if my speed goes much slower it will stop

[ufitm]

Even for peak times these speeds are unaceptable slow i think
for 20meg conection, and also downloaded two games files with transfer
rates of 640 kbs and 645 kbs, did not bother virgin as they just keep saying wait for 50meg to come along and it should improve my& others 20 meg conection

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2009/03/35.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2009/03/36.png (http://www.speedtest.net)


ufitm

[Retrovertigo]

I sympathise as I'm currently in the same boat and out of desperation have ordered a new router.

The trouble is if you call tech support they do a speed test with just your modem connected and no router, and if they are happy with what you get they leave it at that. But in my case, and seems to be in others as well from googling the problem, in real terms, downloading from newsgroups for example, the speed is the same no matter if a router is connected or not. I can only think that a speedtest with just a modem gives a "convenient" result that probably isn't very accurate but suits VM's need to blame the customer rather than fix the problem.

I have pinged several sites this evenings and get massive packet loss even with just my modem connected. But some speed tests still show as ok, and seems to be all VM are interested in.

If a new router makes no difference for me then I'm switching suppliers as I am getting far lower speeds than you are. In fact I found several people in my area all suffering the same 100k-ish download speed and all of using different brands of router.

It's almost laughable that VM seem intent on dissuading the use of a router in an age where homes have multiple computers and couldn't use the net without one.

I hope you have better luck if you contact them again, but if you have a router and take it out of the equation and they are happy with what they hear, you won't get any other answer than "connect any PC's you use straight to the modem" - it's like wireless gaming consoles etc never even happened.

[moaningmags]

It's not that they dissuade it at all.
It's to rule out the router as causing the issue. A lot of people are using older or badly configured routers that can't handle the higher speeds or limit each computer to a specific amount of bandwith.
Any agent who raises a slow speed issue to 2nd line or networks will have it bounced back to them and told to test with a direct connection, then re-raise if still slow.

Now if several people in your street and or area, that sounds more like a utilisation issue than anything else.

[Retrovertigo]

Maybe dissuade was the wrong choice of word. But the best tech support have offered me is "the speedtest is fine with the modem, connect your equipment that way" - like I own one solitary item that connects to the internet.

I'm really surprised they don't pull a sales tactic and try and get people to buy the routers they have for sale as being a better option that what people might already have.

[moaningmags]

I'd never use an online speedtester with a customer, never have, never will.
The way I've always done it is to go to gamefiles, start a download, take a note of the transfer rate.
If they get, for example, 300kb/s on one download and after starting the 2nd file they get 150kb/s on each, speak to 2nd line.
If they get, for example, 300kb/s on one download and after starting the 2nd file they get 300kb/s on each download then I'll advise that they run something like TCP optimiser.
I have a Netgear router, 6 computers connected to it and myself and the kids can stream a movie while hubby plays warcraft.
When the connection goes a bit loopy like it did in Feb, I always remove the router for diagnostics, then I have no chance of being fobbed off.

[Retrovertigo]

I'm sure the original poster probably isn't sufferring from the same problem as me and I hope he gets sorted.

I'm just in a stupidly over-subbed area. Xmas and summer hols with no students, I get full speed again. Fallowfield is the biggest campus in Europe I believe and VM got greedy here selling cheap packages. But try convincing tech support of that when you call them, very difficult. They will never admit to having flooded an area so that it is crippled.

But yeah UFITM, be prepared if you call VM. Unplug a router if you have one and put your Pc straight back on to the modem. It means you have the setup how they prefer it and also saves lots of plugging and unplugging of wires and waiting for things to reset etc.

[moaningmags]

What ubr are you on and I'll check it tomorrow?

[Retrovertigo]

cpc3-with4-0-0-cust161.bagu.cable.ntl.com

is that what you mean by the UBR?

just done a quick download from the newsgroups and managed just about 10meg so I am pretty certain my router is still working fine. I hope this isn't filling ufitm with dread hearing others with bad news :)

[moaningmags]

If ufitm wants to post his ubr I'll check that too.

[Welshchris]

Even for peak times these speeds are unaceptable slow i think
for 20meg conection, and also downloaded two games files with transfer
rates of 640 kbs and 645 kbs, did not bother virgin as they just keep saying wait for 50meg to come along and it should improve my& others 20 meg conection

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2009/03/35.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2009/03/36.png (http://www.speedtest.net)


ufitm
Now if i was told "Wait till the 50meg comes along and it will improve my and others connections" i would take that as them saying well theres UBR problems and they wont get sorted till upgrades are done which is out of order.

[Retrovertigo]

Now if i was told "Wait till the 50meg comes along and it will improve my and others connections" i would take that as them saying well theres UBR problems and they wont get sorted till upgrades are done which is out of order.

That's what VM have told me on several occasions. In fact I spoke to retentions this morning asking how much notice you needed to give and he told me Manchester wasn't yet on 50meg and things would improve when it was. But they have been telling me that for 12 months. The difficult part is when they don't act on it when you speak to them, but instead insist on a speedtest site as proof.

But I digress and am stealing away from the original posters query so apologies to him. Just thought knowing others are in the same boat offers some sort of hope that he [probably] doesn't have duff equipment.

[ufitm]

If ufitm wants to post his ubr I'll check that too.
ubr01 bromsgrove, the reason i have not phone support/or contacted
newsgroup about this is i am fed up of getting told the same old excueses
.and i have already tried all the other things other posters have sugested
many times . when in contact with vm they are always ok so the says
ufitm

[Welshchris]

That's what VM have told me on several occasions. In fact I spoke to retentions this morning asking how much notice you needed to give and he told me Manchester wasn't yet on 50meg and things would improve when it was. But they have been telling me that for 12 months. The difficult part is when they don't act on it when you speak to them, but instead insist on a speedtest site as proof.

But I digress and am stealing away from the original posters query so apologies to him. Just thought knowing others are in the same boat offers some sort of hope that he [probably] doesn't have duff equipment.

1 month is whats needed and even if ur in the 12 month contract u can get out of the contract as Virgin themselves have broken this by not being able to offer you with a reliable service.

[moroboshi]

I've given up trying to get Virgin to fix my 20mbit connection. It's rarely above 1mbit and is often so slow regular web pages don't load correctly. They've so far given me 3 different excuses and now refuse to answer my emails. Their excuses are:

1 - your area is over subscribed. No estimate on a fix.

2 - we're upgrading the network. No estimate on a fix.

3 - your PC must be full of spyware. But, it's not. I've checked. Very, very thoroughly.

Virgin's pathetic excuse for a network is so bad it would be funny, if I wasn't still paying these idiots every month for it.

[Retrovertigo]

Yeah even though I have ordered a new router out of desperation, I am sure it's over subscription and nothing more. The one feed coming up at the front of my house is split into 5 of the flats here. Coupled with the fact that every house on my road is now flats and you can imagine how many feeds are going in compared to if they were houses with a single family in each property.

The same goes for most of the houses near me now. All converted into flats and all VM brown boxes outside everywhere you look. Despite speeds getting worse, they still come round once in a while knocking door to door trying to drum up business. Even knocking on mine when I already have it!

[Welshchris]

I've given up trying to get Virgin to fix my 20mbit connection. It's rarely above 1mbit and is often so slow regular web pages don't load correctly. They've so far given me 3 different excuses and now refuse to answer my emails. Their excuses are:

1 - your area is over subscribed. No estimate on a fix.

2 - we're upgrading the network. No estimate on a fix.

3 - your PC must be full of spyware. But, it's not. I've checked. Very, very thoroughly.

Virgin's pathetic excuse for a network is so bad it would be funny, if I wasn't still paying these idiots every month for it.

number 3 is what virgin tried telling me about my current problem where my connection drops out until i pushed on and on and on and now they have found its actually an intermittant problem with their network where the SNR drops. Thankfully im now in contact with a local VM Engineer whos working on the problem and hes been a fantastic help and hes looking into things.

[telfordcable]

why don't VM ever learn by it ? They never learn do they ?

[Retrovertigo]

It's a damn shame there aren't regulations in place to monitor contention issues. The "up to" nonsense needs to stop. Suppliers should be made to have an "at least" figure instead.

Quite how 20meg services and the like can be sold, yet people be told, even with stupidly low speeds, that it is "only up to" sticks in the throat. Especially as VM is probably the most expensive supplier in the country at the moment.

To be told the other night by tech support, when I complained that I was getting 80k download that "the net is slower in the evening when people use it and it gets busy" is outrageous.

[xocemp]

Nm cba

[Retrovertigo]

Moaningmags, I don't suppose you have any news on that UBR stuff do you? I get my new router tomorrow and if it doesn't help I am going to be at a dead end of what to try next. Thank you!

[Welshchris]

Moaningmags, I don't suppose you have any news on that UBR stuff do you? I get my new router tomorrow and if it doesn't help I am going to be at a dead end of what to try next. Thank you!

the best way ive found of getting info if u cant get it from the newsgroups or tech support is to fill in the online complaint form on the ISPA website.

U will be contacted by the CEO office at Virgin Media and they will look into things for u. 9 times out of 10 they will b telling the truth i find.

[Retrovertigo]

That will be my next step if this router doesn't help then! I was hoping moaningmags would come back and say something like "your area is flooded with connections, VM are nuts" - just so that I knew I wasn't crazy seeing the appalling speeds I've been getting.

[xocemp]

The ISPA are independent and will not take any action before all avenues are exhausted, they, if its deemed necessary may contact the ISP but in doing so do not approach them in a big brother manner. The ISPA are not a stick to beat a ISP with, you may just find the ISP will cancel your services with no penalty charges.

@Retrovertigo, call at 8:00am you have more chance of getting an English agent.

[Welshchris]

That will be my next step if this router doesn't help then! I was hoping moaningmags would come back and say something like "your area is flooded with connections, VM are nuts" - just so that I knew I wasn't crazy seeing the appalling speeds I've been getting.

as i said if u cant get any joy from Virgin themselves contact the ISPA :)

Sometimes they need a kick up the butt to get them into line and find and sort the problems thats occuring.

The Thing is what i find is tech support will sometimes report the problem but then getting virgin to do something about it can be near impossible. When i lived at my old flat i had major problems with over subscription and it wasnt until the ISPA got involved Virgin said that they would plan relief work. It did take them 6 months to do so which took the micky a bit but it was done eventually.

[Retrovertigo]

The ISPA are independent and will not take any action before all avenues are exhausted, they, if its deemed necessary may contact the ISP but in doing so do not approach them in a big brother manner. The ISPA are not a stick to beat a ISP with, you may just find the ISP will cancel your services with no penalty charges.

@Retrovertigo, call at 8:00am you have more chance of getting an English agent.

I just would like someone to force VM to admit there are problems in my area as at least that is a start. I have done as they asked and ran straight through the modem for the time being - although when I'm in the bedroom that means having a stupidly long cable (luckily I'm in a flat). You can hear the next excuses already though - oh you are using a long ethernet cable, that's why your speeds are bad now ;)

I think I plunged more for the router so that I could say "right, you accused my router of being a problem, so I've bought one you recommend". An expensive little test, but other than changing providers - which I am the closest to doing than I have ever been, I was stuck for what to try.

I am really missing my online gaming. Heck, it even takes me almost a minute to sign into Xbox Live at the moment, never mind play any games online.

[Welshchris]

I just would like someone to force VM to admit there are problems in my area as at least that is a start. I have done as they asked and ran straight through the modem for the time being - although when I'm in the bedroom that means having a stupidly long cable (luckily I'm in a flat). You can hear the next excuses already though - oh you are using a long ethernet cable, that's why your speeds are bad now ;)

I think I plunged more for the router so that I could say "right, you accused my router of being a problem, so I've bought one you recommend". An expensive little test, but other than changing providers - which I am the closest to doing than I have ever been, I was stuck for what to try.

I am really missing my online gaming. Heck, it even takes me almost a minute to sign into Xbox Live at the moment, never mind play any games online.

if u cant get it sorted do what a lot of others are doing switch to ADSL. There are a lot of good quality ISPs out there on ADSL, admittingly not as fast than what Virgin Media claim to be but they r a damn sight more reliable at the best of times.

[ufitm]

had just the opposite once today fastest speed ever. But then speed went very slow again .
URL=http://www.speedtest.net]https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2009/03/28.png[/URL]



https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2009/03/29.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

[Welshchris]

and look at ur ping rate also as high as 151. when i get problems mine goes into the 70s but its usually around mid 40s.

[ufitm]

and look at ur ping rate also as high as 151. when i get problems mine goes into the 70s but its usually around mid 40s.

mine is usuallu anything bettween in the 20s to 70s

[StevenJohnson]

This is happening to me lately on regular evenings around 10pm. My 10mb connection drops to 1mb but the upload remains stable. It eventualy goes back to normal after an hour or so, but I keep thinking it's my router or modem. Now after reading many posts on this forum I'm beginning to think it is a VM issue. I've given up contacting them because it's the same spiel over and over... "spyware; network drivers; blah-blah!"

Very frustrating!

[Welshchris]

This is happening to me lately on regular evenings around 10pm. My 10mb connection drops to 1mb but the upload remains stable. It eventualy goes back to normal after an hour or so, but I keep thinking it's my router or modem. Now after reading many posts on this forum I'm beginning to think it is a VM issue. I've given up contacting them because it's the same spiel over and over... "spyware; network drivers; blah-blah!"

Very frustrating!

take ur router out and run without it for 24hrs and see if the problem persists that will eliminate the router problem.

[StevenJohnson]

Yeah thanks for the advice, but here I am again, roughly the same time and my connection is reading the following:

Speed Down: 1219.65 Kbps ( 1.2 Mbps )
Speed Up: 434.41 Kbps ( 0.4 Mbps )

I'm so fed up with this, I've tried everything...

[Welshchris]

i know this isnt a recommended thing but have u tried disabling ur antivirus and firewall and retesting?

[Moolzz]

I've had the same problem as a lot of you people here mention , 20 meg connection , as i type right now , Speedtest is truggling to even get past the "pinging" part of the test

This has been going on since i moved to a new address roughly 9 months ago(a month after we moved , i built a new PC and exactly the same issue)

Finally got annoyed enough to ring yesterday and was told to unplug the router, straight into the PC , then they pinged the modem or whatever it is they do

Then i was asked to do the netstat thing , with every program i could close down , i had 4 active connections (i think,maybe 3), was then told that my PC has spyware and is nothing to do with them

I like to think i run a clean PC, have various cleaner programs (the usual ad-aware , ccleaner , spybot search&destroy),ran spybot, it found two things ,removed them , and i'm still having the same issues

I'm wondering if theres anything else i can do to rubberstamp my pc's cleanliness , so i can get back on the phone to them and bitch away

Any help/advice muchos appreciated in advance

oops:forgot to mention i actually get full connection speed roughly 10% of the time

[Stabhappy]

Use the newsgroups, just mention that you have taken all the necessary local precautions (with 3/4 active connections, its clearly not your pc) and you have tried another complete system. They'll check and find out whats wrong without the crap.

[Moolzz]

crap , forgot to mention one more thing about the spyware
he asked me to open my web browser (whilst all other programs were still shut down) and it did go up to something like 11 active connections with just google open, that was his proud moment of "yes sir, you se, it's definitely your PC"

i have to confess i am far from being a PC guru so,is that bad while google is open ? ty

[Peter_]

crap , forgot to mention one more thing about the spyware
he asked me to open my web browser (whilst all other programs were still shut down) and it did go up to something like 11 active connections with just google open, that was his proud moment of "yes sir, you se, it's definitely your PC"

i have to confess i am far from being a PC guru so,is that bad while google is open ? ty
Are you on XP if so go to Start >run< put >cmd< in and click ok and when the black DOS screen opens can you do > netstat -an < hit enter/return and count how many listening and established connections and do not have anything running including the browser.

[moaningmags]

With Inernet Explorer opened on this page and also signed into MSN, I had 27 established connections.
Closed both down and 0 established connections.

With just this page open 21 established connections.

[Peter_]

With Inernet Explorer opened on this page and also signed into MSN, I had 27 established connections.
Closed both down and 0 established connections.
I bet he was from offshore and talking bull droppingshttp://smileyshut.com/smileys/new/Laughing/lol-046.gif (http://smileyshut.com)

[StevenJohnson]

Here we go, an hour almost after my drop in connection and the speeds are coming back:

Speed down: 8563.38 Kbps ( 8.4 Mbps )
Speed up: 474.49 Kbps ( 0.5 Mbps )

... and it's been like this for almost 2 week now.

[Moolzz]

Are you on XP if so go to Start >run< put >cmd< in and click ok and when the black DOS screen opens can you do > netstat -an < hit enter/return and count how many listening and established connections and do not have anything running including the browser.

I'm on Vista 64 if that matters :P

Just tried it again with everything closed down that i could and had 4 connections

Forgot to mention (again) that they said theyre gonna send me a new shiny modem out , i've had this one for 5-6 years

[Retrovertigo]

Had a first this evening. Someone at tech support admitting my area had too many users and there was nothing they could do about my speed.

This isn't news to me of course, but it was a first for them admitting it on the phone. PC connected straight to the modem and managed the grand total of 912kbps. She said she was resetting my modem and sending something that would ix my speed (pixie dust?) came back, ran another speed test and 850kbps - Left them silent for a moment, followed by, do you have firewall, virus software running, maybe you have a virus etc etc. After being satisfied none of that applied to me she said that my area was simply unable to cope.

I know I've banged on about this before - but it is staggering that they can be allowed to have such high contention ratios that users get a twentieth of what they pay for. It really needs some kind of regulation that there is a maximum ratio allowed in order to maintain a decent service.

I'm in the process of getting something done about it at least monetary-wise.

[moroboshi]

My broadband speed has been getting steadily worse for months. It's at an all time low now, barely reaching 0.5mbits, even late in the evening. Earlier in the evening it's just unusable, things just time out.

I emailed Virgin again about it yesterday, made it clear I had had enough and would take the matter to trading standards etc if it wasn't fixed. I got the usual response, with the usual run test x,y,z etc. So I jumped throught the hoops again and fully expect them not to reply (as usual). Virgin love to shout about how they have a fast network, but in my experience dial up is more reliable, and about as quick. It's a farce, and some sort of government body needs to get involved and start regulating these cowboy ISPs.

[moaningmags]

I'm on Vista 64 if that matters :P

Just tried it again with everything closed down that i could and had 4 connections

Do you have BBCi Player installed on your machine or something similar?

The reason I ask is I've had a few customers unaware that these programs continue to run after you've closed them down.
One customer was maxing out his upload on only 4 connections.

---------- Post added at 23:01 ---------- Previous post was at 22:59 ----------

Had a first this evening. Someone at tech support admitting my area had too many users and there was nothing they could do about my speed.

After being satisfied none of that applied to me she said that my area was simply unable to cope.



I'm in the process of getting something done about it at least monetary-wise.

If this is the case, it is a known fault as such has a fault reference number and she should have given this number to you.

[Moolzz]

Do you have BBCi Player installed on your machine or something similar?

The reason I ask is I've had a few customers unaware that these programs continue to run after you've closed them down.
One customer was maxing out his upload on only 4 connections.

Don't have the BBC one but i have the channel 4 one (4OD) , yes i'm a Shameless addict

[moaningmags]

Don't have the BBC one but i have the channel 4 one (4OD) , yes i'm a Shameless addict

Open your task manager and under the process list look for

kservice
kontiki

If they're running they're still using your bandwith.
To stop this open the program and go through the options
You're looking for something along the lines of:-
Don't continue to share when program is closed.

Tick or untick depending on the wording.

[Retrovertigo]

I used to swear by cable and most of my friends using ADSL would tell me to switch to their ISP's as I would save money. But I told them that cable was fantastic as it was so stable - I had 10meg all day long, it was awesome. But since they started going for "superfast mega superduper speeds" that has all gone to pot.

I'm aware that a lot of people seem to have great connections still. But it seems that if you live in a busy city area, you are stuffed. I do wish someone would come and move Manchester university somewhere else (the moon?) as that would solve my problems once and for all.

[Moolzz]

Open your task manager and under the process list look for

kservice
kontiki

If they're running they're still using your bandwith.
To stop this open the program and go through the options
You're looking for something along the lines of:-
Don't continue to share when program is closed.

Tick or untick depending on the wording.

Found kservice in processes , fun part is i booted up 4OD and now apparently my PW is wrong (curse you CCleaner)

I dont think there actually is an option tools thingy for 4OD , cant see one anyway

Edit: just done the netstat thing since closing kservice , 4 things popped up and none were active :D

[moaningmags]

Found kservice in processes , fun part is i booted up 4OD and now apparently my PW is wrong (curse you CCleaner)

I dont think there actually is an option tools thingy for 4OD , cant see one anyway

I had a feeling you might say that so I'm installing it and I'll let you know in a minute or two.

[Moolzz]

i edited my post above , dunno if you noticed :P

kservice was the lil fecker that was making active connections , just done netstat with kservices ended and i had no active connections :D

[moaningmags]

i edited my post above , dunno if you noticed :P

kservice was the lil fecker that was making active connections , just done netstat with kservices ended and i had no active connections :D

Lol I didn't notice, you're right I don't see any options to stop it from running either.

I've seen so many customers caught out with this.

Now the question is, has it made any difference for you now that it's closed?

[Moolzz]

So looking like it's goodbye to 4OD then :(

But on a brighter note i can ring 150 and to quote a certain Red Dwarf character , "Smug Mode"

Thanks for all your help bro ;)

---------- Post added at 00:29 ---------- Previous post was at 00:27 ----------

Yeah it did man,with kservice closed there is no connections established when i do the netstat thing with everything closed

[moaningmags]

So looking like it's goodbye to 4OD then :(

But on a brighter note i can ring 150 and to quote a certain Red Dwarf character , "Smug Mode"

Thanks for all your help bro ;)

You can still use it, what I would do if no option to stop it completely, after using it go to task manager and shut it down that way, shouldn't do any harm as it's not an essential process.

You're very welcome, although you are aware I'm female, Mags and moany :D

[Moolzz]

haha , my bad

i kinda didnt pay any attention to the name,just seen the scottish flag and remembered not to mention the guy i spoke to on the phone yesterday was also scottish ;)

Edit : it's amazing how one Speedtest can remove the elation of conquering the phantom spyware

4 MB download speed ftw

[moaningmags]

Nah it's cool the main thing is that you're sorted.

I only wish more people were aware of kservice and kontiki.
If I remember correctly netstat -b shows all executables running on a machine.
Trouble is kservice installs as a service so doesn't show in the list.

[Welshchris]

I used to swear by cable and most of my friends using ADSL would tell me to switch to their ISP's as I would save money. But I told them that cable was fantastic as it was so stable - I had 10meg all day long, it was awesome. But since they started going for "superfast mega superduper speeds" that has all gone to pot.

I'm aware that a lot of people seem to have great connections still. But it seems that if you live in a busy city area, you are stuffed. I do wish someone would come and move Manchester university somewhere else (the moon?) as that would solve my problems once and for all.

i know what u mean atm, a lot of people not only in my area that i know but also in ex telewest areas such as Plymouth have said cable has gone down the pan. a lot of my friends have switched to the likes of Sky, Tiscalli, Be Unlimited or even ADSL24.

[mac10]

reading all this makes me mad, As a very happy 2mb user of over six years with no problems Virgin are going to drag me kicking and screaming on to a tier that is very likely going to be over subscribed and suffering stm's resulting in poor service.

Why can't Virigin leave us happy campers alone.

[StevenJohnson]

Well I had a very stable evening yesterday which was a pleasant change. I'm on the 10meg package and my test results where actually reading just below. There was one occasion when it read just above 6meg but it only lasted about half hour or so.

[Retrovertigo]

What speed can one cable coming up from the ground outside a house cope with? I noticed today that the brown cover outside had been pulled off the junction box outside. I screwed it back on but noticed that at my property, the single cable coming up is split into 4, one of which is routed around the back and that is then split into 2 (and just covered with electrical tape) - so that is 6 feeds off what would have been a single feed had this property still have been a house.

I know the area is oversubscribed, but surely that doesn't help matters?

[xpod]

I noticed today that the brown cover outside had been pulled off the junction box outside

I notice that problem with ours too,every single day.
Only trouble is i couldn`t put the cover back on even if i wanted to.
17929
We`ve only been here at the new place about 6 months i suppose so hopefully it`ll be done in time for Xmas:erm:
If it`s not though it wont be for a lack of trying.I`ve been on that phone about a dozen times and even had numerous numpties out to look at it.....
Wrong tool trouble obviously.

Thankfully theres not 6 of us hanging of it i suppose.:rolleyes:

[Retrovertigo]

I may as well show people how mine looks outside, just for giggles.

Bear in mind that where the cable comes up from the ground and immediately into that brown VM box. Well, that brown VM box is mine and the cable runs through my wall there. BUT - they didn't use that cable outlet from the ground. They took the cable up outsode next door, into one of those brown boxes where it is split into 4, across the front of the building, down past my window, into that brown box, and then through my wall to my living room!

Those cables you see coming up from the ground actually split off and go around the other side of the building and service 3 flats.

The split in my cable also goes off around the right side of the building and feeds 2 flats there. Notice the electrical tape to fend off the elements. Not a brown protective box to be seen anywhere. Oh and how they couldn't be bothered to properly cap the hole and so water can just run down into the ground cable piping.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3429/3402616060_4d18585e9b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3630/3402616886_dd979e2a33.jpg

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I think youll find if its on your property you can disconect the other conections :) i wud assume people have hooked themselves up and helped them selves, so maybe you might find there are using a starview box etc to gain free tv, As the black tape bodge job defo inst a virgin media instalation lol.

Personally i would cut all other people off that line and make sure that yourself and Next door if he is using it, that you both have a conection. sod everyone else.

That will be thier problem and Vm@S problem to give them a proper instalation :)

I bet then youll find most of your probs dissappear.

What you also might find is that with so many people on the BB freq are conflicting with each other, resulting in major packet loss, or as ur experiencing very slow data trasnfers.

Disconect them :) is ya best bet.

[Retrovertigo]

Oh that black tape bodge job was done by VM alright (although I suspect contractors) as I was here and had to give them access around the side to do it.

They have a bit of a record here when it comes to installers. My cousin who lives around the back got the phone/tv/broadband package and when the installers turned up (proper VM ones judging by the outfits and van) they said they would have to come back as it was an all day job. Lot's of wheezing, oooh'ing and ahhhh'ing like cliched builders might do. It involved just running a long cable around the side of the building and they weren't happy you see.

This was despite the fact someone had been to visit and assess the installation beforehand. Anyway, they said it would take all day and they would have to reschedule. They drove off but came back 20 minutes later and started the job and were finished in less than 45 minutes..lol

I must admit, that black tape job goes into a flat that a guy has just moved out of, and just with him gone I'm getting slightly better speeds. Goes to show really. I did think about unplugging all the other connections just to see if my speed went up - but figured as I always see VM vans around here that they would drive past as I was doing it...haha

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Do it anyway :P As i said b4, providing that u n ur neighbour have a conection, sod everyone else. I would assume that VM are aware the fact that there is a 6 - 1 conection at ur premises, ( due to contractors bodge job ) Im sure with Vm vans driving up and down the street wasting fuel im sure Vm cud get an Engineer to pop in and have a quick look at the setup. IF they do know and havent or wont bother, would sound to me that VM are trying to get every ounce of the network prolonging upgrades. but nowt new there then.


Im shocked to see a contractor to do such a shoddy job, but then they know no one is going to complain, unless there was a complaint put in the same day it was installed.


I cant understand why there isnt a black / brown box in ur street for every premises, Unless there is and its been covered up by the cowboy council workers. Another money saver for VM, but involves a conection like urs :P

Werid that.