Worth switching to Virgin for fibre?

Currently on standard copper, sync speed range from 2,500kbps to 5,000kbps which is...well pathetic, for 2009

Because it's the fault of the line quality/length it means no matter which provider I switch to, including LLU operators, it's still going to be the same old slow 2-3mbit.

Virgin operate in my area and offer 20mbit, I've read it's fibre to the exchange and then coax the rest of the way, does that mean I'd get similar slow sync speeds if I had a line installed from them, or are the lines faster/better some how?

If I do sync at the full 20mbit what sort of speeds am I likely to get across their network, is it just going to be contended down to 2-3mbit most of the time anyway?

I'm with an entanet reseller right now and like the 1 month contract and the fast speeds anytime I like, without throttling, but for the age we live in I think 3-4mbit is just pathetic, any thoughts?

Also what about phorm. are virigin making that mandatory sometime soon?

The coax is of short enough length that it will always connect at 20Meg, whether you will download at 20 Meg is another matter.

Virgin have cabinets in the street that the coax runs from, are you sure Virgin can provider their cable service to you.

Thanks for the reply, well I used the checker on their website and while I can't get 50mbit yet I can get 20mbit

Samknows.com also lists virgin cable available in the area for my exchange.

So I am likely to sync up at 20mbit then, can anyone speak of the network quality they have, is it just going to be slow anyway?

If you order 20Meg IT WILL connect at 20Meg. As for network it all depends on others in your area, so could be brilliant this week and poor next week when the schools are off for example

I tried VirginMedia 20 meg 1 year ago. I would get 20 Meg early mornings but this would be down as low as 1 Mb/s during the evening peek 6-9pm. Additionally some video streaming sites worked fast enough on my Zen line with 4Mb/s BRAS but stuttered on the Virgin Line.

Ping times were all over the place and the Jitter seemed high but VOIP did seem to be just about acceptable. In the end I decided to stick with ADSL as I had a few worries about Virgin QoS for high priority tasks. I was also worried that Virgin seemed to be interfering more in the actual internet connection itself: Phorm, web site censorship etc, P2P monitoring.

If I were to go with them again I would not consider the 20Mb/s service, I might take the 10Mb/s as it is cheaper or I might try the 50Mb/s in the hope the DOCSIS 3 offered improved QoS.

So in general you think that 20mbit is obtainable during certain times of the day, but can be a low as 1mbit?

I'm a bit torn really, it's a 12 month contract min, and I've made it a rule of thumb to stick to 1 month contracts or 3 at the most just so I can avoid getting burnt when things inevitably goes wrong.

I just don't see a lot changing, clearly for people with long line lengths who can only get 3-4mbit or less, none of the new adsl copper based services are going to get better. I'm just thinking if I don't switch to something better (the only option is virgin) then Im just going to be stuck at a measly 3-4mbit for years and years, seems unacceptable for this day and age :/

I still don't really know what to do, I dont want phorm monitoring me or to be stuck contended down to about 1mbit for most of the day. but significantly higher speeds (4x faster) is tempting.

Anyway thanks for your input

Virgin Media has not deployed Phorm on its network...and no certainty that they will.

Hi,
I Have been with BT forever and have continuall complained about the rubbish speeds. Anyway, at the end of last year I decided to switch to Virgin for 10Mb/s, broadband only - no other services. I had lots of problems with the wireless router, which kept dropping the connection. They sent me another which was improved but still would have spurious disconnections. When it was working the speed test gave steady results at pretty much 10Mb/s virtually all the time. Dealing with their technical people was good (0845 number) and they did their best to solve the problem. The admin people were another story and in the end I cancelled before my 30 day free trial ended. Just to confirm my view of their admin, I received 2 days ago a demand (with no explanation) for £198. Needless to say it was an error. So, if you can live with them, the speed should be good!!

Hmm that is a bit worrying.

My profession is systems admin so I have a lot of network experience with setting kit up and troubleshooting so other than there being line issues or getting a dodgy router, hopefully I shoulnd't need to contact support.

I think I'll go for it...the price is actually pretty good, the max they do in my area is 20mbit at the moment (c'mon 50mbit!!) but I'm a high(ish) bandwidth user so I have to pay to be on a fairly high enternet package.

One other thing, I'll presumably need some different kind of router for their connection? What sort of specs does a router need to support? I read their free router is wireless but does anyone know if it comes with ethernet ports also?

Thanks for the feedback so far everyone

Never seen a wireless router that did not have Ethernet ports too. So yes theirs does and I'd try that one before worrying about buying another.