Wifi

[T.F.S.B.I.G.W.S.]

I have Broadband L (25.25) & TV XL (£25.00) + line rental (£12.24) (less Triple Combo Pack Loyalty Discount -£18.25). I am considering getting a Wifi to use with a lap top. As I am paying all that lot does anyone know what Virgin will charge for a wifi connector?
Thanks
T

[Nopanic]

you mean the router ? or the dongle ?

The router is £75 .. but call them up, see if they can sort a price, maybe with an upgrade ?

[T.F.S.B.I.G.W.S.]

Thanks. I'll look into it

[qasdfdsaq]

£60 for the base router/modem thing (Hub), £75 for the upgraded router/modem thing (Superhub) neither of which (in my opinion) are good value paying for, unless you depend on VM support. Even if you pay for it, it remains the property of VM and you cannot take it with you when you leave.

You'll get the Superhub free if you upgrade to XL or XXL, otherwise you're better off buying one yourself. You can get decent 11n routers equivalent to the VM £60 Hub for £10 or less second hand and starting at £20-30 new.

[T.F.S.B.I.G.W.S.]

Thanks - I'll look into that too

[Nopanic]

Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq

£60 for the base router/modem thing (Hub), £75 for the upgraded router/modem thing (Superhub) neither of which (in my opinion) are good value paying for, unless you depend on VM support. Even if you pay for it, it remains the property of VM and you cannot take it with you when you leave.

You'll get the Superhub free if you upgrade to XL or XXL, otherwise you're better off buying one yourself. You can get decent 11n routers equivalent to the VM £60 Hub for £10 or less second hand and starting at £20-30 new.

What good would it do you to take it with you ? its a cable modem ..

[qasdfdsaq]

Since the cable modem part is essentially free all you're paying for is the wireless router part. If you're going to pay for a router, you might as well pay for one you could keep and would still work if you switched provider.

Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq

Since the cable modem part is essentially free all you're paying for is the wireless router part. If you're going to pay for a router, you might as well pay for one you could keep and would still work if you switched provider.

presumably the 'hub' approach was intended to match/compete with the BT adsl type product - in my opinion it is alienating cable customers, rather than drawing them in?

---------- Post added at 01:09 ---------- Previous post was at 01:03 ----------

Originally Posted by Nopanic

What good would it do you to take it with you ? its a cable modem ..

I just spent a lot of money on a router - unless VM can supply me a modem to complement, rather than replace my purchase I won't be interested in any 'upgrades' ?

---------- Post added at 01:25 ---------- Previous post was at 01:09 ----------

In my opinion Virgin Media should be focusing on providing their customers with modems that will be capable of connecting to all current & future iterations of the available standards - but routers, dongles, switches, hubs - whatever - are another dimension that they shouldn't get involved with?

[Skie]

Originally Posted by gazfan

In my opinion Virgin Media should be focusing on providing their customers with modems that will be capable of connecting to all current & future iterations of the available standards - but routers, dongles, switches, hubs - whatever - are another dimension that they shouldn't get involved with?

They have a wide range of customer types so they really do need to cater to those who don't have a clue about networking or who don't want to spend £50 on another piece of kit. The hub does this, its a good entry level way of getting a household online and will support future speeds up to 400meg.

Eventually when the new firmware is released it will be possible to use it as just a cable modem.

[pip08456]

Originally Posted by Skie

They have a wide range of customer types so they really do need to cater to those who don't have a clue about networking or who don't want to spend £50 on another piece of kit. The hub does this, its a good entry level way of getting a household online and will support future speeds up to 400meg.

Eventually when the new firmware is released it will be possible to use it as just a cable modem.

They were catering for them with stand alone modems and routers. I can see the economics of a hub but they failed with bridge mode not being there out of the box.

[qasdfdsaq]

Originally Posted by Skie

They have a wide range of customer types so they really do need to cater to those who don't have a clue about networking or who don't want to spend £50 on another piece of kit. The hub does this, its a good entry level way of getting a household online and will support future speeds up to 400meg.

Eventually when the new firmware is released it will be possible to use it as just a cable modem.

Well if they wanted to cater to those who didn't want to spend £50 on anothe piece of kit, they wouldn't be charging £60/£75 for the Hub/Superhub.

Also the hub does not go anywhere near 400meg, it's limited to 38/50meg. The superhub could do 400, but not very well, and certainly not wirelessly. It's practically limited to about 200

---------- Post added at 02:36 ---------- Previous post was at 02:29 ----------

Originally Posted by pip08456

They were catering for them with stand alone modems and routers. I can see the economics of a hub but they failed with bridge mode not being there out of the box.

Pretty much, yeah. The installers are supposed to set up the standalone modem + router for the customer and ensure it works before leaving.

[T.F.S.B.I.G.W.S.]

I finally got round to contacting VM (as the laptop is to be delivered this week) and was offered a 10mb wireless router for £60. Is there any point looking for one at a fraction of that price (from ebay or amazon) or will they not do the job as well?
Cheers
T

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by T.F.S.B.I.G.W.S.

I finally got round to contacting VM (as the laptop is to be delivered this week) and was offered a 10mb wireless router for £60. Is there any point looking for one at a fraction of that price (from ebay or amazon) or will they not do the job as well?
Cheers
T

Which router are they going to charge you £60.00 for ????. VM dont do stand alone routers anymore ?. They only do hubs

[T.F.S.B.I.G.W.S.]

VM said it was a router which would allow access for 4 users - and it is a 10 meg. That's all I was told. Should I ask for further info?

[Nopanic]

Must be the Superhub ..