VM to extend Hub 4 availability
 

Details from ISPreview https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.ph...t-sort-of.html

Re: VM to extend Hub 4 availability
 

I wonder what packages they extend it too to improve the service

Re: VM to extend Hub 4 availability
 

I was on with CS just now and the upgrade is currently only available in some parts of the UK. They will be in tuch when they are in my area

Re: VM to extend Hub 4 availability
 

It's not a bad idea, a quick fix to improve some areas while also seeding DOCSIS3.1 CPE's within the network. At some point Virgin is going to eventually shift all of the 3.0 devices away in order to make room for more 3.1 spectrum.

They did a similar thing to shift people onto 3.0, by offering them a hub and a speed boost (20 to 30Mbit from what I remember).

Re: VM to extend Hub 4 availability
 

speed boost sounds interesting, depending what the uptake for 1gbits has been and perhaps and significant decrease in upgrades and this revenue given the current situation, I wonder if they will upgrade the current 500s to 1gbit (as there are so few of them) and the 350s up to 500. Sounds like big jumps but they keep saying we are only 2% of the customer base. I imagine there will be a significant boost for lower tiers customers and 100mbits will get banged up to 200mbits or 300mbits to compete with gfast. They need to continue to make themselves look relevant and appealing.

Re: VM to extend Hub 4 availability
 

I don't think they're worried about g.fast, given that rollout of it has largely stopped.

Problem for Virgin is the rollout has stopped in favour of pure fibre. BT are going to start pushing fibre harder and harder so I think you're onto something there, at least.

I'm with Virgin because it's the fastest speeds I can get in my area, but I have zero brand loyalty to them and would happily switch to pure fibre.

Re: VM to extend Hub 4 availability
 

G.Fast was always limited to within 80Mtrs of the cab so I don't think VM ever worried about it.

Re: VM to extend Hub 4 availability
 

It's 80Mtrs of a distribution node, usually something like a telegraph pole. But yeah,if you're going to run fibre that close to someone's house, you may as well just run fibre to the house.

Re: VM to extend Hub 4 availability
 

So numpty question - if underground (assume wire) cabling from street cabinet around corner (a distance ) to our house wall box is over 80 metres then 1g will be unavailable? Not seen any virgin services delivered overhead but maybe I am missing obvious.

Know that was a tough job to 'pull through' from street cabinet to our house and needed a team with armoured cable (could withstand the stresses of pulling) to accomplish it. There will I assume be fibre cabling to the cabinet <>virgin network which will be much closer

Re: VM to extend Hub 4 availability
 

They are talking about Openreach products.

Virgin’s network is capable of 1 gigabit speeds (subject to the required upgrades in your area).

Re: VM to extend Hub 4 availability
 

gfast and the discussion above relates to xdsl services that come down your phone line from providers like, PlusNet, BT, Sky etc. Virgin operates a cable network which works differently and isn't subject to the same speed restrictions based on distance. Eventually you will be able to get 1gbit from VM (hopefully within the next year), they just need to do some upgrades their end first to be able to provide the speed.

Re: VM to extend Hub 4 availability
 

Don't think there's any way to actually get one of these is there? Other than being on the gig service

Re: VM to extend Hub 4 availability
 

No chance. You are a long way off them being used for swap outs.

Re: VM to extend Hub 4 availability
 

You can't ask for one. However Virgin Media are offering some customers them as mentioned in the original post and linked story

Re: VM to extend Hub 4 availability
 

The bit you're missing is the confusion between the different technologies the various providers use. When discussing the above, we were referring to the DSL tech that almost all providers other than Virgin use - the one that piggybacks off the phone line going into your home.

Virgin uses a completely different technology, instead using a shielded coaxial cable going to your home. This cable, being shielded, is capable of much more bandwidth over longer distances than a copper phone line (or aluminium, for some unlucky folks).

In the UK, Openreach (Formerly BT before they got split off) builds and maintains the majority of the phone network and thus providers like Sky, Vodafone, TalkTalk, etc. all piggyback off of this network. Occasionally they'll have their own equipment in cabs and that kind of thing (Known as unbundling), but the technology to get from your house to them is the same - some form of DSL.

There's ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL, etc. and while there's a lot more to it, essentially the different technologies focus on making better use of the bandwdith available in a phone line, sometimes in tandem with the line being "shorter". So ADSL has a range in terms of several KM, but max speeds are single digit's of Mbit, whereas VDSL can go up to ~80Mbit (Or ~120Mbit depending on other factors) but with a much shorter range of under 80M.

All good stuff. All utterly irrelevant to Virgin.

Virgin, using coaxial, doesn't use DSL, it uses DOCSIS which is basically trying to do the same sort of thing but in a completely different way and able to do it in an arguably more efficient way as corruption is less of an issue. You also don't need to make room for voice calls - because don't forget, a phone line's primary purpose is for voice calls, not data (though I'm sure some would argue otherwise).

Like with DSL, there's different versions of DOCSIS, from 1.0 up to 3.1 (or 4.0 depending on who you ask). Like with DSL, each newer version focuses on making more efficient room of the frequencies involved to offer higher speeds.

The whole "gig1" thing and its limited availability is purely down to Virgin having to upgrade their network to the latest DOCSIS standard. That's also why you need a new hub, because everything from your Modem all the way to Virgin's equipment has to be on the same or greater version to take advantage of it. There's more to it as well, even in areas offering gig1 there's plenty more for Virgin to do to unlock more spectrum in their cables to be able to make full use of it but that will take years.

For completion, there's 1 other kind of internet provider I haven't mentioned (ignoring mobile/wireless) - Fibre.

Despite Virgin claiming they've got a fibre optic network for years and BT very quickly following suit when they launched VDSL (Aka "Infinity"), if you've been paying attention we've been talking about copper cables this whole time. The fibre is "down the line" somewhere, a cab or a lamp post or something. There are providers that offer pure fibre connections, fibre right up to your house. Fibre is the best you can get, it goes further and has almost unlimited bandwidth depending on what you plug in either end of it - but it's expensive to roll out, which is why it's been largely reserved for businesses and people able to afford hundreds of £ a month. As Openreach pushes fibre closer to your home, eventually it gets more cost effective to just push fibre down that "last mile". Even virgin doesn't tend to build new coaxial deployments these days, instead preferring to deploy pure fibre where possible (though still using some of the same equipment in your home for...reasons). We've finally hit that tipping point, so expect more fibre options in your area over the next year or so.