Virgin Media Fibre Optic: Thoughts?

Discussion in Internet Broadband Access started by EvoDoom • Aug 1, 2012.

  1. EvoDoom

    EvoDoomMember

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2012
    Threads:
    4
    Messages:
    42
    Likes Received:
    0
    Hey there, I am planning to switch over from Sky Broadband to Virgin media's fibre optic 1 gig service pretty soon. I thought I'd come on here and ask you guys for your experiences. Has anyone had dealings with them in the past? What were they like? Thanks in advance, Ross.
     
  2. gina121

    gina121Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 29, 2012
    Threads:
    12
    Messages:
    322
    Likes Received:
    2
    Yes why not if you can afford the monthly subscription fees! I am seriously considering fiber optic too, but am thinking of BT Infinity 2 instead, which has comparatively good speeds. The online reviews for both Virgin and BT, however, make me wary, since there are mixed opinions about both services, in terms of speeds, customer service, etc. If we were able to sign up for a test-run before we go for a year-long contract, I'd have tried it out by now.
     
  3. AKearton

    AKeartonNew Member

    Joined:
    Aug 9, 2012
    Threads:
    0
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Hi guys,
    Having been a Virgin media customer for over three years now, I would very definitely recommend them as a provider, albeit with a few small caveats.

    Firstly, though, the positives:

    - The quality of Virgin's fibre optic services is unmatched by any of the other big players, including BT. Having just doubled their speeds across the entire network, you'll be getting ridiculously fast internet access.
    -The TiVo television service is well worth it. It has lots of 'off-timetable' viewing available through their on demand services, and the apps allow you to access things like Youtube and Spotify, which is great.
    - It is very possible to negotiate deals with most Virgin customer service reps. If you get one that's a bit hard to deal with, just wrap the call up as quick as and then ring straight back and explain what has happened.

    There are, however, a few little drawbacks to being with Virgin:

    - You WILL have to ring up on a yearly basis and renegotiate your contract with them, and the outcome of this really depends on your ability to play their game. For example, I am paying £42 for a package with the highest TV package (excluding Sky premium channels), 60mb internet, and M phone. A member of my family is paying £59 for the same thing.
    - Virgin's traffic management policy will possibly see your internet cut to half of it's full potential. This lasts for five hours at a time, and is based on caps laid out in a document that Virgin Media have on their website.
    - Upgrading the phone side of things costs more than it is worth for me. It may be different for others, but it is something to take into consideration.

    Hope this helps.
     
  4. EvoDoom

    EvoDoomMember

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2012
    Threads:
    4
    Messages:
    42
    Likes Received:
    0
    Thanks for the replies, the phone thing isn't actually a problem for us as we all have mobile contracts and the landline only seems to give us grief via annoyance calls... we are seriously considering scrapping the phone all together!