View Full Version : VM Free Upgrade 20>30?
KungFuKitty
22-08-2011, 23:59
Just a quicky question guys, i think i read somewhere on the forum the other day that VM will be doing the auto-upgrade thing with the 20mb lines next year, is this just rumour or confirmed?
They'd have to dish out alot of new superhubs so just made me a little skeptical, if anyone has any official information that'd be great.
Cheers :tu:
General Maximus
23-08-2011, 08:35
i think it is rumour dude, more people than ever are moaning about the speed they are getting so I can't see VM giving thousands of people an extra 10mbit. Besides, there are still a tonne of people on legacy tiers such as 512k, 1mbit, 2mbit and 10mbit. It would make more sense to bump everyone up to 20mbit first with their existing equipment (providing the modems could handle 20mbit) and get them all onto docsis 3
10Mb isn't a legacy tier but actually an existing tier.. so 512kb, 1Mb and 2Mb would likely to get bumped to 10Mb..
As for 20Mb would a bump upto 30Mb and Docsis3 relieve some of the strain on the network???
qasdfdsaq
23-08-2011, 08:54
It would, which is why (I guess) they're offering it free of charge (or rather, one off fee).
It was rumoured and discussed before. I believe the line from VM staff was the equipment/activation fee is here to stay.
KungFuKitty
23-08-2011, 12:18
Aw, figured as much! Wishful thinkin' :/
It probably will be free next year they need everyone to be on superhub's so they can proceeed with operation lockdown ;p.
10Mb isn't a legacy tier but actually an existing tier.. so 512kb, 1Mb and 2Mb would likely to get bumped to 10Mb..
As for 20Mb would a bump upto 30Mb and Docsis3 relieve some of the strain on the network???
We still have people on 1Mb getting broadband from a set top box so unless they develop a fault they will stay on that tier.:erm:
We even have people on 512kb, 1Mb and even 2Mb that because of the deals they were on have never been included in any upgrade and unless they ring in that is likely how they will continue.:erm:
theoldbill
23-08-2011, 17:16
Virgin treating their customers with contempt? ... never.
General Maximus
23-08-2011, 17:19
As for 20Mb would a bump upto 30Mb and Docsis3 relieve some of the strain on the network???
I thought 20mbit was on docsis 3?
I thought 20mbit was on docsis 3?
20Mb is Docsis 1/1 and most customers still get it through a standard modem, you can get any tier though using a Superhub.
You mean Docsis 1.1??
Yep.
General Maximus
23-08-2011, 17:32
oh, i can remember when they were rolling out 50mbit a couple of years ago that they said they were going to migrate all 20mbit users onto docsis 3 as well when the rollout was complete
We still have people on 1Mb getting broadband from a set top box so unless they develop a fault they will stay on that tier.:erm:
We even have people on 512kb, 1Mb and even 2Mb that because of the deals they were on have never been included in any upgrade and unless they ring in that is likely how they will continue.:erm:
Are those deals much much less in price than what people are paying for now with better services?
oh, i can remember when they were rolling out 50mbit a couple of years ago that they said they were going to migrate all 20mbit users onto docsis 3 as well when the rollout was complete
You'll find that they were talking about migrating docsis1 to 1.1 which doesn't require the new modem but did help over subscription slightly
Are those deals much much less in price than what people are paying for now with better services?
I think you can guess what people pay for those services.
RobboEdin
23-08-2011, 18:34
Are those deals much much less in price than what people are paying for now with better services?
In my case, YES. I have BB M, TV XL and a 1TB TiVo. My monthly charge is £43. The equivalent current bundle would be BB L, TV XL and TiVo which is £48 per month.
I must add that my price is the standard pricing from when I originally took BB M. I have never looked for or received any 'loyalty' discount.
Ignitionnet
23-08-2011, 23:02
oh, i can remember when they were rolling out 50mbit a couple of years ago that they said they were going to migrate all 20mbit users onto docsis 3 as well when the rollout was complete
They did. Virtually all 20Mbit users are on the DOCSIS 3 network but due to their existing hardware being DOCSIS 2 only are operating in DOCSIS 2 mode - connected to a single downstream channel within the group of bonded channels rather than connecting to all of them.
qasdfdsaq
24-08-2011, 00:26
I thought 20mbit was on docsis 3?
Some 10 and 20mbit users are on the new DOCSIS 3 platform, but running in DOCSIS 2 mode.
[Edit]
Yeah, what Ignition said
What about the areas that were Docsis1.1?? Will they eventually get to Docsis2?
qasdfdsaq
24-08-2011, 08:47
All areas have two "seperate" networks running in parralel - a DOCSIS 1.1 and a DOCSIS 3. They'll both stay in operation for a while, but I don't see them upgrading 1.x to 2 as it's easier just to move people onto the backwards compatible DOCSIS 3 kit.
qasdfdsaq
25-08-2011, 09:11
Actually now that I think about it I believe DOCSIS 2 upstreams were a prerequisite for the upload speed increases, so maybe the 1.x platform got it too - I'm not quite sure.
Ignition? Would you know?
Ignitionnet
25-08-2011, 13:23
Actually now that I think about it I believe DOCSIS 2 upstreams were a prerequisite for the upload speed increases, so maybe the 1.x platform got it too - I'm not quite sure.
Ignition? Would you know?
Yes - they didn't. DOCSIS 1.1 upstreams, 16QAM 3.2MHz, are more than adequate for the 1Mbps upload speed the 10Mb products have.
Consider those in the context of the DOCSIS 3 platform where you have people on 2Mbps, 3Mbps, 5Mbps and 10Mbps upload speeds split across 1 - 3 channels with 18Mbps per channel, also remember that the 50Mb product was released on 9Mbps throughput 16QAM 3.2MHz upstreams with 1.75Mbps upload speed.
I was glad i upgraded from 20 > 30 and the £30 for the new super hub was worth it because when i rang the lady from scotland told me that once i upgrade my bill would go down from 62.50 a month for 20mbit and two phone lines to 60.00 for 30mbit and two phone lines, i know its only 2.50 a month which really is nothing but it was nice that VM are charging less and put me on the DOCSIS 3 network with a nice new superhub that they sent to me and was setup within 5 minutes..
If you have not yet done so i would go for it and get the upgrade.. I am also receiving the full 30/3 dl and uploads over a wifi connection.. another Netgear Hub from virgin media... Does Vm have like a deal with netgear or something? the super hub looks sweet though.
Yes - they didn't. DOCSIS 1.1 upstreams, 16QAM 3.2MHz, are more than adequate for the 1Mbps upload speed the 10Mb products have.
Consider those in the context of the DOCSIS 3 platform where you have people on 2Mbps, 3Mbps, 5Mbps and 10Mbps upload speeds split across 1 - 3 channels with 18Mbps per channel, also remember that the 50Mb product was released on 9Mbps throughput 16QAM 3.2MHz upstreams with 1.75Mbps upload speed.I'm sure someone understands that. But back OT - does it mean we get free 20>30 upgrades, or not?
But back OT - does it mean we get free 20>30 upgrades, or not?
sort of... you pay the 30£ charge but they then take off x amount that adds to 30£ from your monthly bill so ye, free upgrade.
Here's the VM page with the current upgrade to 30Mb offers
http://shop.virginmedia.com/existing-customers/customer-offers/upgrade-to-faster-broadband.html
I'm sure someone understands that. But back OT - does it mean we get free 20>30 upgrades, or not?
yes you do but you have to pay £30 for the super hub so ring and ask to upgrade
yes you do but you have to payThat's not my understanding of 'free'.
That's not my understanding of 'free'.
It does not say that its a free upgrade rather a one off payment of £30.
http://shop.virginmedia.com/existing-customers/customer-offers/upgrade-to-faster-broadband.html
Also be aware of the following.
All customers must have, or add, a phone line. Customers on non-standard pricing (such as loyalty discounts) must move to standard pricing to be eligible for offer. Virgin Media reserves the right to withdraw or amend discount if you change any part of your offer package.
It does not say that its a free upgrade rather a one off payment of £30.Accepted; but other posters say it is.
Also be aware of the following...Does VIP20 count as non-standard pricing?
That's not my understanding of 'free'.
Well Virgin media say the upgrade is FREE but the super hub they send you that you have to have for the 30mbit costs £30.. thats what the lady at VM told me when i upgraded. Because really it is free. the cost of the monthly bill does not increase does it? in fact mine was reduced :) from 20mbit for me the monthly bill was reduced by £2.50 a month also.. I know £2.50 is nothing but the price being reduced is always a good thing no matter by how much.
Accepted; but other posters say it is.
Does VIP20 count as non-standard pricing?
It is not a retention price so the answer should be no as it is standard pricing.
By the way even staff have to pay the £30 fee.
---------- Post added at 22:15 ---------- Previous post was at 22:12 ----------
Well Virgin media say the upgrade is FREE but the super hub they send you that you have to have for the 30mbit costs £30.. thats what the lady at VM told me when i upgraded.
But from 20mbit for me the monthly bill was reduced by £2.50 a month also.. I know £2.50 is nothing but the price being reduced is always a good thing not matter by how much.
Well after 12 months you will have saved £30 so not bad.
Also it does include a new 12 month contract.
it does not say free in my link, the only free upgrade has been with 20Mb customers who already have the Superhub.
It is not a retention price so the answer should be no as it is standard pricing.
By the way even staff have to pay the £30 fee.
---------- Post added at 22:15 ---------- Previous post was at 22:12 ----------
Well after 12 months you will have saved £30 so not bad.
Also it does include a new 12 month contract.
it does not say free in my link, the only free upgrade has been with 20Mb customers who already have the Superhub.
I dont really see it as a free upgrade because you pay the £30 for the super hub and every other upgrade from VM we did not pay anything even though we never received or needed a new hub/router to use the connection but you dont pay any extra per month like you would if you upgraded from 30 to 50 or even 100mbit if you are lucky enough to have that available in your area.
I was given the same hub that the 10mbit users get, for my 20mbit connection and it worked like a charm for a long time until the other day when i got my new super hub.
The lady never said anything about a new 12 month contract but i dont mind at all because there is no other isp thats even half as good as VM lol.
Well after 12 months you will have saved £30 so not bad.No, you'll have recovered the £30 you paid up front. Only after that do you start 'saving'.
---------- Post added at 22:38 ---------- Previous post was at 22:35 ----------
The lady never said anything about a new 12 month contract That's naughty. Surely they have to make sure you know you're committing to a new contract, otherwise it's mis-selling.
---------- Post added at 22:44 ---------- Previous post was at 22:38 ----------
It is not a retention price so the answer should be no as it is standard pricing.I had a play with 'build your own bundle' on the website. I can save about £18 per month over VIP20 prices. Time to make a call, I think...
I was given the same hub that the 10mbit users get, for my 20mbit connection and it worked like a charm for a long time until the other day when i got my new super hub.
The lady never said anything about a new 12 month contract but i dont mind at all because there is no other isp thats even half as good as VM lol.
Replacement equipment does not start new contracts.
I had a fault a couple of months ago, I was on 20M
A long story short, as part of the troubleshooting my modem was replaced with a SuperHub (which didn't help). Anyways, last month I got a letter saying it was being upgraded for free to 30M. It said all I needed to do was reboot the SuperHub.
I did, and it wasn't upgraded at all. So I decided to wait it out .. 2 weeks later it was still 20M. I called up and they said "Your service was upgraded ages ago to 30M". Obviously I told them it wasn't. I was transfered to another person, who sent an update to the superhub which promptly rebooted itself and voila.. 30M for free.
I just found out that I can now get 100M.. so.. Here goes nothing! xD
So if I pay for the upgrade to 30mb I lose my loyalty discount and my trusty modem that never fails me.
What an incentive.
Ignitionnet
27-08-2011, 10:13
Keeping the discount won't be a problem. VM stuck to their guns on that one for a matter of hours.
So if I pay for the upgrade to 30mb I lose my loyalty discount and my trusty modem that never fails me.
What an incentive.
Yes. I wonder how often this policy backfires, i.e. customers like you and me never upgrade because they would lose the discount, so Virgin get no extra money whatsoever.
The vm super hub is so much better and when I upgraded my monthly bill was reduced so I get 10 more mbits down and one up for less money and a sweet super hub from netgear that ok you have to lay £30 for but its well worth it imo.
Who cares about that 100 year old modem, are you going to stay on that speed and never upgrade? And not be on the docsis 3 network? Your loss! :)
The vm super hub is so much better and when I upgraded my monthly bill was reduced so I get 10 more mbits down and one up for less money and a sweet super hub from netgear that ok you have to lay £30 for but its well worth it imo.
Who cares about that 100 year old modem, are you going to stay on that speed and never upgrade? And not be on the docsis 3 network? Your loss! :)
Strangely despite the problems with the superhub I agree.
Netgear actually make some decent kit, its the firmware thats the problem.
But hopefully now with R30 a lot of the problems have been fixed, and even if they arent its 1 step closer... and there will be a time when all the bugs are ironed out and the superhub will be a great piece of kit.
The vm super hub is so much better and when I upgraded my monthly bill was reduced so I get 10 more mbits down and one up for less money and a sweet super hub from netgear that ok you have to lay £30 for but its well worth it imo.
Who cares about that 100 year old modem, are you going to stay on that speed and never upgrade? And not be on the docsis 3 network? Your loss! :)
- If I lost my discounts and ended up paying £10 a month extra for 30Mb vs 20Mb, is that good value ??
- my 3 yr old modem is perfect, my connection is brilliant
- in what way is the superhub "so much better" ?
- what do I miss out on with docsis 3 ?
What I have works perfectly and reliability is bulletproof, including the wireless network which gets hammered day after day and never breaks a sweat
Given the above, explain how a superhub and docsis 3 are "so much better" than what I already have ?
- If I lost my discounts and ended up paying £10 a month extra for 30Mb vs 20Mb, is that good value ??
- my 3 yr old modem is perfect, my connection is brilliant
- in what way is the superhub "so much better" ?
- what do I miss out on with docsis 3 ?
What I have works perfectly and reliability is bulletproof, including the wireless network which gets hammered day after day and never breaks a sweat
Given the above, explain how a superhub and docsis 3 are "so much better" than what I already have ?
If you are happy, don't change.
If you are happy, don't change.
Indeed, if it ain't broke, don't fix it ! :)
greeninferno
31-08-2011, 10:38
Strangely despite the problems with the superhub I agree.
Netgear actually make some decent kit, its the firmware thats the problem.
But hopefully now with R30 a lot of the problems have been fixed, and even if they arent its 1 step closer... and there will be a time when all the bugs are ironed out and the superhub will be a great piece of kit.
deary deary me.
deary deary me.
What are you on about deary deary me?
I know of many businesses who use Netgear, their prosafe stuff has lifetime warrantys on it and no problems at all.
Even me, I have prosafe wireless access point, smart switch, and NAS never had any problems with it.
the superhub its the firmware thats the problem, but i was updated to R30 last night and have to say there has been an improvement.. its 1 step closer to being bug free and working as intended.
qasdfdsaq
31-08-2011, 17:59
- If I lost my discounts and ended up paying £10 a month extra for 30Mb vs 20Mb, is that good value ??
Depends how much you're paying for 20mb, and how much you'd pay for 30mb from elsewhere.
- my 3 yr old modem is perfect, my connection is brilliant
- in what way is the superhub "so much better" ?
It's a hub, not a modem. It's "better" because it does more - more advanced modem, gigabit switch, router and wireless in one. Assuming it works properly.
- what do I miss out on with docsis 3 ?
Load balancing, faster speeds, higher allowances, future upgradeability.
Given the above, explain how a superhub and docsis 3 are "so much better" than what I already have ?
Load balancing, faster speeds, higher allowances, future upgradeability.
Everything below 30Mb is old and outdated.
Everything below 30Mb is old and outdated.
Even a brand new d2 hub :)
Everything below 30Mb is old and outdated.
When the majority of the UK population have about 6MB over ADSL, I would say 20Mb is pretty good ;)
qasdfdsaq
31-08-2011, 21:16
I have more than double that on my mobile phone. I guess we have different standards of "oudated"
The network standards are outdated.
It's a hub, not a modem. It's "better" because it does more - more advanced modem, gigabit switch, router and wireless in one. Assuming it works properly.I thought the major point of R30 was Modem mode - i.e. it can be a modem only; not a switch, not a router, not a wireless access point. So apart from being capable of being faster, in what way is it "so much better"?
They have fixed the wireless issues as well. The SuperHub has upped its game running R30 firmware.
They have fixed the wireless issues as well. The SuperHub has upped its game running R30 firmware.
It is sounding promising. After another month or two of positive feedback it may be safe to upgrade. No hurry in the meantime, best to be absolutely sure.
I'm sure retentions would do a deal for me on price, since I've been out of contract for over a year now, and they'd love to lock me back into one ;)
qasdfdsaq
02-09-2011, 02:23
I thought the major point of R30 was Modem mode - i.e. it can be a modem only; not a switch, not a router, not a wireless access point. So apart from being capable of being faster, in what way is it "so much better"?
No, modem mode was in the original factory firmware - R30 was all about VM wanting to fix every bug under the sun while forcing people to use broken devices because they're sadists like that.
Oh yeah, and they had to make sure it was enabled their way and you couldn't turn it on or off any other way before letting you use it.
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