So it seems Openreach are coming after all. Would you jump ship from Virgin?

Vertigo

Vertigo

Vertigo

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So this doesn't really go in either the VM or FTTP threads so started a new one.

Some background. I live in a cul-de-sac in the SE Birmingham suburbs. I've been with Virgin, in various guises, since moving here 21+ years ago. There are no other high speed services available, only basic ADSL2.
My area has been on the Openreach rollout schedule since 2019. Initially the whole area was covered and putting my postcode into the checker confirmed it was on the plan. Then, one day in 2020/21, my postcode suddenly started coming up as "no plans".
I had a long back and forth with Openreach about this, trying to work out if it was an error. They eventually came back saying it wasn't and the issue was that my cul-de-sac had "direct buried" cables and thus no conduit through which to pull new cables. They said they had no plans on how to deal with this for the foreseeable future.

Fast forward to yesterday when, out of the blue, a guy knocks the door and starts explaining that Openreach are rolling out soon. I explain the above history to him and he's adamant that they're digging up the road and laying fibre in the next few months. Says they've already started doing the other 'branch' of the cul-de-sac. He's gauging interest and clearly trying to get people to commit in some fashion.

So, after years of assuming I'll get no FTTP and being thankful I can at least get Virgin, it seems I might now have a choice in the not-too-distant future. This raises a conundrum.
My current contract with Virgin is up next month. Normally I'd be doing the usual haggling song-and-dance to try to get some kind of deal in exchange for another 18 month commitment. I never get much of a deal because they know full well I have no alternatives.

The question now becomes, should I sit tight and suffer paying full price for a couple of months at least to see what actually transpires with Openreach?
Assuming they do roll out, is it worth waiting and switching from Virgin? I know the knee-jerk reaction will be yes as I appreciate the benefits of genuine FTTP over Virgin's HFC network with better latency being a bit benefit (I'm a casual gamer).
On the downside, I am a very heavy downloader and currently have Virgin gigglebit with solid 1150Mbps speeds, plus they've finally caught up on upload too. AIUI, even the gigglebit FTTP services top out around the 900-950Mbps range so I'd actually be giving up around 200Mpbs or 17% of my download speed. Is it worth it?

I should add that, unlike many, I've actually had very few problems with Virgin and find their service pretty reliable, which only makes the decision harder.
I'd be interested to hear opinions, especially from anyone who's jumped from Virgin to FTTP and what their impressions are.

Cheers :)
 
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Renew the contract. Even with OR starting work it will take months for them to connect everything up, and then another few months for it to actually go live. By the time it's up and running you'll probably be more than halfway through the renewed contract, maybe even near the end. Then once that time comes around, see what both sides have to offer.
 
Yup you'll be waiting more than a couple of months for sure so I would renew the contract.

I was in a similar boat, albeit with an altnet (Toob). They'd started laying fibre down last year, I forget exactly when but I think it was September/October ish and my Virgin contract was up at the end of January so I thought it would all tie in perfectly. But it didn't - it still wasn't available to order at the time and there was no ETA so I renewed the Virgin contract.

Toob was only available to order at the end of May so it took them months to get things sorted, even with the initial fibre layout completed - although it was worth it in the end :) I imagine Openreach will be similar for timescales though.

Also my parents were supposed to have BT FTTP available in their area months ago but still no sign of it or even an ETA.
 
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Would love to hear what Openreach do for you re: direct buried line and no conduit. I'm in the exact same situation, I've had a new AltNet cancel my order due to this in the last month. The irony is they've spent probably well into 6 digits, laying fibre and installing new underground chambers across my estate which is 200-250 homes. Every single one of us has buried lines. :D

Currently got an escalated query with one of their account managers and build team, figuring out what the f they are doing, did they not survey the estate before deciding to lay fibre and spend months on it?

Now Openreach are flying over my estate laying fibre too, can't wait to see later in the year when I try order what they have to say! :o
 
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Thanks all, sounds like the best plan is to renew with VM for now and keep an eye on it.

@Sparx I'll report back here with info on what happens (if anything!)
 
I've never heard Openreach survey people for some sort of informal commitment to taking the service before deploying. The demand led stuff is a lot more formal with people pledging vouchers to the build.
 
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I'm in a similar position, been with VM (Telewest) since 1999 and the only alternative is still ~30mbit FTTC. It looks like OR are starting to build in the town, as are Truespeed and YouFibre. The latter went live last year sometime although it only looks to be in a tiny number of roads that have over head cables. So nothing to jump ship to yet but hopefully will be several options later in the year / next year. When my VM contract ran out earlier in the year I agreed a few months of continuing at the same price/conditions so will be out of contract again soon so will do as suggested here and just get a 12 month deal and see whats around then.
 
Vertigo1 said:
I should add that, unlike many, I've actually had very few problems with Virgin and find their service pretty reliable, which only makes the decision harder.
I'd be interested to hear opinions, especially from anyone who's jumped from Virgin to FTTP and what their impressions are.

Cheers :)
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I moved to FTTP (Openreach) about six months ago having been with VM for over 20 years! It was always a hassle at renewal time until it got to a point where I threatened to leave. VM knew we had new Openreach installed in our area and started offering a good deal. I would have stayed with VM but during the last 6 to 9 months with them, we kept on loosing service (upto an hour during daytime). There were no explanations from VM, so we left.

If you are happy with VM service, I would stay with them. When it works, the service is solid.
 
FTTP is a better technology than DOCSIS in terms of latency and capacity, I would always pick FTTP if it were available unless it was something like the Persimmon FTTP vs. Virgin Media in which case the choice would be harder.
 
Vertigo1 said:
The question now becomes, should I sit tight and suffer paying full price for a couple of months at least to see what actually transpires with Openreach?
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Yes. You may be waiting 6 months for Openreach. The fibre may not go live until long after they've installed it.
 
Caged said:
FTTP is a better technology than DOCSIS in terms of latency and capacity, I would always pick FTTP if it were available unless it was something like the Persimmon FTTP vs. Virgin Media in which case the choice would be harder.
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It's not quite that simple thought.

I understand FTTP is fundamentally better than DOCSIS but the fact is I have few problems with VM myself - it runs at full speed 99% of the time and my latency is good enough for my needs.

Given that, moving to FTTP would actually cut my download speed by around 200Mpbs for little tangible benefit.
 
wizard said:
Why would it cut it by 200Mbps? I get 940ish on FTTP 900Mbps package
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Which is 200+ slower than my current speed :)

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Vertigo1 said:
It's not quite that simple thought.

I understand FTTP is fundamentally better than DOCSIS but the fact is I have few problems with VM myself - it runs at full speed 99% of the time and my latency is good enough for my needs.

Given that, moving to FTTP would actually cut my download speed by around 200Mpbs for little tangible benefit.
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Apart from latency, buferbloat, jitter, (lack of) customer service, and no ability to switch to anyone else apart from VM.
 
Ok yes, I've already acknowledged that FTTP as a technology is superior but the point I'm making is that there are pros and cons. I'd have to weight up whether the benefits of improved latency and jitter are worth the speed reduction and that's different for each use case.
As for customer service, again I've never really had a problem although I know that's tempting fate.

Interesting on the 1.6Gbps product, I was actually going to ask whether there were any plans for FTTP above 1Gb as they all seem to have settled around the 940-ish mark (no coincidence this is the limit for gigabit Ethernet).
 
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