Virgin Media has
this morning announced that it will begin rolling out a ‘100 meg’ broadband
service by the end of the year.
“There is nothing we can’t do with our fibre optic cable network, and the
upcoming launch of our flagship 100Mb service will give our customers the
ultimate broadband experience. Just as we led the way by launching the UK’s
first ever next generation service, we want to keep giving our customers the
very best broadband available, by investing in technological innovation and
transforming the experience they have when they are online. The launch of
Virgin Media’s 100Mb service will be a historic moment and will mean the UK
will be comparable to other leading broadband nations.”Neil Berkett, CEO, Virgin Media
The company has also announced it will be expanding its 200Mbps trials to
Coventry, with some users in Kent already testing the super-fast broadband
service. It says this will help to focus on future technologies such as home
teleconferencing and on-demand HD downloads.
This move will put pressure on BT which is currently rolling out its ‘up to
40 meg’ services which use similar fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) technology
already deployed widely within Virgin Media’s network. There has been some
speculation recently that Virgin may be looking to provide wholesale cable
broadband services, although strategically the company is in a stronger
position by taking advantage of its unique infrastructure.
Virgin Media has also published its fourth quarter results for
2009. The most interesting figures with respect to broadband are that the
number of customers on its 20Mbps and 50Mbps cable products has increased by
45% to 560,300 in the last 12 months, and the number of 50Mbps customers is
41,400 an increase of 81% since the previous quarters results. The sharp rise
in 50Meg numbers, is likely to be a result of the price drop and a greater
awareness of the product availability.
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go Virgin GO.
nice to see a telco not relying on obsolete copper and ‘up to 2meg’. Once the fibre is in then upgrading is easy. Gigabit or bust.
Virgin currently offers me their National service with an estimated throughput of 500Kbps. I’m not in a rural area, I’m in a borough of Basingstoke with ~4000 homes.
BT upgraded only 77 of 171 cabinets with FTTC and most appear to be located to tempt Virgin’s customers, who now have a choice of 50Mbps Virgin, 40Mbps FTTC or 10Mbps+ ADSL2+
The irony is that I’d have paid up-to £100/mo for a decent connection, but there is no supplier willing to install the infrastructure into the empty CATV ducts laid throughout this borough.
To Cyberdoyle: The fibre with Virgin is only to the street cabinet.
But the coax cable (metal) does well at carrying DOCSIS signals.
100Mb/s broadband, but after you’ve downloaded at that speed for 20 seconds at peak time, your daily usage allowance is used up and it’s throttled to 1Mb/s.
hi Andrew, I know its coax but at least the fibre is in the area… my friend is on it. this is his speed (urban blackburn)http://www.speedtest.net/result/727421072.png he told me he was getting 100 meg ‘cos his computer said he was’. I told him to do a speedtest. He was amazed when his results showed only 2 meg. he has virgin cable into his house. (think he’s throttled)
@jrawle,
Says who? The 50mbps service has not had any limit on it while it has been running. Why should 100mbps.
I have just moved out of a house where I had virgin. Dam seems I am gonna miss this boat 🙁 never mind
no mention of upstream… typical even tho the fttc has a max of 10 meg i dont think virgins 100 meg will come close to that…
Once again, nice headline grabber but why don’t they plough into getting 95% coverage instead of faster speeds that only half the country can access
Because they want to make money GMAN, why waste money deploying networks they’ll never get their money back on especially given the financial issues from the ‘cherry’ areas.
100Mbit, not really a persuasive product to me but devil in detail.
what’s the upload?
Anyone know the upload speeds?
Wonder if they will ever upgrade Slough from analogue cable to digital.
As a virgin customer the only reason I have their 50mbit line over say a 20mbit isnt the head line speed its the faster upload and lack of draconian traffic management policies.
I want to use my line when I want it not a fraction of a time a day. 50mbit means I can burst my usage when I need it and the rest of the month use not much at all. I will only switch for a significant upstream boost or to keep a clean connection.
I have 4 Virgin green boxes surrounding me with the furthest away by 400 foot and am unable to get VM as I live on a small private road. So I am sat in the middle of a puddle and all the data is speeding past me, on my little capped in the evening ISP, as they do not want to invest bandwidth in my exchange. Its 5pm and I am already down to 478K. I feel that I have gone back 6 years to dial up
Posted by jrawle ……
100Mb/s broadband, but after you’ve downloaded at that speed for 20 seconds at peak time, your daily usage allowance is used up and it’s throttled to 1Mb/s.
there are no usage limits on the vm network above there 20mb pakage
package*…….;)
bring it on v/m….the future seams to be getting closer at a faster rate than i imagined….;)….10/10
it will only put avery small part of the UK with speeds up to other country`s.
About half the population is hardly a ‘very smsll part’.
“There is nothing we can’t do with our fibre optic cable network,
Oh but there is, you can’t get it to work in the Leigh, Warrington, & Wigan areas. Everytime you ring 150/151 the automated answer says “sorry but post code areas WN this & WA that we know you have a problem” then some guy/gal says 4 hrs. Even after a week 4hrs useless t****
@chefbyte
“Its 5pm and I am already down to 478K”.
You should be asking in the “Which ISP?” forum for suggestions. There are plenty of ISPs available to you whose speed does not fall in the evening.
@ uniquename I love the daytime speeds as I get an average of 7.6 every day, its just the evening speeds that are crippling. Plus I cannot change ISP for reasons I cannot disclose
Probably end up like this…
10Mb -> 20Mb
20Mb -> 50Mb
50Mb -> 100Mb
So the new 50Mb will be STM-ed by the sounds of it and the 100Mb will be unlimited.
Moving to a new property within VM coverage during the summer, I want to know that their will be a non-STM option by July otherwise I might have to get ADSL2+ instead :/
Also if anyone has any 50Mb experience/knowledge, is it actually unmetered (aka. Can I do a few TB’s a month with no problem?)
No otester 20Mbit is going up to 50 and it’s unlikely that 50 will go up to 100. If you pull a few TB a month you probably will have a problem in that you may be degrading the service in your area. Visiting Amazon and buying the stuff will use far less bandwidth.
*is not going up to 50 that was supposed to be. Swapping out over 500,000 modems to deliver a free upgrade probably isn’t on Virgin’s radar, nor swapping out over 40,000 Virgin provided home routers.
Most if not all C&W LLU providers offer unmetered 16Mbps (5.25TB) services for as low as £18.
I don’t see why VM can’t do this for £38 for 50Mbps, especially as they own the network.
@CB/Dixi
If the ‘Big 4’/movie studios/BSA weren’t going around suing people, screwing over artists, being greedy and overcharging then maybe I’d buy their stuff.
Until a viable ‘what they call legal’ alternative shows up, I shall only buy stuff from independent entities, or find other means to get what I want.
Also CB, downloading in england for personal use IS legal, just uploading isn’t, so usenet FTW!
If the media cartels gave an all-you-can-eat service like usenet for £20 a month, I would sign up (with max speeds ofcourse). Usenet isn’t as user friendly as many think, there currently is market demand for a faster, cleaner method.
For example, getting a HD movie:
Amazon – £20, day or two wait, need a Blu-Ray drive, limited user interface, can’t skip when I want, have to watch stupid trailers/FACT stuff, can’t copy.
Usenet – £20 a month, currently can get a full 1080p (10GB) movie in 105 minutes, assuming I had a 50Mbps connection, make that 25 minutes. No restrictions at all, with additional features extra.
Or just don’t have the things at all if you object to artists being screwed over, that they are too expensive, too restricted, etc.
Anyway easy to drag all of this off topic so I’ll shush here and leave you to continue trying to justify helping yourself to others’ work for free.
@otester.
I’ve done 3TB on 50MB and they haven;t said anything but then again I have been told that they can’t monitor it poroperly yet.
Also it’s legal in the UK? Where does it say that? And since when? I’m interested to learn that.
@docki
Sounds like they got me as a customer then.
Our government hasn’t yet garnished the power to say that we can’t do anything that they don’t approve of (like in the PRC) [touchwood].
CPDA 1988 only says it is an offense to upload/distribute. It is legal, for the time being. With the DEB coming along though with Clause 17, the SoS could edit it to cover downloading as well, or worse…
@CB
VPN > DPI.
@Dixi
If artists stick a donate button on their site, I’ll send them their dues.
@CARPETBURN
When you visit this site you download copyrighted material. Look at the footer. I assume thinkbroadband hold the necessary distribution rights though to allow for that. 😉
On-topic: It’s all well and good VM offering this but they do not serve our area (which hosts thousands of households). So I must stick to ~1.5mbit max on DSL…
@CB
All of that refers to uploading/storing upon THEIR system(s), says nothing about downloading.
Read carefully.
‘distribution over our systems’ seems to cover downloading.
Distribution…
“the act of distributing or spreading or apportioning”
[source:princeton.edu]
The higher the ‘up to’ speed claim, the more misleading it will be. 100Mbps exclusive to me truly unlimited implies a capacity of circa 32.8TB for a month.
The limit of the unlimited resources is defined by the peak hour allocation per user – which will be defined by the backhaul connectivity.
We might as well use the theoritical limits of Docsis3 which is 300 Mbps and the theoritical limits of copper which is 150Mbps – symmetric. Having estlished it means so little we could focus on campaigning for ISP planning rules to be pubished.
@otester.
Is that so? Someone seems to habe some clout otherwise Newzbin wouldn’t be in court this month over piracy.. So someone somewhere seems to give a dam. If you look at the front of newzbin.com you’ll see all the case in detail
@docki
Like most usenet/torrent sites they are being a accused of distribution/helping it.
The question isn’t the legality of downloading, it is the legality of linking to copyrighted files.
2 very different pies 🙂
@CB
Read the CDPA 1988.
I might not be clever, but I know the law biatch! lol j/k
@CB
But their terms as you posted don’t say that…
I’ll be within a mile of the exchange, so 20Mb ADSL2+ will be fine if I am forced to leave for w/e reason.
Again – ‘distribution over our systems’ covers downloading’.
The network is part of their systems.
why dont they sort out their current customers slow speeds first!!!
no current slow speeds here..always….10/10….stop moaning…;)
@CB
Category D (cable T&C):
section f…
“Upload, post, publish or transmit any information or software that is protected by copyright or other ownership rights without the permission of its owner; ”
Downloading is not covered here.
section g…
“Copy or distribute any software or services we and/or Virgin Media Entertainment provide (but you may make a back-up copy of the software we provide for your personal use); ”
Refering to THEIR software/services.
I was not able to find your section “consent of the owner etc.” in the cable T&C.
Also if your section is found somewhere, I am not breaking the law, the guy who is UPLOADING the COPY to me IS!
4.2. For the avoidance of doubt, the storage upon and/or distribution over our systems by any User of “pirated” software, or any other materials that are not expressly licensed to the User, will constitute a violation of this section 4 of the AUP.
http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/legal/oncable/acceptableuse.html
@CB
@Somerset
This seems really hard to understand for you guys.
Oxford dictionary:
“transmit
• verb (transmitted, transmitting) 1 cause to pass on from one place or person to another. 2 broadcast or send out (an electrical signal or a radio or television programme). 3 allow (heat, light, etc.) to pass through a medium. 4 communicate (an idea or emotion).”
Notice the words “to cause” and “allow”, this means the UPLOADER is breaking the CDPA and VM’s T&C, not me who is RECEIVING the file, the user who UPLOADs it to me is COPYING the file.
From the CDPA:
“Copyright in a work is infringed by a person who without the licence of the copyright owner transmits the work by means of a telecommunications system (otherwise than by broadcasting or inclusion in a cable programme service), knowing or having reason to believe that infringing copies of the work will be made by means of the reception of the transmission in the United Kingdom or elsewhere.”
It is the UPLOAD/TRANSMITTER/DISTRIBUTOR that would violate the CDPA/VM’s T&C.
In regards to your definition CB, I am not transmitting, I am receiving “a signal by wire” not TRANSMITTING.
@CB
@Somerset
I think you really should just ignore this guy. By his own definition of “transmit” he is breaking the terms. If he is not of sufficient intelligence to realise that, then I would just leave him to live in his own perculiar version of reality.
@CB/Somerset/wirelesspacman
If you disagree with the Oxford dictionary then I rest my case.
I have provided clear evidence on my part.
Also if you want direct confirmation, phone lawdit.
you really should get out more….;)
@otester:It isn’t about the law. It’s about what VM say you should or shouldn’t do. The only thing the law cares about is that contractual terms cannot be unfair or unreasonable.
So VM couldn’t insist that you be naked while using their service because that’s unreasonable but there’s nothing unreasonable about them saying you shouldn’t download copyright material without express permission of the holder.
Whether it’s an illegal act or not isn’t the issue. VM say you musn’t do it and the law will consider that a reasonable and enforceable term of the contract.
..cont’d. So it might not land you in jail but VM can use it as a reason to terminate your connection. Innocent of any crime..but deprived of ‘net access.
‘upon and/or distribution over our systems by any User’
otester – you are the user, you are arranging for the data to be distributed over the VM system.
@Somerset
In reference to “any user”…”distributing over our systems”.
Downloading by definition is the opposite of distribution.
“ISPs have you by the short and curlies should they want to. ”
All sensible ISPs have anti-abuse clauses, but they also all know that many of their customers are breaking those rules. It’s pointless individual ISPs doing much about it as the punters will just move to one that’s not acted yet.
Readers might want to read about recent ACTA discussions, which started life as “anti counterfeiting” (ie physical counterfeiting) and now seem to have gained an “anti downloading” aspect and have revived “three strikes and you’re out”.
@themanstan
Actual transfer of data is breaching the T&C/CDPA.
The instruction is irrelevant and covered neither by VM’s T&C or the CDPA.
Instructions haven’t been copyrighted yet 😉
otester – you are transferring the data over the VM network. If someone gives you stolen goods are you receiving them?
@Somerset
I am not distributing it over their system.
That is what the T&C/CDPA refers to, everything else is irrelavent please keep this on topic, for reference; receiving the file does not break the T&C/CPDA.
As it turns out, the contents of this website have been unlawfully copied from elsewhere, and as a consequence of your downloading of this content, you are all now guilty of copyright infringement.
Legal proceedings have been initiated. Please contact your local copyright authority for a suitable punishment to be arranged, you despicable thieves.
That, or go and learn something (CB, Som, theman, …)
Would you agree that you are requesting and arranging for the downloaded data to be temporarily stored in memory in VM’s servers and routers on its way to you?
Certainly ‘use any material without the express consent of the owner’ covers downloading.
Somerset, you would be requesting data that may or may not be authorised for distribution by the lawful rights holder. That is the responsibility of the distributor and they are to be held liable for holding the necessary permissions.
Are these claims actually true? When I signed up to Virgin I was promised speeds of 5-6 mbps (not “up to” but actual).I have never received speeds exceeding 1 mbps. I know that this is due to my location but Virgin must have checked this before making the claim.
@dandvb above
when they quote speeds for thier national (none cable) service, they are always only estimates as they use BT’s existing network, and they can only go on what various speed checkers can tell them (and they are all only estimated) – there are also other factors that can affect your speed, such as your computer, other devices on your phone line, age/type of phone socket etc, take a look at some of the ADSL speed booster posts and guides on this site (and others) and give some of them a try..
as for everything else.. 😀
They won’t be upgrading as said…
10 -> 20
20 -> 50
50 -> 100
they will be leaving all cusomers where they are, but will no longer be offering the 10mbps service for new customers, the smallest package will be the 20mbps..
All CURRENT customers will get a slight cost reduction, but 20mbps still wont be the price that 10mbps currently is.
As for upload, I have been told (from a number if ‘inside’ sources) that they are concentrating more on upload speeds this year, and are looking at the possibility of evening out the uploads to the following..
10mbps -> 1mbps upload
20mbps -> 2mbps upload
50mbps -> 5mbps upload
Wether or not this is true, remains to be seen, but doing them at these figures makes perfect sence both for capability, capacity, cost and how simple it is to remember etc.
(I hate how it said my comment was too long when I tried to post, hav ehad to do it in 4 lots :()
The 50mbps is not currently capped/STM’d, I pull over 10TB/month without problems… (Game patches, new steam games, HD streams, tvcatchup.com etc)
cf – if you have illegally held data you are responsible for the consequences.
Ghozer – I think we have a free chat forum which is probably more appropriate for your works of fiction.
Re: 10TB on streaming, etc, that pretty much sums up how seriously the rest of your posts should be taken.
Regarding the upload, those are indeed levels that have been mooted but nothing is set yet, depends on a few things. Some hatchet jobs have been done on budgets recently, we’ll see what those do to things.
It’s all very well Virgin offering this service but what about those who can’t get Virgin’s cable? We have a Virgin (ex NTL) trunking down our road. We have a junction box outside our house but Virgin either don’t know or don’t want to know. I have been trying for almost 10 years to get them to accept that the service trunking is there but they seem to have deaf ears. Even emails to “Old Beardy” go ignored. C’est la vie.
@Tony_the_Turner. You might want to read this: http://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Fibre-optic-broadband-cable/Want-Cable-been-told-it-s-not-available-We-might-be-able-to-help/td-p/20585
It may help you get cable
@Ghozer
You tried usenet?
@Somerset
It’s not illegal, what you think/want is the law and what is the law are two, VERY different things.
@Dixinormous – it isn’t just streaming, was using that as an example, and I only watch streamed stuff such ad iPlayer etc, in HD, then you have games that are 6Gb or more each, and I repair machines for friends and family etc so I’m almost always running windows updates on one machine or another.. I do a hell of a lot of syncing to and from business machines also.. It all adds up and without usenet or torrent I clocked 9.8TB in 32 days, I was only rounding up to 10Tb 🙂
@CB
More people doesn’t make it right, it just decreases the probabilty of them all being wrong.
@CB
Assumptions are the mother off all ****-ups.
otester – as it’s actually illegal to copy a CD what makes you think downloading copyright material is OK?
Please continue this in a forum.
Cable Vision’s Optimum Online Ultra uses the tech as virgin offers speeds up to 101 Mbps downstream and up to 15 Mbps upstream!
http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/05/19/really-fast-internet-first-impressions-of-optimum-online-ultra/
nothing you cant do? then give us the same speed up 50mb you tight wads, we pay ridiculous prices for the worst upload speeds in europe!!
was meant to read then give us the 50mb upload speed, such as we pay for the 50mb download service. Right now our upload speed is laughable just laughable. 50mb , we should have a minimum at the very very least of 5mb up but nope we barely get 1.5mb. Most online tv streaming using p2p technology where you upload speed absolutely matters, the faster the better!
so virgin will up there broadband speeds? whoopy doo
there doing enough capping?
whats the point in giving you 10mg 20mg so on if there only going to cut you down to 3mg for four hours at a time if you’ve download 320mg worth of files? during there peak time hell no
they managed up until now.
am i getting my moneys worth? i think not rubbish rules i never agreed too thanks to virgin.
hope they like loosoing custom?
simon