ADSL : Virgin National closes to new customers

Cable Forum can reveal that Virgin Media has ceased to sell its National (ADSL) broadband product. We have had this verified from multiple sources.

As of today, any attempt to purchase off-net broadband through Virgin Media will result in the enquiry being passed to the price comparison service, SimplifyDigital.

Existing customers will continue to receive their service but no new packages will be sold, even to cable customers moving off-net.

I think they've been going cool on ADSL for a while now. I switched away from National a couple of years ago when they tried to increase my charges by almost 50%.

[kwikbreaks]

Just about all the major ADSL ISPs are now offering an FTTC option where it's available and I guess VM wouldn't want to do that.

[Sephiroth]

I believe that VM did want to go FTTC but hadn't the critical mass to make the sums work - especially given the headstart that their competition has.

[Kushan]

Interesting, so Virgin is now focussing on expanding their cable infrastructure rather than supplementing it with FTTC? I guess that makes sense in a way.

Then again, didn't LibGlob say something about focussing on getting existing customers to spend more rather than trying to expand to get more customers?

[kwikbreaks]

I imagine many Virgin National customers are those who moved from a cable area to one where they couldn't get it and possibly stuck with VM to avoid early termination fees. Certainly in the days when I followed ADSL forums Virgin National had a very poor reputation.

---------- Post added at 12:38 ---------- Previous post was at 12:35 ----------

Originally Posted by Kushan

didn't LibGlob say something about focussing on getting existing customers to spend more rather than trying to expand to get more customers?

That maybe explains the £2.50 price hike for BB only customers. It seems they didn't want to lose them though as I and every other story I've read from people who phoned in to complain resulted in a significant price drop in exchange for a new 12 month minimum term.

[Sephiroth]

I think Kwikkie has it right there. VM are dumping a bad job. There's nothing there to support any inference regarding expansion of the cable network although ultimately, pole strung fibre would be relatively cheap once the proprietary stuff has been sorted out.

[kwikbreaks]

Originally Posted by Sephiroth

I believe that VM did want to go FTTC but hadn't the critical mass to make the sums work - especially given the headstart that their competition has.

Headstart is irrelevant - everybody is simply selling the Openreach product. I imagine the wholesale price for that is volume dependent and Virgin National are just too small a player.

---------- Post added at 12:46 ---------- Previous post was at 12:40 ----------

Originally Posted by Sephiroth

pole strung fibre would be relatively cheap once the proprietary stuff has been sorted out.

The only bidder in the government subsidised high speed rural broadband rollout is BT. I can't see VM ever wanting to dig up the roads again to lay coax, twisted pair, fibre, or anything else - too many earlier players went bust doing that. Stringing fibre along the poles only gets you to a cabinet somewhere and the last leg is the expensive bit to install.

SO if people move outside cable area VM can no longer hold them to contract? as they can't provide service now!

[Sephiroth]

No - if you move outside a VM cabled area with contract time still to run, they'll charge yoou the balance of your contract.

But they can't do that- under the OFCOM code of conduct whatever which they are signed up to?. An isp cannot charge a customer for service and support that the customer can't receive and the ISP can't provide past the date of disconnection. in fact if you cancel I am sure they simply bill you until you are disconnected..

Or has it recently changed?

[Kushan]

You do sign a contract when you sign up to Virgin, as you do any ISP. That contract has a minimum term.

I believe (though may be mistaken) that OFCOM doesn't allow Virgin (or anyone else) to bill for the full remainder of the contract if service cannot be supplied, but they can bill you for some of it.

Having said that, I believe Virgin are generally quite reasonable when it comes to leaving them. I know quite a few people who "left the country" and got out of their contract that way.

Not much choice they have if they are going overseas. I've had people with council tax debts tell me to sit on it as they are now abroad - you need a court involved and it's not worth it.

Not all ISPs do that a lot have a 30 day option. You pay a bit more upfront but I know VM couldn't do this.

[sollp]

They had project to have VM equipment installed into BT exchanges, lots of money spent already, equipment and process in place ready to start and was pulled by Lib Glob just as it about to start, no explanation, just stopped dead in it's tracks

---------- Post added at 19:29 ---------- Previous post was at 19:25 ----------

Originally Posted by Chris

I think they've been going cool on ADSL for a while now. I switched away from National a couple of years ago when they tried to increase my charges by almost 50%.

I've just switched from the VM ADSL service as since all circuits have been migrated from Cable and Wireless circuits providing the VM ADSL service and onto the BTW Network, the service was diabolical from the day of the migration.
All done under maintenance work that would improve the service.

So BTW was now providing the VM ADSL service and they aren't going to improve there bandwidth to improve the service of VM ADSL are they!

[Sephiroth]

It's like I said - VM were behind the FTTC curve and wouldn't have had the critical mass to sustain the costs.