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gogos
25-09-2007, 23:40
Hi all,

I have some questions about cable internet and maybe you can help me.

First of all at the moment I have adsl with Zen and I have a netgear DG834G wireless modem router in which I have connected my pc through ethernet and my macbook using wireless. I am moving house and my only option due to some complications (and the fact that I don't want to pay to BT 125 pounds to install a line, pay for it every month 11 pounds and use it only for internet) is to get Virgin cable broadband or non-cable. I was thinking more towards cable as I can have cable tv as well.

My question is:

1st: can I have the same connection (pc with ethernet + macbook wirelless) I described above using my current router or I need to buy other hardware?

2nd: is really virgin unlimited as they claim? I usually download 50 gigs a month and I had a bad experience with plusnet in the past. I can't really understand from their site.

I appreciate any response and help

regards

GA

AbyssUnderground
26-09-2007, 00:18
ADSL routers are not compatible with cable. You need a Cable/DSL router with a WAN port on it. Linksys WRT54G is a common choice.

Yes virgin is unlimited however between 4pm and 12am you can get put on "STM" which is traffic management. Basically after you hit a set threshold, which is dependent on the tier you are on, your speed will be halved, or in the case of 20Mbps, quartered.

The thresholds are as follows:
2Mbps > 1Mbps @ 350MB
4Mbps > 2Mbps @ 750MB
20Mbps > 5Mbps @ 3GB


After STM is put in place (its automatic), you will be "shaped" for 4 hours, after which your speed will return to full. However this can happen more than once per day. If you get shaped at 4.30 for example, at 8.30 it will turn off, but if by 9.00 you have hit the limit again, you will be shaped for another 4 hours. This can apply up to 12am, so if you hit the limit at 11.59pm you will be shaped until 3.59am.

The point of STM is to avoid the congestion problems a lot of ISP's have. Using STM reduces the possibility of a congested line and/or overloading the UBR and affecting other peoples usage. If you like to download lots and lots of data, do it at night and during the day between 12am and 4pm.

I hope this answers all of your questions :)

gogos
26-09-2007, 10:38
Thank you very much for your reply.

I found this one

Netgear WGR614UK Wireless 54G Cable/DSL Router

I like netgear and is quite cheap as well.

Do you happen to know if Virgin monitors what type of data a user is downloading?

AbyssUnderground
26-09-2007, 13:18
Thank you very much for your reply.

I found this one

Netgear WGR614UK Wireless 54G Cable/DSL Router

I like netgear and is quite cheap as well.

Do you happen to know if Virgin monitors what type of data a user is downloading?

They probably do, as most ISP's probably do. I know they know if you're downloading a torrent or not because they often traffic shape them even when STM has not been triggered.