Virgin Media broadband speeds up

Virgin Media broadband speeds up

Virgin Media is widely expected to unveil a 50 Megabits per second (Mbps) domestic broadband service today.

It doing so it will be the first UK ISP to roll out a next generation broadband service that runs far faster than most others available to UK web users.

So far no word has been given on pricing or which parts of the country will be the first to get it.

Currently, the fastest domestic broadband speed available from Virgin Media is 20Mbps.

Regional aid

The service will put Virgin at the top of the speed league for UK ISPs. Close behind is Be Broadband which offers at 24Mbps service for £17.50 per month.

Details of the service are expected to be released during a morning press conference on 15 December. Trials of the high-speed service were carried out in Kent during 2008.

The service will be rolled out throughout 2009 and it is thought that Warrington, where Virgin has a big customer base, will be the first place to be upgraded.

The news comes as the cable group announces that it will cut 2,200 jobs by 2012.

Rival BT has announced that Muswell Hill, in London, and Whitchurch, in Cardiff, will be the first pilot sites for its fibre-based broadband trial, which will begin in the summer of 2009.

Up to 15,000 homes and businesses will get the chance to take part in a trial of fibre to the cabinet technology which can deliver speeds of up to 40Mbps.

It has said it will invest £1.5bn in laying fibre as far as its street cabinets. The connection from the street cabinet to peoples' homes will rely on copper lines.


Charlie Ponsonby at comparison site Simplify Digital said higher speeds would drive changes in the way people use the web.

"As we see an increasing blur between the TV set and the PC, with on-demand content flowing seamlessly between the two, people's appetite for broadband speed will head rapidly upwards," he said.

"Today's average of about 2 Mbps will soon seem as inadequate as a 56 Kbps dialup connection already seems to the great majority of web users," he added.

Not everyone is convinced that the cable modem technology on offer from Virgin Media will be enough to satisfy speed-hungry consumers.

The president of the Fibre to the Home Council of Europe, Joeri Van Bogaert, said: "Cable modem can be complementary to fibre to the home (FTTH) but is in no way a substitute," he said.

"The main issue is speed. While FTTH can easily deliver speeds of up to 100Mbps and could eventually pump out 1000Mbps, Virgin's service offers 50Mbps and is asymmetric.

"This means that uploading content will be much slower than download speeds."





Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2008/12/15 02:07:43 GMT
© BBC MMVIII

Personally, I cant wait for BT to roll out its fibre soloution. This will be much more of an important landmark in communications than VM deploying 50Mb broadband. The business implications alone are astonishing.

Depends on whether they think that they have wrung every last penny out of dial up and ADSL karym6.

They aint half dragged their feet over this.

For one of the most developed nations in the world, our broadband is poo.

that is purely the fault of BT. They deluded themselves in the 90's by saying we didnt need fiber when the rest of the world did it and tried to justify themselves with ADSL.

Next, they deluded themselves over the 21CN, saying we didnt need more than 24Mbps on the downstream - whilst customers said, "well actually we would like more".

Pricing seems a little strange. £51 per month as a seperate product but £46 if taken with a phone (inclusive of £11 per month phone rental) making the BB just £35 per month.

Some people who are still paying the original £36 for 20Meg BB are going to be a bit unhappy I think !

nozzer said:

Pricing seems a little strange. £51 per month as a seperate product but £46 if taken with a phone (inclusive of £11 per month phone rental) making the BB just £35 per month.

Some people who are still paying the original £36 for 20Meg BB are going to be a bit unhappy I think !

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the current 20meg might just automactilly get upped to 50meg like it did from 10 to 20 last time

thought the 50 meg needed a new modem that could handle the faster speed tho so if that is the case cant see 20 meg being auto up graded
just my opinion

krazylegz said:

the current 20meg might just automactilly get upped to 50meg like it did from 10 to 20 last time

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I doubt it !

There seems to be new pricing for the 20Meg tier (£20 I think if taken with phone (£11 extra) ) but I bet customers paying the original amount will need to go through retentions to get moved over.

dont do it it"ll hurt said:

thought the 50 meg needed a new modem that could handle the faster speed tho so if that is the case cant see 20 meg being auto up graded
just my opinion

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i bet they will eventualy after every speed increase we have automaticaly recieved upgrades so far.

I think VM have something else going on here.

It'll be a new tier, and will come with a seperate price plan.

I will give them a ring.

The launch of 50Mb is part of a massive investment in Virgin Media's network and more than doubles the capacity of the original build of the UK cable network, creating the potential for speeds of 200Mb. The upgraded network means significant improvements to the service received by all of Virgin Media's broadband customers, with current 10Mb and 20Mb users being moved onto the new "DOCSIS3" network(5), freeing up capacity for increased traffic on the existing DOCSIS 1.0 network. In time, the upgrade to DOCSIS 3.0 means Virgin Media will be able to handle more than three times the data currently handled by the cable network.
Using the latest state of the art hardware, the 50Mb package comes with a new DOCSIS3.0 modem, a wireless 'N' router offering the UK's fastest wireless connection, plus free anti-virus and anti-spyware software as well as unlimited downloads(6). A typical family will be able to get the new ultrafast service for as little as GBP35 a month(7).
By the end of 2008, Virgin Media will have completed deployment of its next generation infrastructure to 40% of the network. This will include areas in Scotland, the Midlands and South London. Roll-out to the rest of the 12.6 million homes covered by Virgin Media's fibre optic network is expected to be complete during the Summer of 2009.
To find out more about Virgin Media's 50Mb service, visit Welcome to the world of 50Mb broadband

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New Docsis 3.0 Modems it is.

Just spoke to elaine.

She's just had an email RE: 50mb VM service

only available in areas of scotland/midlands/london from today.

Hope 50% of network is covered by January.

Price not finalized but at the moment:

standalone £50 per month

when taken with phone package £35

Looks like 20mb will become the middle tier service (poss 10mb upgrade) and 50MB will replace it.

She said current modems can support 50mb, but I think she was winging that, as aren't we going docsis 3.0 with 50mb?

Anyway, interesting scanning macs tonight if youre in those areas!

:cisk you bastard!:

mozr said:

Anyway, interesting scanning macs tonight if youre in those areas!

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Its effectively a seperate network so even if you seen anything it will be absolutely no use.


...and yes, the new modems are multi bonding capable DOCSIS 3 types. Non of the present generation of modems have the multiple tuners necessary for multi-bonding.

It will be interesting to see what their throttling restrictions are on 50mb. Nothing on their traffic shaping page yet!

i wish there would just put it back to 10mb max with no throttling restrictions ,i would be more then happy with that

Purity said:

It will be interesting to see what their throttling restrictions are on 50mb. Nothing on their traffic shaping page yet!

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They claim there are NO restrictions .... YET !

no restrictions till take up increases!!

Bastards!!

Cheers
MFCGAVMFC

I'd love this but going to wait till after the new year to phone them

2 gaming consoles online and 2 laptops online most of the day............ not to forget my main machine for work which is connected 24/7..... 20meg is good but sometimes it does drag

BeThere have anounced a "upto" 48meg service aswell now i've read, good for those in non cabled areas.

BT has had fibre to certain cabinets for years so it's nothing new, you'll probably find that VM will restrict to certain areas and will not be available throughout the country.