New virgin phone and broadband question

[broadbandchappie]

Hello all,

I am about to get virgin broadband and phone (through cable). I cancelled my BT phone and broadband in preparation for this however I was reading the othoer day that you should not cancel your bt landline as virgin piggyback on this if you use their service. I thought it came through the cable?

Can anyone clarify when you transfer bt no. to virgin can you cancel BT or do you need it to be active?

[Kymmy]

Only Virgin ADSL need a bt landline (i'e..non-cabled areas)..

For cabled areas the phone, broadband and TV service come via the VM cable and nothing to do witht he BT line

[broadbandchappie]

Thanks for the answer. Does that mean the phone plugs into the cable modem with a normal phone cable? I'm trying to understand if I would be able to have the phone in a different location to the cable modem and just run a thin phone line to the modem?

[alexcopeland]

You will be given a phone socket just like your old BT one for plugging in a phone. The cable modem will run off the coax cable.

[henry-root]

Along similar lines... I am considering ordering the 50mb package with Virgin phone line. However, there appears to be a problem. I have 6 phones in 6 rooms on BT line and am not prepared to rewire to all of these to hook up with Virgin, nor do I even know if they use the same sockets as BT.

Anyone got any info on this please? I have tried asking Virgin but they are only interested in taking your order, not telling you whether it will work!

:-) Thanks

[Kymmy]

Only the wire to the master socket needs rewiring... Just get VM to put in the new socket next to the old BT master, then rewire it yourself or via a fly-lead (if you're nice and polite to the engineer he might even do it for you especially for a beer token or two )

[henry-root]

Thanks. So the incoming VM phone line needs wiring into the BT Master Socket? Does the phone line and fibre optic get installed together then? My master socket is in my office not the lounge. I am not doing the TV bit.

[m419]

Virgin Media has its own telephone infrastructure just like BT and Cable and Wireless amongst quite a few more companies, In most Cabled areas this is the case, they install a phone line and master socket in your property just like BT, it is not owned by BT and not managed by BT or any other company other than Virgin Media or NTL Telewest Business which depends on whether you are a Residential or Business customer.

In some Cabled areas, no phone infrastructure exists,however, in your case it does, so if you have no Virgin/Cable phone line in your property, a new one will be installed.

Nothing will happen to your BT master socket or line,it is not redundant.

You could have transfered your BT telephone number to Virgin Media too! If you gave your BT telephone number and BT account number to Virgin Media during the sign up process, Virgin Media would have contacted BT on your behalf and requested disconnection of your BT line and a transfer of your BT telephone number. Its too late if you have already disconnected your BT line though!

Therefore you will be issued a new telephone number allocated by Virgin Media.

Cable Broadband from Virgin Media is what you have ordered and that runs down the same infrastructure as the Cable TV service therefore you two sockets will be installed, a telephone master socket and a C.A.T.V socket for your Broadband, if you ever take up Virgin TV, that will run from the same socket as your Broadband.

Now outside Virgin Media Cabled areas, Virgin Media and NTL Telewest Business also provide basic Internet and telephone services which piggyback down BT lines. However, as your in a cabled area,this does not apply to you.

I hope that explains everything and gives you a clearer view on how Virgin Media will deliver your services to you.

But the main thing is, forget your BT socket, its useless unless you want to return to BT.

[henry-root]

Thanks very much. I am getting there and at least I have not ordered yet so do not have to extricate myself from the **** for a change!

Also, I understand from the VM dolly that noticed me surfing the sign-up pages and popped up out of nowhere, there is a 28 day free trial in place during which she suggested I keep the BT line running in tandem and even have a bit of fun giving 2 pc's / laptops the same download at the same time and seeing one (there's, naturally) winning by a furlong or two.

I guess I will give it a try but am not sure how the timing go's. I get BB from TalkTalk on a BT line so presumably just get VM installed and then give notice to TT if VM stacks up OK. Best of both worlds in fact. Difficult to keep in mind that so far as phone calls are concerned VM are probably more expensive than TT/BT, if it were possible to compare them.

[dave_dph]

Originally Posted by broadbandchappie

Can anyone clarify when you transfer bt no. to virgin can you cancel BT or do you need it to be active?

If you want to transfer your BT number over to VM do not cancel your BT line. If you have already done so, then give them a call to remove the cancellation order on the line only, you are ok to cancel the broadband.

Then give VM a call and ask them to port your BT number over, they will need your BT account number in order to make the arrangement.

[m419]

Originally Posted by henry-root

Thanks very much. I am getting there and at least I have not ordered yet so do not have to extricate myself from the **** for a change!

Also, I understand from the VM dolly that noticed me surfing the sign-up pages and popped up out of nowhere, there is a 28 day free trial in place during which she suggested I keep the BT line running in tandem and even have a bit of fun giving 2 pc's / laptops the same download at the same time and seeing one (there's, naturally) winning by a furlong or two.

I guess I will give it a try but am not sure how the timing go's. I get BB from TalkTalk on a BT line so presumably just get VM installed and then give notice to TT if VM stacks up OK. Best of both worlds in fact. Difficult to keep in mind that so far as phone calls are concerned VM are probably more expensive than TT/BT, if it were possible to compare them.

To be honest when the bill rolls in,the amount is generally the same,they all just price all the different prices differently, I mean BT offer free calls to 0845 and 0870 numbers as part of your call allowance package, however BT's line rental is going up to £13 per month and thats before your telephone package price, Virgin Phone line rental costs only £11 per month.

TalkTalk Evening and Weekend plan actually works out more than Virgin Media's same offering according to a comparison site. And TalkTalk line rental is 25p more than Virgin Media.

Then there is Anonymous call baring, this costs £4 per month on BT,£3.86 on TalkTalk and only £2 per month on Virgin Media.

And if you review most tariffs by BT,TalkTalk as well as Tiscali and Sky, they have increased prices literally overnight,they thought that people wouldn't notice but i've caught on to it.

At the end of the day,you get what you pay for and i've been very happy with my Virgin Media/Telewest services over the years.