Virgin Media - cabling streets

Masterdog

Masterdog

Masterdog

Soldato
Joined
1 Jan 2007
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3,186
Location
Exeter
Hey all,

Hopefully there's someone who works for Virgin Media or knows a lot about them that can answer my question. I really want to get Virgin Media, but I live in a new road (well, about two years old now) and they're not in my street. Some, though not all, of the streets around me can get it.
Does anyone know if it'd be likely Virgin will ever cable my street, or is not cost effective, or are they simply content to stick with the old telewest/ntl network?

Cheers,

MD
 
Unfortunately they don't seem to be interested in cabling up any new areas at the moment. I don't know if the situation has changed in recent months but I'm pretty sure it hasn't.

Maybe Virgin will consider expanding where NTL/TW didn't. Here's hoping.
 
I'm in south wales and they stopped cabling around hear years ago, they invested so heavily in the infrstructure they need to get back some of the money they spent on that before they start expanding again. When they were cabling they seemed to do it in random areas, I think they must have done some sort of take up survey and then targeted only the areas where they knew there would be a good take up rate.


doggo
 
It did get a mention here . Simply put the answer in the short to mid term is no. Network build is very minimal and that's not going to change any time soon.
 
my postcode is .. 3HL and we have cable. My parentsl live at .. 3TS and dont have it.

so obviously very similar postcodes. Large chunks of our town were cabled up, including mine. but my parents new housing estate never got it. 10 years on, they still havent

dont think you ever will, not for a long time at least.
 
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I work for VM and there is talk of cabling pocket areas where there is cable in the surrounding streets and a high density of houses to cable fairly easily.

I wouldn't hold your breath though, I suspect they'd cop out for the cheaper option and offer the offnet stuff over BT (with iptv coming later this year). As for expanding the network... I very much doubt it.

Id love for the missing streets in cable areas to be cabled up, its so frustrating for staff and customers when the house 10 metres away can get cable and you cant.
 
MrLOL said:
sounds about right tbh

the investment is going to be in BT's 21CN network

not in cable.
Click to expand...

As far as im aware BT 21CN is only the backend from exchange upwards, it won't solve the quality of the line from exchange to house which is the real problem with the BT network at present. Its just replacing legacy exchange equipment (mainly voice), although they are rolling out adsl2+, this is separate to 21CN.

Although I believe once 21CN is up and running it would enable BT to upgrade the copper loop more easily and provide ethernet/fibre to the home. But this would be a separate project years away, if it happens.
 
Don't mean to hijack, but on a similar note:

If you street is all cabled up — quite a few people on the street have the tell-tale boxes and cables on their houses, there are two of the elaborate green boxes ~20m from your house in each direction — and the cable runs <1m from your house, under a grass verge... what are the odds of them digging the grass verge up, running a cable through the (presumably existent) conduit and hooking your house up?

I've been forever googling for such installation specifics but it seems no one knows this sort of thing?
 
assuming the cable is down, and there is a point on the street by your house, then yes they will dig up the verge to run it into the property (it's pretty much what they always do I believe).

I believe what you need to look for is a small round cabletel manhole cover on the street by your house, or failing that give them a ring...
 
I used to deal with property not on database/wayleave issues on a daily basis for TW and while Kiblerock is right there has always been talk of backbuilding on the existing network but the volume of work actually done is tiny and if you have a private or unadopted street it will not hapen. Each addition requires an planner to visit*, the work has to be costed and approved internally then deending on the wayleave situation and the council in question we may need them to attend to approve what our planner has stated needs doing, when that's done we can think about actually digging things .. untill the gov introduce the new street works restrictions they've postponed introducing 3 times or you live in Scotland where things are already delayed slightly due to existing legislation in place.

Diggging up verges is a lot more likley depending on capacity in the street than anything else but the majority of telesales are less than happy to deal with this aspect, a field sales person will be more than happy to though ...


*Smaller additions such as houses on an existing street that's cabled being added are handled by field sales, they however can't approve/submit larger jobs, it's litrally the fill in's on house/flat conversions etc.
 
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ADSL with a limited selection of IPTV isn't quite the same though is it ? You don't get the speeds of on network broadband, you don't get the option of chans from any of the non free packages and you still need a BT line but as Virgin's ADSL customer base came as part of the virgin mobile deal it's nice to see they've developed it rather than letting it stagnate and die.
 
Avalon said:
ADSL with a limited selection of IPTV isn't quite the same though is it?
Click to expand...

Although its cheaper and looks better on the spreadsheet, plus the money saved will go into the bonus/severance package of the decision maker when they leave to make place for the next cowboy to come along.

/ntl


But seriously, I hope they do cable these areas up, although as you say... its a long and costly process. Saying that though its been mentioned a lot more recently, so hopefully its being considered properly this time.
 
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