Virgin Media already looking to 400Mbps broadband

[crazyronnie]

http://www.techradar.com/news/intern...c=rss&attr=all

[v0id]

They can look at it all they want, same as this illusive 100Mbps they were supposed to be looking at but until it's available to their customers at a reasonable price I don't give a flying fig.

[dd11]

Originally Posted by v0id

They can look at it all they want, same as this illusive 100Mbps they were supposed to be looking at but until it's available to their customers at a reasonable price I don't give a flying fig.

I second that.



As always, nothing about uploads, *yawn*

[Ignitionnet]

8x4 8 downstream 4 upstream modems. These chipsets have been around since the start of last year.

This doesn't mean much - the modems released with the original 512kbps services were in theory capable of 38Mbps and since the ntl:Home 120 this theoretical capacity went up to 51Mbps.

http://www.motorola.com/Business/US-...teways/SBG6580
http://www.cisco.com/web/consumer/su...m_DPC3010.html

[rickymallory]

It is certainly starting to look interesting... especially with what could happen to the lower tiers, they may be gradually switched to the docsis 3 network with just 50, 100, 200 and 400Mb/s packages.

I don't feel there will be a need for the 2, 10 and maybe 20Mb's tiers in say 5 years time. They can upgrade equipment as contracts end and the customer takes a new contract. IMO it makes sense and the "the customer may not need 'x' speed" argument may be valid right now but it wont be valid in say 5+ years.

[broadbandking]

Interesting to see if they can do it, I will be happy so get on a trial.

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by rickymallory

It is certainly starting to look interesting... especially with what could happen to the lower tiers, they may be gradually switched to the docsis 3 network with just 50, 100, 200 and 400Mb/s packages.

I don't feel there will be a need for the 2, 10 and maybe 20Mb's tiers in say 5 years time. They can upgrade equipment as contracts end and the customer takes a new contract. IMO it makes sense and the "the customer may not need 'x' speed" argument may be valid right now but it wont be valid in say 5+ years.

Of course all customers will be on DOCSIS 3 eventually, just it's a tad early to even be mentioning 400Mbit products given that we're still on 50Mbps.

It's like releasing 512kbps and saying that VM are looking to 38Mbps back in 2000 - absurd.

What the technology can do and what will be released are very different things... don't get excited or even consider things 'interesting' yet.

[weesteev]

50Mb is here, 100Mb is on the way, 200Mb is starting trial.... whats not to be excited about! Some people prefer to have the fastest speed available and will pay for that privilege as well, I for one cant wait for these faster speeds to be rolled out, its certainly more progress than any other ISP.

[jb66]

40 meg upload please

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by weesteev

50Mb is here, 100Mb is on the way, 200Mb is starting trial.... whats not to be excited about! Some people prefer to have the fastest speed available and will pay for that privilege as well, I for one cant wait for these faster speeds to be rolled out, its certainly more progress than any other ISP.

It's only bandwidth, not worth getting too excited about especially when 200Mbps is 2 years away from release, probably be out around Olympics time, and 400, no idea. Most people just want it to pull moviez, warez and stuff down at higher speeds which will get them a slap in the not too distant future anyways.

BT have trialled 1Gbps, means nothing until I can go to a website or make a call and place an order.

I'm hoping for a service that doesn't fall over for a week at a time, my primary reason for ditching Virgin right now, Telewest cowboys neglecting various areas on their network while waiting to be acquired and Virgin forcing 50Mbps out of networks without making the investment to ensure they can cope with them.

Couldn't care less about the downstream upgrades they are cheap and easy. The good bit for me and many others will be upstream as it'll force Virgin to, reluctantly, upgrade the networks appropriately.

So I'm more excited about 50/5 which thanks to Telewest's bodgery in the past and VM's bean counters won't be here in this affluent South-West London suburb until at the earliest April - June 2011 - just in time to be beaten by BT making 40/15 available in March.

EDIT: Just as a note 200Mbps was being trialled last year in Ashford, 100Mbps and up was trialled 4 years ago, 50Mbps upstream has also been trialled. Trials mean nothing for the products, things like the 10:1 rollout we're seeing happen now mean something.

[General Maximus]

Originally Posted by jb66

40 meg upload please

less is more as they say. Although we cant see how things are going to change over the next couple of years I can quite confidently say that I think I'll be quite content with 100mbit in two years time and I would prefer to have 100/40 next year instead of VM spending a tonne of £££ and doing months of tests for me to get 400/40 in 5 years time.

But like Ignitionnet said, 10 years ago i was on 512k and thought it was bees knees going from 5k/sec on dialup to 70k/sec. Maybe I'll be sitting here in 2020 on a 1gbit connection reminiscing about the good old days when I was on 50mbit

[Charlie_Bubble]

How about they solve the problem of me having to wait in some kind of queue to play any VOD on a weekend, because my area is 'busy', before they make plans for huge bandwidth changes. Sort the TV network out VM. You obviously don't have enough TV bandwidth to start with.

[Gavin78]

I'm on 50mb BB and it doesn't mean squat because most of the websites I go on dont put out 50mb speeds when browsing so unless I am actually downloading something that can use the 50mb which its rare I ever get beyond 2 maybe 3 meg on newsgroups. so it seems pointless to rush out any other BB at the moment until the internet in general sorts itself out.

[Horizon]

Originally Posted by Charlie_Bubble

You obviously don't have enough TV bandwidth to start with.

They've got the bandwidth, it's the capacity to utilise that bandwidth to its fullest is the problem. More modems would be a good start.

I always used to say on forums that you don't need faster speeds, yet strangely as the speeds have gone up, I've found a way to make use of it.

But I echo what has been said, bring on 200mb, 400mb etc, but it's no good if I can only use that for a limited time each day.

For a good start, it would be nice for 20mb, to be 20mb all day. Whereas at the moment its a 5mb unlimited service boosted to 20mb for a small period during the daytime. It's only a real 20mb service at night. But that's not how VM sell it or market it...

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Gavin78

so it seems pointless to rush out any other BB at the moment until the internet in general sorts itself out.

You'll be waiting a long time. Historically, demand for high speed has always outstripped supply, and the fix has always been just around the corner.

All that actually happens is that fix is applied, and then something else comes out that makes even greater use of network bandwidth than people originally planned up to the point where the network can barely cope.

Then someone comes up with a fix for *that* problem and the whole cycle starts again.