what cable do Virgin Media use from outside to the modem inside

k77vgs · 03-03-2010, 23:15

Hi guys,

what cable do Virgin media use in this day and age, to connect from the distribution point (the box they stick outside ur house on the wall - i maybe using the wrong name for it

) to the modem inside the house???

darren.b · 04-03-2010, 02:08

Coax. Basically TV aerial cable, but better quality. And it usually has the phone cable stuck to it too so it looks like a double cable going into the box outside. One fat, one thin. Although that might depend on your area. It is usually split into two inside the box and your modem is fed from the fat cable, the same one that feeds cable TV.

k77vgs · 04-03-2010, 10:22

well you get several types of coxial cables, eg. RG6, CT100??
does anyone know exactly what type virgin use#??

Digital Fanatic · 04-03-2010, 11:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by k77vgs

well you get several types of coxial cables, eg. RG6, CT100??
does anyone know exactly what type virgin use#??

Usually RG6

**Chris** · 04-03-2010, 11:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by k77vgs

Hi guys,

what cable do Virgin media use in this day and age, to connect from the distribution point (the box they stick outside ur house on the wall - i maybe using the wrong name for it

) to the modem inside the house???

Out of curiosity, Why do you ask?

If you're thinking of changing the cabling inside your house, going down your local Maplin and buying a load of 'satellite grade coax' with moulded f-plugs on either end should do you just fine.

If that is what you're up to though, do bear in mind that technically it's against your T&Cs of service to alter the cabling yourself. If you upset your signal levels (by altering the overall cable length too much, using substandard cable or making a mess of the connections*, for example) and have to have a tech out as a result, you'll get thumped with the repair bill. So proceed with caution.

*Another reason why moulded f-plugs are good, it's one less thing to go wrong...

k77vgs · 04-03-2010, 12:11

the reason for me asking is, bcos i am just having my house rewired, and the room i will be using as a study, is where the broadband connection would come into, which happens to be in middle of the house, and i did not want a black bb cable running up the wall and then across, outside my house, so my sparky is going the install a cable (Coxial - ct100) from the study (within walls) to the outside at the side of the house, and leave them naked, so when i install virgin bb in the house, the tech can just connect to that. i have rang virgin weather they would be willing to connect to third party wiring, 2 ppl have said it would be fine. do you see any problems arrising?

**Chris** · 04-03-2010, 12:18

Hmmm ... I think it would depend on how well the job appears to have been done and what cable has been used. There are a couple of people on this forum who are in the know about these sorts of things - keep an eye on this thread for a while, hopefully one of them will be along soon enough with some good advice.

I would say that the safest scenario is if you can somehow install cable runs rather than the cables themselves, so the VM install tech can pull his own cable through. That may not be practical for you though, and if you can get away with it, pre-wiring done by a professional with the appropriate grade of cable is going to be best for you.

k77vgs · 04-03-2010, 12:42

hmmm yeh i did ring virgin and the guy i spoke to if i sign up now, they would be happy for an engineer to drop some cable off for me, so i could use that but the only problem was my sparky is only working till today, and virgin said there is no way they can drop the cable off today, so my best bet was to find out what they use, so i could jus buy it my self!

**Chris** · 04-03-2010, 12:45

It is a tricky one. The biggest problem is, no matter what they tell you on the phone, the final decision about whether to proceed or not is with the install tech who actually turns up to do the job. For that reason, nobody can say with any finality whether it can be done or not (least of all Sales, who are naturally going to want to give you the most optimistic answer possible).

To return to the answer Digital Fanatic gave earlier, RG6 would be the cable to buy if you're going to get your own. For internal wiring I believe they normally use cable with white sheathing.

k77vgs · 04-03-2010, 12:54

lol yeh i expect that from ppl off the phone, i think my best bet is to sign up with them, and get the engineer to drop some cable off, and ask the sparky to install it in the final fix.

jungleguy · 05-03-2010, 08:51

try booking a home visit.
http://allyours.virginmedia.com/webs...our-details.do

calmpitbull · 09-03-2010, 23:54

That home visit will just be some sales dude, not much help really. I would just go ahead and order the services.

Get good quality RG6 cable (and i mean good quality) and leave lots of slack at each end, the installer will jump at the chance of using it believe me. Its got to last so make sure care is taken on installation not to kink the cable or run it anywhere where it can get damaged.

Use white for internal runs as some black is not within fire regulations. If you need black make sure it is ok for internal runs.

When you order see if you can get a pre install check so someone can leave you the correct cable, if not you'll have to buy it.