Who just saw BBc Watchdog with Virgin media?
- Thread starter borley
- Start date
For anyone who wants to watch it, you can view it online here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00zlk4z
P.S. Anyone on Virgin, you may experience buffering!
xD
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00zlk4z
P.S. Anyone on Virgin, you may experience buffering!
xDFor anyone who wants to watch it, you can view it online here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00zlk4z
P.S. Anyone on Virgin, you may experience buffering!
Yeah haha!
I think Watchdog is often full of crap.
Firstly: That technician is utterly retarded. Does he honestly think Virgin Media actually run the data centres which host streaming media? No. Buffering is due to lack of upstream bandwidth or server resources at the host server which is completely out of Virgin Media or any residential ISP's control.
The phrase "Say goodbye to buffering" is simply a figure of speech describing their mammoth speeds. They're not actually guaranteeing you won't get buffering, and to assume you wont ever get buffering is absolutely preposterous. However I can understand how uninformed individuals may take it literally.
Secondly: They are doubling everyone's speeds. The reason that dude is getting 0.5Mb/s is because he's on a high utilisation UBR. It doesn't take a telephone call to install miles of new fibre to handle bandwidth overheads. It takes weeks of laying new cable and can require planning permission from councils. I had the exact same issue of high utilisation about 12 months ago. But they did fix it in about 7 weeks, and now my internet is absolutely spot on 50Mb/s. In fact the software limit set in my modem's firmware is 53000000 bps and I get EXACTLY that amount in speed tests. The fact that there is no "syncing" involved in IP over CATV, as opposed to A/DSL means that I get 100% of the advertised bandwidth.
Thirdly: It is the fastest broadband in the UK. BT fibre is only 80Mb/s IIRC. Virgin Media's current top package is 100Mb/s and will soon be 120Mb/s.
Finally:
Because Virgin Media's CATV network is definitely and undeniably a fibre optically networked infrastructure.
So much misunderstanding, my head will explode trying to explain all these basic concepts.
Firstly: That technician is utterly retarded. Does he honestly think Virgin Media actually run the data centres which host streaming media? No. Buffering is due to lack of upstream bandwidth or server resources at the host server which is completely out of Virgin Media or any residential ISP's control.
The phrase "Say goodbye to buffering" is simply a figure of speech describing their mammoth speeds. They're not actually guaranteeing you won't get buffering, and to assume you wont ever get buffering is absolutely preposterous. However I can understand how uninformed individuals may take it literally.
Secondly: They are doubling everyone's speeds. The reason that dude is getting 0.5Mb/s is because he's on a high utilisation UBR. It doesn't take a telephone call to install miles of new fibre to handle bandwidth overheads. It takes weeks of laying new cable and can require planning permission from councils. I had the exact same issue of high utilisation about 12 months ago. But they did fix it in about 7 weeks, and now my internet is absolutely spot on 50Mb/s. In fact the software limit set in my modem's firmware is 53000000 bps and I get EXACTLY that amount in speed tests. The fact that there is no "syncing" involved in IP over CATV, as opposed to A/DSL means that I get 100% of the advertised bandwidth.
Thirdly: It is the fastest broadband in the UK. BT fibre is only 80Mb/s IIRC. Virgin Media's current top package is 100Mb/s and will soon be 120Mb/s.
Finally:
Please explain why shouldn't they be allowed to call it fibre optic.
Because Virgin Media's CATV network is definitely and undeniably a fibre optically networked infrastructure.
So much misunderstanding, my head will explode trying to explain all these basic concepts.
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Or it could be a lack/over subscription of Virgins Peering capacity which is under their control. If buffering happens on one Network and not on another then that's not down to the host server resources, it down to the capacity of the Network.
This problem is old as the Internet itself, your connection might be "big and fat" but you'll always be brought down to the lowest common denominator.
I guess as a customer you could argue why should you care, if you're paying for a service it's not really your job to worry about the capacity planning of Virgins Network. Surely before offering a customer a service Virgin should ensure that you have the capacity to deliver that service!
HEADRAT
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I await your head exploding
So what about the Virgin co-ax cable coming into your house?
Where available, BT offer FTTP. My reseller price list for Enta offers an assortment of speed choices including 100/30, 110/15, 330/20 and 330/30Mbps.
Well Virgin had 25 ads pulled so someone disagreed with the fastest broadband, its the way the adverts are worded.
It's misleading because it isn't fibre to the home. They've copied BT and jumped on the "let's confuse consumers" bandwagon.
Have been with virgin since the days of 256 kbps "Telewest Broadband/Blueyonder" and never had any problems with them, have had the occasional downtime but soon gets resolved within an hour or so. Currently on 60MB at home and 100MB at my uni house and always seem to get their advertised speeds, any other times it's usually half of that and I'm still happy.
O rly?
If they had interviewed me I could have told them how Brilliant Virgin is. Ultra low pings, great speeds & Zero down time.
Can't tell if sarcasm or not
Ever since VM took over the cable companies the quality (for me and quite a lot of my friends on them) went downhill.
Can't tell if sarcasm or not
Completely serious. My connection is that good that when a neighbour on the opposite side of a busy road had issues I let him use my wifi to play FPS on his PS3.
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No problems here either.
No bias either, as i work for them, Business side though...nice discount
No bias either, as i work for them, Business side though...nice discount
First you say that buffering is due to the internet and upstream, then you say that the guy getting very low speeds at peak times is due to contention in his local area. 0.5Mb would probably cause buffering!
And you only had to wait 7 weeks for it to be fixed - so that's nearly 2 months of having a crap internet connection? And this is OK? BT FTTP is 330Mb, Hyperoptic is 1Gb, and I think there are a few other proper fibre installations which are quicker.
By this standard, 56k dialup by someone close to the exchange is fibre optically networked infrastructure. It'll be fibre all the way to the exchange, followed by a short copper run. That the ASA let them get away with calling HFC fibre (and subsequently BT with VDSL2) is an absolute farce.
I genuinely wish Virgin weren't a bunch of marketing led morons seeking higher headline speeds instead of providing a decent product. I would love it if they pursued a RFoG rollout - then they could legitimately call it fibre and I'd probably sign up straight away. Sadly, I don't see it happening anytime soon.
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