to 80Mb/20Mb.

Re: Virgin Media to Double Broadband Speed
 

Also when VM run a speed double programme the device does sync up at double the speed - though whether this then causes undue congestion on the network is of course a different point!

When BT announce a speed double programme they may roll it out nationally in one go but given the technology they use it doesn't change things for a lot of users.

While I don't have Infinity I checked the reported likely speed before - 34 Mb/s and after the speed double programme it still reports a likely speed of 34 Mb/s - so how would BT's speed double programme help me? As I understand it it will only help if you were running at 40 Mb/s before.

One of BT's challenges is in many cases an old rotting copper cable network.

As Ben say Virgin is still running with equipment in some cases 10 years old and also inadequate capacity at the local end to provide a consistently well performing solution in many locations.

Surely Virgin should start investing in replacement equipment for this ancient technology they still support, but also at the same time implement proactive capacity management. They are gathering statistics on utilisation so they should be in a position to plan capacity relief before it has an undue impact on customers.

Re: Virgin Media to Double Broadband Speed
 

That is partly what the double speed programme is doing.

Re: Virgin Media to Double Broadband Speed
 

Thats good to hear Ben. So that leaves the proactive capacity planning !

I was surprised to hear that in areas such as mine (fed from New Malden) that the upstream increases that were done came last to these old ex Telewest areas due to the old network here didn't generally involve replacing the older kit, so I assume that is happening now in these areas ready for the downstream speed doubling. Still on 4 downstreams here. The speed doubling is scheduled to be complete here by July.

Re: Virgin Media to Double Broadband Speed
 

Yeah it did, several components that limited return paths to 30MHz had to be swapped out for shiny new stuff.

The doubling programme is all capacity increase so new line cards, node splits, etc. The upstream uplift for our areas involved swapping out of amplifiers and fibre nodes where needed.

Re: Virgin Media to Double Broadband Speed
 

In fairness, as Ben says, VM are upgrading the equipment where they need to. This is why they are going area by area.

Where BT have installed Infinity, the equipment used will be (at most) a couple of years old, and, unless BT's management are extremely incompetent (which I don't think they are for a second), more than able to cope with the requirements of this speed doubling, and any future increase. As such, the doubling probably is a case of doing not much more than flicking a switch.

Re: Virgin Media to Double Broadband Speed
 

True, but that wasn't the point. Yes, VM could be reasonably expected to take longer, but the way it was handled was lacking.

1) BT provided an estimated date last last year
2) Provided a precise date a few months in advance
3) Did required upgrades in advance (and successfully completed on time)
4) Enabled the service on the specified date which was known to everyone.

VM on the other hand (referring to the upload speed speed and 100mb upgrades for my area)

1) Failed to provide an estimated date until 11 months into the programme
2) Failed to keep to estimated date(s) three times in a row
3) Failed to perform network upgrades in an organized or timely manner
4) Turned on higher speeds as-and-when without giving customers (existing or prospective) any reliable information as to what they'd get

Most of these can be attributed to planning, organizational, and managerial failures and incompetence, you can't blame it all on old equipment - especially when VM has sole responsibility for all their own equipment.

Re: Virgin Media to Double Broadband Speed
 

But everything is always coming soon with VM, 'tis the nature of the beast. :D

Re: Virgin Media to Double Broadband Speed
 

well in this case "coming soon" is too late by the looks of things