500M 500mb Question - Page 18

Grimpy · 24-08-2019, 09:55

Only 350mb available in my area they said when 500 is ready I'll be switched over automatically.

General Maximus · 24-08-2019, 10:11

Lies. 500mbits isnt an uplift, it is a new higher tier which you have got to subscribe to a pay more for. If you want it you are going to have to chase it and ring back and try and speak to.somebody who knows what they are talking about.

Grimpy · 24-08-2019, 10:18

I'll ring them today and see what they say.

Grimpy · 24-08-2019, 12:58

I rang and got the usual that 500 is not available in my area asked to be transferred to oompth and gave up after 30 mins on hold.

General Maximus · 24-08-2019, 13:13

ring retentions or whatever it is these days ("I have a problem") and tell them you are sick and tired of being the given run around and ask them why is it so hard to give them more money?

SnoopZ · 24-08-2019, 13:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grimpy

I rang and got the usual that 500 is not available in my area asked to be transferred to oompth and gave up after 30 mins on hold.

Your mistake is phoning on a weekend, try phoning just after 8am on Tuesday if possible.

chambohambo · 04-09-2019, 09:51

Hi,

Does anyone know the reason why the >M500 Fibre Broadband< service is not available in my area? the odd thing is it’s available for my friend who lives a few miles from me in the same city.

Is it down to the CMTS, UBR or cabinet?

Thanks for looking at my post and I’ll look forward to the responses.

General Maximus · 04-09-2019, 14:08

CMTS and UBR are the same thing, they are different names used by different vendors who provide the equipment. Not only does it depend on the cmts you connect to, but also the line card within the cmts. Because CMTS' have varying loads some may have the capacity in place to handle a new tier however VM will not advertise the upgrade as being available until all uplift work has taken place. As an example, I think there are 3 or 4 CMTS' for Lincoln and VM will make new tiers available as and when upgrade work has been completed on the cmts to make it ready for it. For this reason distance can't be factored into it. I know the area down the road two miles south from me is on a different cmts and similarly five miles north at the other end of the city is as well.

rtho782 · 05-09-2019, 09:17

Anyone heard anything about standalone M500?

I'm starting to get worried that their top tier will never go standalone and will always be tied to their crappy TV/Phone/Mobile services which I have absolutely no desire or need for.

Doesn't bode well for the 1gbit rollout!

General Maximus · 07-09-2019, 10:32

that may be the case but at least we know 500mbits will be available as standalone once 1gbit becomes available. Atm they are probably doing two things in order to decide how to proceed in the future. You have got to remember that 500mbits is still being run on docsis 3. I think they have edged on the side of caution and deliberately restricted 500mbits to the oomph bundle knowing that it will only appeal to a minority of customers. This way the tier is available across all areas geographically and they can assess the load and impact on the network. Secondly, it is a bit of a trial for them to see how many customers they can pull into an expensive bundle just because they want 500mbits. It is all about $$$. If it has worked out well for them I imagine they'll continue to do it with future tiers and if it hasn't hopefully they'll make 1gbit available to everyone. The capacity will definitely be there for it on 3.1.

rtho782 · 07-09-2019, 10:50

The capacity is only really there if they switch everyone to 3.1 which they won't do as it will mean replacing all the modems.

I'm not convinced me switching from 350 to 500 would have much of a network impact, I'm on 350 as I downloaded a lot right now, 500 wouldn't have me downloading more!

General Maximus · 07-09-2019, 11:07

I have been saying that since 200. Still download the same about but just faster.

Kushan · 08-09-2019, 19:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by rtho782

The capacity is only really there if they switch everyone to 3.1 which they won't do as it will mean replacing all the modems.

I'm not convinced me switching from 350 to 500 would have much of a network impact, I'm on 350 as I downloaded a lot right now, 500 wouldn't have me downloading more!

Yeah I'm with you there. I was on 200 for years and only recently upgraded to 350 because of a retention deal. It hasn't changed my habits at this point, but I do appreciate the additional upload speed.

As for 3.1, Virgin will eventually upgrade everyone but like every single hub upgrade in the past it'll go to top tiers first and be a requirement for those upgrading.

They usually start off by offering them to those willing to pay a premium for the super top tiers, then for a one-off cost to those upgrading a tier (or simply wanting a new modem), then as standard for new customers on those tiers, then as standard for all new customers and finally, for whatever stragglers are left, they'll offer a free speed boost to those that take the new modem (this was done for DOCSIS3 by launching the 30Mbit tier as an upgrade to those on the at-the-time 20Mbit). It'll take years to reach that point though.

I think DOCSIS3 launched around 2008? And the 30Mbit tier didn't appear until about 2016 if I remember correctly (Feel free to correct me on dates).

Assuming we see the beginnings of 3.1 this year, I imagine it'll take them a year or so to make the rest of the country 3.1 compliant (though I don't know how much of that work has already been done), then probably a couple more years of tier upgrades and rollouts and if we're really lucky, by about 2025 nearly everyone will be on 3.1.

General Maximus · 08-09-2019, 19:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kushan

(Feel free to correct me on dates).

I will

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kushan

I think DOCSIS3 launched around 2008?

I pretty sure it was 2007 or maybe even 2006. I remember being one of the very first customers on it and at launch it was completely stm free which was unheard of back then. It was an incentive to get people to upgrade and move over to docsis 3 because the old network was on it's last legs and they were dying to give it some relief. They quickly changed their tune after a few months and new subscribers were hit with stm. I got away with it for about a year I think and then they forced it on me as well. I remember being on 50mbits with my ambit 300 for a long time, managed to keep in 2008 ish for 100mbits and then when 120 came out in 2010 I was forced onto a shub. Luckily by then modem mode was available.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kushan

(though I don't know how much of that work has already been done)

I was under the impression they have been working on this for the last year or so and all the necessary hardware is in place on the network and now it is just a case of sorting out the cpe.

Kushan · 08-09-2019, 20:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by General Maximus

I will

Couldn't help yourself, could you!

All right, I'll bite!

Quote:

Originally Posted by General Maximus

I pretty sure it was 2007 or maybe even 2006.

I did a quick google, here's a Digital Spy article from December 2008 about the launch. So I was barely right about it being 2008, as it was more like 2009!

Quote:

Originally Posted by General Maximus

I remember being one of the very first customers on it and at launch it was completely stm free which was unheard of back then. It was an incentive to get people to upgrade and move over to docsis 3 because the old network was on it's last legs and they were dying to give it some relief. They quickly changed their tune after a few months and new subscribers were hit with stm. I got away with it for about a year I think and then they forced it on me as well.

The STM-free(-for-all) of the 50mbit service was definitely glorious at the time. I remember STM came in slowly, first it was the "P2P networks only get slowed down, but all the time" thing which came about in 2010, then later on the "regular" STM for pure usage, regardless of use. I can't remember exactly when this happened, but I think it was around 2012.

Here's an article talking about updated policies that definitely show 50/100 getting STM, but I'm not sure if this was the first incarnation of it.

If that is the first time, then we had a good 4+ years with no STM on 50Mbit+.

Quote:

Originally Posted by General Maximus

I remember being on 50mbits with my ambit 300 for a long time, managed to keep in 2008 ish for 100mbits and then when 120 came out in 2010 I was forced onto a shub. Luckily by then modem mode was available.

100Mbit definitely didn't launch before 2010 - I remember working for Virgin at the time it was being trailed (100Mbit customers had a special phone line, meaning I didn't have to deal with them

). BBC article from October 2010 on the launch: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11627507

You also didn't get 120Mbit until 2012 at the earliest: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16491614

Seems you're getting old, my friend, your memory is fading. Have you left the oven on?

I still love you, max

Quote:

Originally Posted by General Maximus

I was under the impression they have been working on this for the last year or so and all the necessary hardware is in place on the network and now it is just a case of sorting out the cpe.

Yeah, it seems a lot of work has been done in the background! But trials still seem very limited and it's not like Virgin do to do a big-bang switch on across the whole network, especially for major upgrades. We still haven't even got IPv6!