VirginMedia vs OpenReach FTTC: which is more reliable?

SouthLondonUser · 20 November 2019 at 11:54AM

I need to decide between VirginMedia vs Openreach fibre-to-the-cabinet (Sky, BT, talkTalk, etc)

There are very good and very bad reviews on both systems. Other than speaking to neighbours who are currently using one or the other, I don’t suppose there is a way to get a feeling for how fast or reliable the two are in a given area?

Any advice on choosing between the two?

As for Openreach, can there be a lot of difference among providers, if at the end of the day the cables and the distance to the cabinet are the same?

I am not interested in TV boxes nor in crazy speeds (Virgin can give me 500Mbps but I’d have no use for that). In fact, a stable connection and a greater uptime are more important to me than top speeds.

I have a separate VOIP phone so could go for VirginMedia’s options without a landline: £37/month for 54 Mbps and £42/month for 108Mbps.

With Sky on OpenReach I’d pay £29 (£37 after 18 months) for 60 Mbps and £39 (£49 after 18 months) for 100 Mbps.

So Virgin’s price for 108Mbps isn’t too bad. Any thoughts / suggestions on how to choose?

PS I am aware that OpenReach would be cheaper if I keep changing provider every 18 months

JJ_Egan · 20 November 2019 at 12:19PM

Key is distance from cabinet and quality of line .
UP to is 80meg over OR FTTC .

SouthLondonUser · 20 November 2019 at 12:34PM

Is it true that distance is less of an issue with VirginMedia because of the different type of cables used, or is that just marketing guff?

The speeds I quoted with Sky were the minimum guaranteed speeds.

Croft12 · 20 November 2019 at 12:59PM

SouthLondonUser wrote: »

I need to decide between VirginMedia vs Openreach fibre-to-the-cabinet (Sky, BT, talkTalk, etc)

There are very good and very bad reviews on both systems. Other than speaking to neighbours who are currently using one or the other, I don’t suppose there is a way to get a feeling for how fast or reliable the two are in a given area?

Any advice on choosing between the two?

As for Openreach, can there be a lot of difference among providers, if at the end of the day the cables and the distance to the cabinet are the same?

I am not interested in TV boxes nor in crazy speeds (Virgin can give me 500Mbps but I’d have no use for that). In fact, a stable connection and a greater uptime are more important to me than top speeds.

I have a separate VOIP phone so could go for VirginMedia’s options without a landline: £37/month for 54 Mbps and £42/month for 108Mbps.

With Sky on OpenReach I’d pay £29 (£37 after 18 months) for 60 Mbps and £39 (£49 after 18 months) for 100 Mbps.

So Virgin’s price for 108Mbps isn’t too bad. Any thoughts / suggestions on how to choose?

PS I am aware that OpenReach would be cheaper if I keep changing provider every 18 months

If your using FTTC its provided by openreach and is the same regardless of provider. If you have VM broadband via its own network then thats coax and nothing to do with fttc.

JJ_Egan · 20 November 2019 at 1:21PM

VM usually almost to the premises , see on pavement vm small black lid .

AndyPK · 20 November 2019 at 1:26PM

In some area's virgin can be congested in the evenings. This is where it is valuable to talk to the neigbours in your area.

Virgin is sometime cheapers with a phone line.

If you aren't after crazy speeds personally I would go for something using the BT OR network. That make it easier to swap providers in future and don't have to deal with virgin which try to get every last £1 out of you, by which ever means possible.

I would recommend NowTV ( part of sky) £24/month. the price will rise after 12/18months ~£35 but they should do you a deal

Takmon · 20 November 2019 at 1:48PM

SouthLondonUser wrote: »

Is it true that distance is less of an issue with VirginMedia because of the different type of cables used, or is that just marketing guff?

The speeds I quoted with Sky were the minimum guaranteed speeds.

Openreach FTTC has a maximum speed of 80 Mbps which drops off the further you go from the cabinet.

So if that is correct you must be in an area that has the cabinet upgraded to G.fast?

iniltous · 20 November 2019 at 2:02PM

Takmon wrote: »

Openreach FTTC has a maximum speed of 80 Mbps which drops off the further you go from the cabinet.

So if that is correct you must be in an area that has the cabinet upgraded to G.fast?

To be a little pedantic , 80Mb is the limit applied , theoretically VDSL can be faster if the line is short enough, if Gfast is available then higher speeds ( similar to those offered by VM ) could be available but again line length is key....With OR a single copper/fibre cab combo could well serve a very large area, so some may get much faster speeds than others that are further away from these cabs, VM architecture means that there are many more street cabinets, so it’s possible that VM street furniture could be a lot closer, and not using twisted copper pairs but a coax , their ability to deliver the headline speed of the package is better, but they did ( I don’t know if it still true ) suffer congestion on over optimised routes , in effect too many customers using it.
As far as the OP question, I had Vm broadband for around 3 years and had no issues, very reliable, At the same address, FTTC became available and I get a solid 80Mb ( cab around 80-100m away) and that too is very reliable ( 3 years and counting )

noris · 22 April 2020 at 12:42AM

I be grateful for any advise, briefly, my VM broadband gone down and it's nearly a week now I am without internet, during this critical time I work at home, without it I simply can't. I tried several times to contact VM but without answer or any help to sort this. The issue here most people now work at home, and internet companies must ensure that users are not disconnected. Thanks.

cranford · 22 April 2020 at 8:58AM

Have you tried the Virgin Media Community forum for help. If you post there you may get a response from a staff member, Alternatively on there you will find a text number to contact VM.
In the meanwhile if BB is essential for your work and you cant get by with mobile phone data have a look at a 30 day mobile Broadband router solution.
https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/custom/page/page-id/CommunityHubForums

VirginMedia vs OpenReach FTTC: which is more reliable?

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