FTTP vs Virgin Media

After years of living in flats and have limited broadband options, I am moving to a house served by Virgin Media and also where FTTP is available. I've reviewed the following options

On the FTTC side, I can get

50/300 from Zen for £59.99pcm (18m term)
50/300 from BT Ultrafast Fibre 250 for £49.99pcm (24m term)
50/330 from Fibre.net, 59.50pcm (12m term, static IP)

From Virgin, the options I'd consider are

Ultimate Umph - 36/536 internet, TV, phone, mobile SIM)) for £89pcm (12m term)
Fibre & Phone - 36/362 internet, phone, for £40pcm (12m term)

I am not fussed about landline but VM's M350 is cheaper with one.

I'd like static IP if possible but not that fussed.

If getting FTTP, I'd prefer to buy my own modem (I already have an Asus WiFi 6 router). Could anyone recommend a specific model? I see some ECI models on eBay quite cheap but I think they are VDSL modems and won't work with fibre... can anyone advise?

Would you recommend FTTP over VM for any specific reason?

The VM 500mbps product is locked behind the ultimate tier, but I'd consider this if the service were good as it'd be the cheapest way to get 500Mbps down.

Thanks in advance.

In reply to a post by Exharris:

From Virgin, the options I'd consider are

Ultimate Umph - 36/536 internet, TV, phone, mobile SIM)) for £89pcm (12m term)
Fibre & Phone - 36/362 internet, phone, for £40pcm (12m term)

I am not fussed about landline but VM's M350 is cheaper with one.

I'd like static IP if possible but not that fussed.

The VM 500mbps product is locked behind the ultimate tier, but I'd consider this if the service were good as it'd be the cheapest way to get 500Mbps down.

Thanks in advance.

You won't be getting static IP with virgin media. I think virgin are bit cheeky to put VM 500Mbps if you buying expensive top of the bundles are bang out of order. This is why I hate VM. The price will go up normally twice a year if you the service with them. Plus after 12 months u can cancel it but u will lose out 500Mbps anyway.

500Mbps should be 50Mbps upload but why poor 36Mbps upload only?

In reply to a post by adslmax:

You won't be getting static IP with virgin media....The price will go up normally twice a year if you the service with them.

Although the IP is dynamic with VM, it's very sticky. I had the same IP address for a couple of years with them.

The continual price rises were the reason I recently switched away from them to FTTC. VM's service was fine technically but their customer service is poor. Anyone going with VM should be aware that it's essential to call them and negotiate a new price at the end of each contracted period. Otherwise, the price goes up and up and up...

On FTTP you will get an Openreach ONT, and you can connect your own choice of router just like you can with the FTTC services.

No point in buying your own fibre ONT

I was on FTTP for 3-4 years (the 330/30 package) and I've been on the 350mb package of virgin media for about 18 months.

For general browsing I notice no difference. BT Retail FTTP I would say had more consistent download speeds. It also had much lower latency (1-2ms to first hop vs 10-11ms, in both cases the first hop was "near by"). Latency is also much more stable. FTTP was arguably more reliable. My router did not drop out in over a year, whereas with Virgin Media it can be great for months and then you can find it's randomly down for 15 minutes+.

If I had the choice of FTTP from Zen or BT retail over Virgin Media I probably would go for FTTP. However I use the connection for home working. You might find throughput faster on FTTP than Virgin simply due to less noticeable contention. Virgin is fine (assuming you're not in an overly contended area), but I think FTTP is the superior product.