Fed up no upgrade to analogue virgin tv

[chrisdtvuk]

Sorry about shouting but hate that I still can't upgrade my virgin analogue cable tv, and still no cable broadband?

I'm in Milton Keynes - lot's of people are talking bout things happening but no one from Virgin confirms it,,, what's goin on?!!!

YEs tried Virgin over BT telephone line and it's crap - just like BT at only 1.5mb. That just ain't enough these days and the rubbish WIMAX here is only 2mb speed!

[Digital Fanatic]

Originally Posted by chrisdtvuk

Sorry about shouting but hate that I still can't upgrade my virgin analogue cable tv, and still no cable broadband?

I'm in Milton Keynes - lot's of people are talking bout things happening but no one from Virgin confirms it,,, what's goin on?!!!

YEs tried Virgin over BT telephone line and it's crap - just like BT at only 1.5mb. That just ain't enough these days and the rubbish WIMAX here is only 2mb speed!

The problem is VM don't own the network in Milton Keynes, they just lease it and provide a service on it.

Still sucks, I know... both VM and BT could make alot of money in MK.

[frogstamper]

Something needs to happen in MK, this impasse between BT and VM has been going on for years now and really needs sorting one way or the other.
VM can't be making much more than peanuts on this purely analouge site, consequently BT can't be receiving much in rent, but most importantly its truly unfair to the customers who by now are probably not receiving much more than free-view from their analouge stb's.
An apt phrase for both BT and VM would be, "if your not going to poop, get off the pot".

[m419]

Originally Posted by frogstamper

Something needs to happen in MK, this impasse between BT and VM has been going on for years now and really needs sorting one way or the other.
VM can't be making much more than peanuts on this purely analouge site, consequently BT can't be receiving much in rent, but most importantly its truly unfair to the customers who by now are probably not receiving much more than free-view from their analouge stb's.
An apt phrase for both BT and VM would be, "if your not going to poop, get off the pot".

Ok well this was the plan between NTL and BT,

http://pressoffice.virginmedia.com/p...381&highlight=

Now I must mention that in 1994, Videotron launched its phone service in Westminster, it was not given a licence to provide CATV services because the Borough already had a licenced Cable operator 'BT' known as Westminster Cable TV ltd.

Now that phone network still exists, however, BT forced NTL not to offer this to new customers upon the leasing agreements for the BT cable TV network to NTL. BT was scared of losing its phone customers, however the Videotron phone network which became Cable and Wireless was available until 1999.

Is there anyone here that uses it?

The orginal plan was for Videotron to provide Telephone service,ADSL internet and IPTV services.

This is what the Independent say in 1994
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/bu...html?cmp=ilc-n

All you can do is keep phoning 0800-952-0345 and keep asking

[Digital Fanatic]

Originally Posted by m419

Ok well this was the plan between NTL and BT,

http://pressoffice.virginmedia.com/p...381&highlight=

Now I must mention that in 1994, Videotron launched its phone service in Westminster, it was not given a licence to provide CATV services because the Borough already had a licenced Cable operator 'BT' known as Westminster Cable TV ltd.

Now that phone network still exists, however, BT forced NTL not to offer this to new customers upon the leasing agreements for the BT cable TV network to NTL. BT was scared of losing its phone customers, however the Videotron phone network which became Cable and Wireless was available until 1999.

Is there anyone here that uses it?

The orginal plan was for Videotron to provide Telephone service,ADSL internet and IPTV services.

This is what the Independent say in 1994
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/bu...html?cmp=ilc-n

All you can do is keep phoning 0800-952-0345 and keep asking

VM want to upgrade Milton Keynes... I think they'd make a lot of money long term, but it's not theirs to upgrade, it's BT's network.

[chrisdtvuk]

Originally Posted by Digital Fanatic

VM want to upgrade Milton Keynes... I think they'd make a lot of money long term, but it's not theirs to upgrade, it's BT's network.

spot on. there is another thread somewhere quoting VM CEO about his plans for MK - he said it was part of their overbuild plans. Surely they can only do that once the government force BT to open its ducts... then BT can do what it wants with their old catv - VM would be free for the first time to overbuild MK with new cable or perish the thought ... cable PON ! They would though still need to build their own green cabs or borrow space in BT's... Then again people in Slough have noticed brand new virgin street cabs being put up as part of their analogue upgrade so its not impossible. whatever they do in MK they need to be quick - BT is trialling fibre to the home to 10,000 homes on 1 exchange... VM currently has access to under 220,000 homes there on analogue cable.. and growing.*

(new districts and homes are connected up by BT Global then added to VM address list.. as and when build completes.. which dates back to an order by the successor to the former new city development corporation.)

[m419]

Or maybe they are better tackling the local councils to give them permission to build there own Cable franchise and ditching the BT one which will leave BT looking pretty stupid especially if they launch there own phone service, because not only will BT loose money from loosing a business leasing its network, but Virgin will also nick its phone customers as well

I read an article once that to cable a new area from scratch costs about £50 Million per 100,000 homes or something like that???

Westminster residents will eventually get fed up, the problem there is with the council that prevents companies digging the streets and I can't see any plans for BT Infinity being rolled out there either.

[techguy]

Originally Posted by m419

...
I read an article once that to cable a new area from scratch costs about £50 Million per 100,000 homes or something like that???

That cost was when cable tv was in it's infancy in the UK.

The costs are now quite different.. and set to be even more so.. once Ofcom mandate the use of BT ducts and poles, and the electricity and water companies ducts and street furniture.

For instance, MK had a quote done by VM for a total upgrade to the BT Cable network for about a 1 million pounds.. which included the costs of a replacement digital headend, fibre resegmentation (bringing it closer to the home) and replacing any dodgy BT coax.

In 2001 .. NTL's quote stood at £30M - not sure how that was worked out .. but you can be sure .. the same incompetence is probably beavering away in there somewhere.

[Digital Fanatic]

Originally Posted by techguy

That cost was when cable tv was in it's infancy in the UK.

The costs are now quite different.. and set to be even more so.. once Ofcom mandate the use of BT ducts and poles, and the electricity and water companies ducts and street furniture.

For instance, MK had a quote done by VM for a total upgrade to the BT Cable network for about a 1 million pounds.. which included the costs of a replacement digital headend, fibre resegmentation (bringing it closer to the home) and replacing any dodgy BT coax.

In 2001 .. NTL's quote stood at £30M - not sure how that was worked out .. but you can be sure .. the same incompetence is probably beavering away in there somewhere.

BT own the network, that's where the problem is.

[m419]

0800-952-0345 has now closed meaning there no longer a dedicated line for the ex-BT franchises.

This is all BT's fault, if it didn't shack up to Sky in the late 90's it wouldn't of had to sell the Cable franchises and you could have been enjoying Digital TV and superfast broadband from BT itself way back in 2005, but no they thought they would try and compete with the rest of the cable industry and shack up with Sky, then once Sky and News International gained a lot of custom much of the work done by BT through the special offer deals which existed between 1998 and 2002, Sky then decided to enter the internet industry and acquired Easynet and became a competitor to BT.

Now BT is left looking stupid with its joke of a TV service BT Vision and a couple of ancient cable franchises.

NTL were also daft trusting BT back in 2000 when they acquired these franchises, they paid all that money but don't get much say in the franchises and is now left out of pocket with no customers and they also have to pay a high lease as well! NTL are also not allowed to offer people telephone services in Westminster even though Videotron offered a telephone only service there and was part of the deal when NTL acquired the Cable franchises and 131/132 service from Cable and Wireless.

If I was Virgin Media, I would exit and leave the mess for BT to clear up.

And all that rubbish about Westminster being a conservation area, that's rubbish because where most people live are in the high rise hell holes and council estates near Paddington Green,Kilburn,Maida Vale,Harrow Road,pimlico and Queens Park. The conservation area is just round the tourist bit like Oxford Street,Parliament Square and Mayfair. In reality a very small area.

I read some comments on the Virgin Media forums and they say they no longer offer new customers services, they are not able to, the equipment is no longer supported and only existing users can subscribe.

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by m419

0800-952-0345 has now closed meaning there no longer a dedicated line for the ex-BT franchises.

That's because that was for Westminster only - because it could do Broadband and analogue TV.

Milton Keynes has always been dealt with by standard Customer Services

Also Westminster services are closing by January 2012 http://community.virginmedia.com/t5/...p/621901#M3354