Virgin 4Mb to upgrade to 10Mb February - Summer

[Nicosia]

thnx, so the modem they give for 2meg might not be ok with the higher 10/50 meg speeds that vm will have? if i use my router i used to have from ukonline for the 24meg service it should be fine if the modem they have sent does not handle the 10 meg speeds

strange though i thought they would have just one modem they gave to everyone instead of using many different types and having to send new ones all the time

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by jcuk

Its a 'modem' they send out, the modems they send out are different with regards to what the tech has in his van along with exntl or extw areas.

New customers will get the latest uptodate modems.

Existing customers who REQUIRE an upgrade can request a new modem on the upgrade site.

Customers upgrading from STB broadband to Modem broadband will get the latest model of modem.

Everyone installed since it became Virgin Media in ex-ntl areas will have been given a black Virgin Media Ambit 255. All previous modems are no longer issued. There is now an Ambit 256. It looks exactly the same

Ex-Tw areas are slight different and as I've already said, I'm not sure what model you get

Originally Posted by Nicosia

thnx, so the modem they give for 2meg might not be ok with the higher 10/50 meg speeds that vm will have? if i use my router i used to have from ukonline for the 24meg service it should be fine if the modem they have sent does not handle the 10 meg speeds

You cannot use an ADSL router on cable broadband as they are different technologies. You have to use the modem Virgin supply you to access the internet

strange though i thought they would have just one modem they gave to everyone instead of using many different types and having to send new ones all the time

All the most recent modems (last 3/4 years) can do 10Mb as long as they are ethernet. All the latest ones (last 2 years) can do 20Mb. None of the current modems can do 50Mb

[kristoficus]

I know VM are slow as hell, but been a week and no updates to the roll-out plan - you would think they would have confirmed at least one new location. Or maybe they are all TBA because they dont want to break the news that everywhere else = right at end of summer

[howard.bates]

Originally Posted by eddcase

I really just don't get it. We're about to get a free upgrade from 4mb to 10mb and we're not happy? < SNIP>

I'm not at all unhappy with the idea of a free upgrade, I am just a bit concerned about the practicalities. I have been very happy with my cable broadband for a very long time and I'd hate a badly planned and managed upgrade program to spoil it.
However, I think it's fair to say that my comments about the modem were probably a bit misplaced.

---------- Post added at 02:17 ---------- Previous post was at 02:09 ----------

Originally Posted by kristoficus

I know VM are slow as hell, but been a week and no updates to the roll-out plan - you would think they would have confirmed at least one new location. Or maybe they are all TBA because they dont want to break the news that everywhere else = right at end of summer

I reckon either a) there is no plan or there is a plan, but VM don't want to tell us what it is because b) they are not confident in their ability to deliver against it or c) it is far in the future. Given how keen they were to let us know about the upgrade, I have dismissed d) they have forgotten to update their wesbite.

[saabmania2]

Brighton was upgraded last friday (15th feb 08) friend of mine that had 4meg now has the 10meg service shame really as he live's really close and is probably nicking my bandwidth for my superslow 20meg

[lostandconfused]

There are often delays when rolling out an upgrade, there is only so much testing that can be done. At some point you have to just roll it out in an area and see what happens, especially since the network is made up of smaller networks set up by different companies so will react differently to each other whenever there is a change.

The reason there hasnt been an update for a while is probably because they have rolled it out in a few areas already, so will be monitoring that area until they know there are no issues affecting it, they will then move onto the next couple of areas until it has been completed

The upgrades are very carefully planned, and will follow a timescale, just because it hasnt been published doesnt mean that they are doing it on an ad-hoc basis.

[cookie_365]

Originally Posted by saabmania2

Brighton was upgraded last friday (15th feb 08) friend of mine that had 4meg now has the 10meg service shame really as he live's really close and is probably nicking my bandwidth for my superslow 20meg

This bit of Brighton wasn't

Originally Posted by howard.bates

I'm not at all unhappy with the idea of a free upgrade, I am just a bit concerned about the practicalities. I have been very happy with my cable broadband for a very long time and I'd hate a badly planned and managed upgrade program to spoil it.
However, I think it's fair to say that my comments about the modem were probably a bit misplaced.

Fair enough. Reassuring:

The upgrades are very carefully planned, and will follow a timescale, just because it hasnt been published doesnt mean that they are doing it on an ad-hoc basis.

[howard.bates]

Originally Posted by lostandconfused

There are often delays when rolling out an upgrade, there is only so much testing that can be done. At some point you have to just roll it out in an area and see what happens ... < snip >.

The reason there hasnt been an update for a while is probably because they have rolled it out in a few areas already, so will be monitoring that area until they know there are no issues affecting it, they will then move onto the next couple of areas until it has been completed

The upgrades are very carefully planned, and will follow a timescale, just because it hasnt been published doesnt mean that they are doing it on an ad-hoc basis.

I know I should do the wise thing and keep my head down and my mouth shut, but since I have a professional interest in large-scale implementations of large and complex systems, I can't resist responding ...

VM has stated that implementation of their 10M service will be complete "by the end of the summer". If they have a sensible and robust plan with end-summer as the end date, why are they so loathe to share any part of it ? By saying nothing, they remind us of past occasions where the end date was apparently chosen by someone very high up the tree because it sounded impressive.

It makes very good sense for VM to implement the 10M service area by area, and (within each area) to wait for a while after completion to ensure that everything settles down OK. By following such a process they confine and contain any problems which arise and they expose the network as a whole to the least amount of stress and disruption. HOWEVER ... I would still expect them to announce (at the very least) which areas have just been done and which are due next - this lets the customers know a) that progress is being made and b) that VM are managing and controlling the process. If they felt brave they could even tell us the order in which the areas were to be upgraded. I can't believe that an organisation with Branson at its' head would ever miss an opportunity for a bit of publicity and promotion, and I remind myself of the old adage that when a project goes silent, it almost always means bad news. THAT is why I am concerned at what I (don't) see and hear.

By the way, what on earth does "will follow a timescale" mean ?

Originally Posted by howard.bates

I know I should do the wise thing and keep my head down and my mouth shut..

<snip>

No offence intended, but do you have a dog?
Take it for a walk ffs...

[howard.bates]

Can't take it for a walk until it's finished typing my posts ...

Originally Posted by howard.bates

Can't take it for a walk until it's finished typing my posts ...

woof

[lostandconfused]

Originally Posted by howard.bates

VM has stated that implementation of their 10M service will be complete "by the end of the summer". If they have a sensible and robust plan with end-summer as the end date, why are they so loathe to share any part of it ? By saying nothing, they remind us of past occasions where the end date was apparently chosen by someone very high up the tree because it sounded impressive.

Because if there are any delays, for whatever reason and they have announced a date. Then you get lots of people calling in and complaining in places like this, that vrigin media promised me my upgrade by whatever date. This is outrageous, im phoning retentiosn to get a 99% discount or im cancelling.
What benefit deos it serve the company to publish estimated dates before they are 100% sure? They have already got the good publicity by announcing the upgrade, by giving specific dates they are just setting themselves up for a fall.

[mcmanic]

are the download/upload restrictions the same for 10meg as they was for 4meg

[TehTech]

Originally Posted by mcmanic

are the download/upload restrictions the same for 10meg as they was for 4meg

Yes, atm it is still the same!