Moving from Virgin Media - What's involved?

EdGasket

I have just BB and phone with Virgin Media but they are working out to be the most expensive by far. However I understand there is no competitor using the same Virgin media cables; is that right?

If so, then what is involved in moving to one of the other suppliers that use BT lines? We have an old disconnected BT phone line into the house but it was never very good even just for the phone. Would we get that connected again and try to use it or with 'Fibre' does someone come along and install a new cable altogether into the house (we have everywhere nicely decorated now and don't fancy a lot of upheaval; existing Virgin and old BT lines are concealed)? Does BT install the line or PlusNet if I went with them?

I would just like to know the steps to go through to move BB and phone to say, PlusNet. Thanks for any information.

visidigi

Virgin are the only cable provider, they are the only company able to provide a service on the Virgin Media Network for home use.

Who installs your BT line depends who you go with, go to samknows.com and use the UK broadband availability to find out what your local exchange can provide - if you use the BT checker to check your speed - http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/displayCategory.do?categoryId=CON-TOTAL-BB-R1 this will give you an idea of what to expect as a maximum speed.

The cost of virgin needs to be weighed up with the alternative quality of service and speed provision - virgin give you the speed they quote, BT and its resellers give you UP to a speed.

macman

BT's fibre service is fibre to the cabinet, not fibre to the house. You'll just need a reconnection on the old BT line, if still in place.
BT OR handle the install regardless of suplier.

EdGasket

I used the BT checker; it says: BT Infinity 40MB and BT Total Broadband approx 2.5MB. So what speed do I get with an alternative company like Talk Talk or PlusNet? Is it the 40Mb or the 2.5MB?? These companies just seem to quote a package price and some 'up to' speed - 24MB with Talk Talk but would i only actually get 2.5MB or do they use the BT Infinity?

SamKnows reckons 2MB max with BT ADSL2

It's all so confusing !

macman

Your ADSL limit is around 2-2.5MBps, your fibre limit is nearer 40MBps.
Many ISP's are now offering FTTC services (which will be reselling BT's wholesale FTTC service, which BT brand as Infinity). So the speed you get depends on the product you pay for: Plusnet for example offer both ADSL and FTTC products.
'Up to' means exactly what it says: i.e. 2MBps is 'up to' 24MBps.

EdGasket

I just used Talk Talk speed checker and it says estimated speed 2.5MB. Wow you have to be so careful. Maybe Virgin Media is not so bad after all though I only seem to get half their supposed speed when I use a BB speed test.

macman

No ADSL supplier will be able to give you much more than that speed, it's invariably down to exchange distance. If you want higher speeds than you have to choose cable or an FTTC product.

Pikeyp

If your Virgin speed isn't doing what it should be doing , then phone them up and query it , it might be a simple fix to sort it out!

The grass isn't always greener on the other side ...

visidigi

EdGasket wrote: »

I just used Talk Talk speed checker and it says estimated speed 2.5MB. Wow you have to be so careful. Maybe Virgin Media is not so bad after all though I only seem to get half their supposed speed when I use a BB speed test.

Wired or Wireless speedtest?

The speedtest on wireless will always be below spec, wired connections should be better.

I get 50mb exactly on my 50mb connection when using a wired connection, 39mb on wifi on my laptop and 28mb on my phone connected via wifi...

Always use a wired connection to check your speed before calling VM.

EdGasket

macman wrote: »

No ADSL supplier will be able to give you much more than that speed, it's invariably down to exchange distance. If you want higher speeds than you have to choose cable or an FTTC product.

So is it only BT Infinity that can give me better than 2.5MB? BT Infinity actually works out dearer than VM from what I can see.

(Thanks for the speed checking tips; tried again with Speedtest:
http://www.speedtest.net/ which seems a better checker and it comes out about right)

usignuolo

I get the same result as Edgasket on the BT checker - 40mb with BTInfinity (not yet rolled out at our exchange). So who gets 100mb and how? And does unlimited usage really mean that with BT?