Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

With regards to the thread about expanding the Virgin Media network. Wouldn't it make sense to cut out Westminster,Milton Keynes and any other ex-BT cable franchise from the picture?

Virgin Media pays a huge lease for these franchises yet they remain useless and in some cases obselete. People pay £4 per month for this and its mostly for those who cant get an aerial or any dishes, each of these franchises has around 20,000 to 60,000 paying customers, it is possible to view basic channels for free by simply inserting the coaxial cable to the TV as this was the procedure in the early 90's. Therefore, it is costing money to maintain and supply the service and network.

An idea would be to offload them back to BT,BT could then use them to supply residents and businesses High Speed broadband and replace BT Vision in those areas with Digital and Analogue Cable TV similar to Virgin Media.

All these stupid laws and regulations are blocking Virgin Media and residents making the switch to Digital and is also dragging house prices down,in Westminster they have strict rules about aerials and dishes,also reception is very poor.

Did you know many people are unable to view the following TV channels in Westminster?

BBC 3
BBC 4
Sky 2
Sky 3
Sky Movies (All channels)
Sky Sports 2 (All channels will cease by June 2009)
Sky Sports news
Sci-fi
MTV Dance
MTV R
MTV Base
MTV 2
VH1 Classic
Flaunt
Bliss
Vault
BubbleHits
Jetix
Euronews
TV5
B4U
Star
SETA
Animal planet
Discovery Travel
Discovery Science
Diva TV
FX
History channel
the box

And few more,

Reason being:

Virgin Media not able to broadcast them via analogue anymore
Residents not able to get Sky
Residents not able to Freeview

It is possible in some houses to get Tiscali TV,however subscription to Tiscali broadband and a aerial is needed.

Its just a shame BT keeps mucking about,either upgrade it or get rid of it!

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

crazy world we live in, but hell, if its bothering people that much, then its the people that can make a difference, talk, complain, sort it out, or move. thats only my opinion.

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

Well in Westminster, they are upgrading 2MB broadband customers to 10MB later this year according to the upgrades website, this currently includes Marylebolne. So this is a sign that Virgin Media intends to keep the Westminster and Milton Keynes franchises up and running and modernised.

However, to allow Digital TV may include digging up the streets,Westminster council is very strict on this, and BT wants that big fat cheque for it all.

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

I have been told by one of the guys in the new Virgin Media shop in Leicester that they are upgrading the network in the LE3 area of Leicester "before the end of the year".

If it happens is another matter entirely! It wont come soon enough to dump BT and their crappy ADSL excuse for broadband!

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

You sure you can't get Virgin Broadband now? Some Analogue only areas do offer Broadband.

Although you cannot order online,you have to telephone Virgin Media sales.

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

No we can only get analogue TV. I think we cant even order that now.

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

It is happening right now, so keep your eye on the postcode checker.

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

I assume that this involves network hardware upgrades?

Should we see contractors in manholes/cabs during the upgrade?

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

Yes and yes.

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

Thanks, Ill keep a look out!

Any ideas of timescales?

(I have major issues with a very dodgy BT ADSL line that they cant/wont fix, so the sooner the better!)

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

Not really. Keep checking the postcode checker.

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

Are you sure?

When I asked the people in the shop a few months back, one person confidently stated the LE3 area was being upgraded in the next month, only for another to overhear and step in to say the next year.

I have even e-mailed virgin about this which included this response:

Thank you for your letter which we received on 23 July 2009, concerning the availability of our digital television service at your property.

I am really sorry for any inconvenience this situation may have caused you. Unfortunately, at this time we are not able to provide this service to your geographical area. I do not have a definitive date that I can give regarding this.

I've just moved and the aerial in my new house is shot. I don't want to spend over £100 on getting a new one installed if cable tv is only months away...

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

It came from a reliable source, but it's not a small job and probably will take several months.

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

will your source give any hints on the next franchise they're likely to go to, after Leicester?

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

Bolton, IIRC

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

They've already done Bolton - they started releasing some addresses last week. They are doing a staged rollout to manage the high demand ;)

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

Looks as though LE3 is a work in progress now - I noted someone on the newsgroups saying that had received a leaflet informing of an up to 4 hour outage. Only times I know of when these are put through doors is for major hardware upgrades. Only time major hardware upgrades are done in analogue areas is a digital overbuild :)

---------- Post added at 12:14 ---------- Previous post was at 12:07 ----------

Didn't realise there were so many areas that couldn't get a satellite dish installed :erm: :D

On a more serious note be interesting to see if that demand does actually materialise or if everyone has buggered off to Sky now having gotten tired of waiting. More likely it's people with analogue already upgrading rather than new customers causing high demand, plus they will likely be wanting to switch the analogue headend off ASAP so perhaps even compulsorily upgrading customers as areas are enabled.

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

hiya, any word on expansion of the network in Sheffield?
I live literally less than half a mile from the end of the current coverage in every direction, it makes me a sad panda not having cable ;)

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

I don't think VM are reaching outside their existing areas now (this is what costs the most money, and sent the dozens of regional cable companies under in the 90s).

They are consolidating on their existing network, ensuring that all new developments on the inside are cabled where possible and upgrading the remaining analogue areas to digital, again where possible.

Pretty much it's the case that if your area has the ducting in place, you're in with a shot. If not, then you're not a priority.

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

Exactly what dozens of cable companies went under in the 90's?????

None. They, and their debt, were all acquired by ntl & Telewest and are now VM.

A few comms companies went under but nearly all were resurrected, or bought out.

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

And ntl filed for Chapter 11

Telewest did a debt swap which left it in the ownership of the banks

The reason for both companies having to do this was the cost building the networks and buying the smaller rivals

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

Yes, I remember it well. They still didn't go under though.

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

I suppose it all depends what you class as 'going under'


The only reason ntl/telwest persuade the creditors to let them go on was due the physical assets they had. If they had been another company they may not have been so lucky

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

Going under I class as going out of business and the workforce of that company being laid off, and the administrators styripping the company and trying to recoup some money for the creditors.

For example Rover, now that went under.

Granted the only thing that saved ntl was that they could enter into chapter 11, which protects a company from insolvency.

I worked for ntl through that time.

All of the cable companies in the 90's still exist and never went under.

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

Even if they didn't go under as you class it - none of the cable companies in the 90's exist as they got bought out and rebranded

Apart from C&W who still exist but not for residential cable services

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

Yes, I know.

But, for example, you can still receive cable services in all the franchise areas that existed in the 90's


you can no longer buy brand new rover cars.

C&W is a different entity to CWC.

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

Apart from Aberdeen/Atlantic Cable

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-18812230.html

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

I stand corrected.

I forgot about Atlantic.

They had the Aberdeen Franchise and they also had a national telecoms carrier fibre network.

Their national fibre network lives on, under the brand Gamma Telecom. But yes the cable side did die and no longer exists

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

Atlantic's network is still in the ground.. (or on the poles!) but nothing is being sent down it. Like dark fibre! BT obliterated most of the connection plates in the home .. over the years when customers moved lines/added lines/had engineers over for faults.. so that network is now probably totally useless - otherwise someone would have bought it!

At least in Milton Keynes and Westminster .. there is a current and captive market using a cable service. But both these franchises were laid by "BT Cable", so why is it only Westminster is able to offer cable broadband and not Milton Keynes? Anyone with real knowledge on the matter care to comment?

Both are also owned by BT Global and leased to VM.. and I can't see any differences to the catv infrastructure... except broadband (added by NTL I think)
....or is there?:confused:

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

So what box do analogue folk have? An old Jerrold?

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

How much analogue is there left out there i wonder ?

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

Not much left now... The last exTelewest area of West London is currently being done... I'm not sure what's happing to the last bit of Southampton that is analogue.

Westminster and Milton Keynes are a seperate issue as they are BT owned.

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

so you was correct on LE3 :) completed end of dec 2009.

the demand was/is there and was a 2 month wait for a good deal of time for installs and they had to borrow coventry install techs as well to handle the load. What very likely helped VM is that the BT infrastructure in LE3 is very poor.

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

They are getting Digital TV ;)

http://www.virginmediapeople.com/cableiscoming/

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

ooh yes, I saw that today in work :)

Re: Virgin Media expansion and Analogue services
 

When the cab clean up crews were in the area we had people comming out to them saying there tv has gone off.Only to find they had a old settop box with 1 to 5 on it only and this is what they were using :D got very peed off when told the feed would not be going back on as they were not customers :D