Virgin Media or Sky

jc2006

Hi,

Please can you help!

I'm after some advice/views on Virgin Media, I was with them a couple of years ago and had a complete nightmare with the broadband not working, so I cancelled it and went to Sky for the TV and O2 for the broadband.

I am now wondering if its time to give Virgin another go as I would really like the 20mb broadband again (providing it works properly this time!) now that they have the new wireless hubs, im hoping they work better and things have improved.

Just wondering how people feel about Virgin? are they worth a second chance or should i stick with Sky and O2?

Also if anyone knows how to get the best deal with Virgin? is it better to phone them or just buy online? or maybe cashback sites?

Thanks everyone!

macman

All depends what speed you are already getting on O2. https://www.speedtest.net Are you on O2 Standard or O2 Premium tariff? If your line will support more than 8MB, then you could upgrade to Premium for £2.50 extra (or if you are OOC, ask them to upgrade you gratis in return for a 12m contract extension-they will normally give a £2.50m discount after the first year anyway).
I would rather have a rock-solid 7MBps from 02 at £5pm than pay more for VM 20Mbps, which is still liable to be throttled. And the customer service does not compare.

jc2006

Well I only get between 2 and 4mb depends on the time of day and how well its working lol

macman

jc2006 wrote: »

Well I only get between 2 and 4mb depends on the time of day and how well its working lol

You should not be getting that kind of fluctuation on O2 LLU, very few reports of contention issues. Please confirm you are on O2 LLU and not the dreaded 02 Access.
What speed does your line support? Obviously if it's 4Mbps max then no point in upgrading to Premium.
http://www.dslchecker.bt.com/adsl/adslchecker.welcome
If you are on LLU, then you need to speak to 02 tech support to adresss the issue. Are you runnng the speedtest from the BT test socket using ethernet (not wireless)?

jc2006

Yeah I'm on LLU, 4mb is the max I can get. I've spoken to o2 a couple of times about the speed issue and they just keep adjusting the margin (i think it is) but it doesn't make much difference.

macman

Is your exchange already upgraded to ADSL2+?
http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange_mapping
If so, then if you really need more speed VM is your only current option it seems.

jc2006

Yeah its already been upgraded. In terms of speed virgin media is my only option, however Ive had a bad experience with them in the past having had loads of problems with the broadband not connecting at all. So I'm trying to work out if its worth trying them again or stay with the poor speed I get now.