200M : Area upgrades

[ccarmock]

Having just checked my postcode here https://keepup.virginmedia.com/speedupgrade
I see it says my area is ready regarding it's speed upgrade.

At the moment I have two services running - a 50 MB/s business service and a 200 MB/s business service.

I note that the Virginmedia business website does not yet offer 300 Mb/s here, nor is homeworks offered via residential, so implies the area upgrade isn't ready yet.

For these speed upgrades is this when the upstream modulation should change to 64 QAM and 16 downstreams become available?

The new business Hitron device doesn't show upstream modulation, (nor does it show operational config - ie configured speeds) but the business SH1 does and still shows 16QAM.
The Hitron is still on 12 downstreams

[General Maximus]

nope to everything. The homeworks 300mbit tier is a new service which you pay for and is not part of the vanilla residential tiers or free upgrades. I don't know what the lower tiers are now but as an example, 100 will be going to 150 and the top tier of 152 will be upgraded to 200mbits.
The modulations of the channels and the number available are also independent of the upgrade process. VM have done a tonne of work over the last year in preparation for the upgrades as you have eluded to but some of that got un-done with the wifi hotspot flap. I have gone from 3 upstream channels (two qam16s and one qam64) back down to 2 but the two I have got are both qam64. Because I have got a shub2 I don't know how many channels are available in my bonding group but 16 is by no means the standard. As far as I am aware all areas should be between 10 and 16 now. 16 will be upper limit for heavily congested areas because that is what shub3 can handle but tbh I can see VM only making channels available as needs be because starting from next year all the momentum will be with docsis3.1. As always upgrade work is on going and we are all well aware that VM have no problem pushing through speed increases before the upgrade work has been completed.

[ccarmock]

Understood but I think 300 MB/s homeworks is only available as an extra option when area upgrades have taken place.

Likewise the checker on www.virginmediabusiness.com will only offer 200 Mb/s maximum until an area upgrade takes place, then it offers 300 Mb/s.

The discrepancy I see is that https://keepup.virginmedia.com/speedupgrade says the upgrade has happened, but the services it should then make available are not.

[General Maximus]

incorrect because the speed upgrade site you refer to has nothing to do with the availability of the 300mbit service because it isn't an upgrade. The link you refer to tells you when the packages I referred to earlier can be upgraded and 200mbits is the highest upgraded tier atm. Homeworks 300 in a non-upgradable tier and has a separate site which is here http://store.virginmedia.com/discove...homeworks.html. The area upgrade you refer to is an infrastructure upgrade (similar to them putting qam64 in place) so they have got the capacity in place rather than a "speed upgrade" by area which is what you seem to be getting confused with.

[ccarmock]

Ok thanks.. Interestingly 200 Mb/s has been offered here for months, but the link I quoted has only JUST said the area is complete.

What determines when a 300 Mb/s service becomes available in an area then?

[roughbeast]

Originally Posted by ccarmock

Ok thanks.. Interestingly 200 Mb/s has been offered here for months, but the link I quoted has only JUST said the area is complete.

What determines when a 300 Mb/s service becomes available in an area then?

In my area Homeworks was on offer before the area was ready for 300Mb. 200Mb had been available for months.

There was no announcement when 300Mb became available. I discovered it when I entered my postcode and selected an alternative house number in the street. If I selected my own number it told me what I was already buying into, but not that 300Mb was available.

BTW If you are thinking of going with 300Mb the speed is great especially the 20Mb upspeed. BUT, and it's a big BUTT, SH3 is fraught with difficulties if you opt for modem-only mode. If you are happy with limited router facilities, and want to use it in router mode, it is just fine for ordinary wifi and ethernet networking.