VM Hub 3

Got VM installed (OR FTTP is coming later this year but needed to get something in).

Seems it comes with a hub 3 (I'm on M500, or should be once they do the Volt benefits!). I was under the mistaken impression they were giving Hub5 to Gig1 customers and Hub4 to everyone else? Seems mad they are giving out DOCSIS3.0 modems now! It seems actually that gig1 get Hub5/4 and everyone else gets Hub3? Is this correct?

YES. As usually advised, use it in modem mode, and supply your own router.

What if I took M500 and then had Volt benefits to upgrade to Gig1? Would they install a new Hub4/5 then?

As previous, yes.. HUB 4 or 5 is required for Gig 1.

If you have a manned install they sometimes give the HUB 4 but it depends on the tech, in my area I was told that they are only giving HUB 4's as they have no stock of HUB 3's a lot of the time these days whereas they have loads of HUB 4's.

I am on the M500 broadband only and had a HUB 3 and they swapped it for me as my HUB 3 started to die so now have a HUB4. I will say that speeds are a lot more consistent, seems reliability has improved a bit (relative to what it was before, (non stop disconnections, speed drops, etc)).

I would recommend not getting the HUB 5 yet as the engineer i spoke to told me the teams are sending them out without properly assigning them or doing the necessary checks so they work for 24 hours and then "disassociate" and then an engineer has to come out and swap it for a HUB 4 (at least in my area its been happening a lot from the sounds of it).

How is the Openreach FTTP build progress in your neighbourhood RR - I think if I recall correctly they had given you a target date of September 2022?

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

How is the Openreach FTTP build progress in your neighbourhood RR - I think if I recall correctly they had given you a target date of September 2022?

Hi,
I'll be honest I was out the country for the whole of August so haven't had time to follow up, (I was setting up IT in a company that had just moved offices, lets just say a big mess) but from the looks of works taking place it does seem that this week there will be some road closures to do "splicing works" in mid town centre chambers (great place to put them i know (although knowing whats there, space is a premium) this is in the area I expect my cables to go via so is promising.

I am going to give my contact a call to see how things are going but being with VM at the min, I don't intend on leaving until a price rise or a speed fault and an ofcom complaint.

I am planning on following up I just haven't got to it yet as I have been sorting various things out since I'm officially a network engineer for an MSP starting the 1st of october and am no longer at the company i was with previously.

I have good news however in terms of 5G roll out, I had a conversation today with a project manager for THREE at my mast site, and the last three weeks my mast has been off as scaff has been around it and teams working, there is an upcoming 5G upgrade, so it will be interesting to see an improvement from the previous 3G. (I'll keep you posted and run some speed tests once the no service changes to 5G)

It seems to be all go in my area, between various networks starting 5G roll out and two FTTP builds and Virgin Media doing an RFOG overbuld and expanding to parts of the town classed as "rural" at the moment.

Its temp traffic lights everywhere and I can't lie its what I like to see, even if everyone I know around here is complaining, although after a 10 min conversation they most often quickly change their mind when you say, this will improve your speed and reliability on mobile / fixed line.

I haven't put my address in for privacy reasons, but for an idea of the work going on I've attached a screenshot.
Better internet dashboard

Sounds like your local is a beehive of activity. Hope it all goes well. 👍

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

Sounds like your local is a beehive of activity. Hope it all goes well. 👍

So do I, you can barely walk before you come across some sort of telecoms engineer.

I went from my house to the other end of town last week and I passed 2 John henry group vans and engineers doing cable pulls.

Two Virgin Media vans and engineers and a big crane truck in my street fitting new larger chambers and covers.

Then i get into town where there are four openreach engineers surveying chambers (where the blue dots are on one.network) both sides of the road with laptops and tablets. I end up further and I see two more openreach surveyors in chambers.

Then when I went home I saw the same pair of surveyors quite far away in more chambers so they had been quick after them Virgin Media in the high street digging.

Then past the phone mast at the station O2 fitting a new cab near for a 5G monopole, and then up the hill two engineers up the scaff on the Three mast.

Could not get any better, I mean it might be better if they took it in turns to turn off the mobile networks as if they all decide to upgrade at once, its not exactly good if you need to make mobile calls, that's why i Insist that everyone in the household is on a different mobile network in case of outages.