Quote:
Originally Posted by rtho782
The capacity is only really there if they switch everyone to 3.1 which they won't do as it will mean replacing all the modems.
I'm not convinced me switching from 350 to 500 would have much of a network impact, I'm on 350 as I downloaded a lot right now, 500 wouldn't have me downloading more!
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Yeah I'm with you there. I was on 200 for years and only recently upgraded to 350 because of a retention deal. It hasn't changed my habits at this point, but I do appreciate the additional upload speed.
As for 3.1, Virgin will eventually upgrade everyone but like every single hub upgrade in the past it'll go to top tiers first and be a requirement for those upgrading.
They usually start off by offering them to those willing to pay a premium for the super top tiers, then for a one-off cost to those upgrading a tier (or simply wanting a new modem), then as standard for new customers on those tiers, then as standard for all new customers and finally, for whatever stragglers are left, they'll offer a free speed boost to those that take the new modem (this was done for DOCSIS3 by launching the 30Mbit tier as an upgrade to those on the at-the-time 20Mbit). It'll take years to reach that point though.
I think DOCSIS3 launched around 2008? And the 30Mbit tier didn't appear until about 2016 if I remember correctly (Feel free to correct me on dates).
Assuming we see the beginnings of 3.1 this year, I imagine it'll take them a year or so to make the rest of the country 3.1 compliant (though I don't know how much of that work has already been done), then probably a couple more years of tier upgrades and rollouts and if we're really lucky, by about 2025 nearly everyone will be on 3.1.