PC Retail

My 10mb going up to 40 - well several tests last night showed a maximum of 1.7mb yet am paying for 10! come on Virgin your support team does not seem to care show you Neil and prove I can get 10mb never mind 40!

I wander what the "Fair usage" download limit will be for 50mb broadband 1GB?
http://www.virginmedia.com/help/traffic-management.php

As per the 10 Mb service - just another headline figure that end users will never actually be able to achieve ?
Go on Virgin - prove a customers' cynicism wrong - it would be the first time !!

I've had loads of problems with Virgin's broadband service and have never achieved the maximum download speed I ssubscribe to. 2mb is actually 512kb, 4mb is 1mb, 10mb is 2mb & the fastest connection I have personally achieved was when they upgraded the service to 20mb only to achieve 4mb.

Neil, have a look at the case notes regarding my account, I've had 10+ visits from Virgins engineer and even they can't explain why I can't achieve the maximum limit. The upload limit on the 20mb account is spot on so somewhere someone is limiting the maximum download speed, time to own up Neil..!

Personally, I'm on the 4MB package and my connection speed is consistently just above 4MB. The current fair usage policy on the 4MB accounts means that if you download over 800MB between 4pm and 9pm you get knocked down to 1MB for four hours. If the 10MB connection proves as reliable I'll be well chuffed.

I can't believe the new policy for downloading, soon they will put a cap on all downloads... £35 a month for 20mb is high price already and now there adding peak time downloads... madness, soon they will probably say 10GB download limit a month...

hi there i live in the edinburgh area, and so much for 20MB i have never had it and im paying 35 pounds for it, i just dont get why im promised full speed when i cant even get 15MB i aint even that far from the exhchange in my area!

Sorry guys, I have a 20mb service and guess what, I am getting dead on 20mb, Virgin, keep it up

The main problem, as Shaun says, will be the download limit will be?

If it's only 1GB like a lot of the providers at the moment, people will be using their monthly quota in a mere 163 seconds! ...providing they're able to max out their download speeds xD

Sounds good, but will it live up to the hype? Virgin's customer service has been useless, I have had our service go down completely NINE times in the last 3 months - lasting for more than 24 hours on 3 occasions. When it was Telewest, it never went down in the 4 years we had it. As for speed, im getting about 2mbps and paying for 4... I wont mention the trouble my friend has had with them - hes taking them to court!

I'm paying a lot for Virgin. I'm on the XL broadband package, at 20mb, but im continually frustrated with the throttling tariffs. I'm a software developer, I occassionally game, and just this week I spent my time fixing a number of PCs for friends - each XP installation is hundreds of patches totalling a few hundred meg. I'd rather pay for no throttling than more speed!

I'm on the 20mb package and just moved flats. When I called to tell them about the move I mentioned the connection wasn't what promised, and found out that the modem I was using was too old. They never mentioned this when I upgraded in the first place so I suspect many others will be in the same boat. In the new flat with new modem just now and just got 11mb/s from a testing site.

?? i subscribe to 20mb, and the majority of the time i achieve
that, only when the traffic is really busy ie evenings and
weekends does is suffer slighlty, and even then i get more than 10mb, all ISPs suffer the same problem, 50mb..... yes please

im on the 4mb with virgin and all the speed test websites say i get a shade over that at around 4300 k/bps which im more than happy with. ive had a letter from virgin telling me my connection will be upgraded free of charge to 10mb at some stage between now and september, what more could i ask for??

all these ppl saying they dont get they limit, are prob the same ppl with a load of filesharing software on the computer, with a hundred TCP & UDP ports open, full of spyware, using a router between the official virginmedia router and they computers, and probably generally havent configured they firewall software correctly. never turn the modem off at night and then wonder why they dont get the limit speed, hell you prob dont even release that most severs cant disturbute files at 20meg hahah

I currently have the 20mbps service, and I've had 19.8mbps several times, which is close enough. There's just no way any other provider can home to compete unless they set up their own fibreoptic network, and even if/when BT upgrade their aging copper wires to ADSL2, the max. possible speed will still be only 24mbps.
So, I eagerly await the 50mbps upgrade myself.

My 20Mb connection is often running at around 4Mb, but I have achieved speeds of over 19Mb.

The thing to watch, though, with download speeds is the MB (megabyte) vs Mb (megabit) argument

1MB = 8Mb

The connection speed is quoted as Mb whereas file download speeds are usually quoted as MB

If, therefore, a file is downloading at 1.5MB/s this has to be multiplied by 8

1.5MB/s x 8 = 12Mb/s

Remember, also, that download speed is determined by the amount of traffic and speed of server being downloaded from

Always had a constant 20mb with Virgin, I can't fault their service. I can fault their customer service though! If you want qualty broadband there is only one company. Bring on the 50mb! They already have the potential to offer up to 150mb when need be :D

I have Virgin what I thought was a 4mb package... my transfer rates if lucky are 1mb. I called up to see what was wrong and was told new modem which when installed I have 1 mb speed still. There appears to nothing that can be done... GRRRR so 10mb and 20mb bring it on - if it works....

Yeah right, Cloud cookoo land, someone should tell them their infostructure is rubbish and most of the BT line system that they rely on the whole has difficulty working let alone reaching 50Mb they will never give the advertised speed of 50Mb. I have come off virgin and from experience can state that all ISP's are as bad as each other promising the fastest and best only to fall flat on their face and never delivering a bean.

Stevo – You do realise that Virgin runs exclusively on its own fiber optic network, or do you not remember the hell of them digging up every road back in the mid-nineties to get their brand new cabling down.

The only time Virgin users will be affected by slow speeds are when they are communicating with a BT server, or when the site is operating at its maximum bandwidth.

Seems to me that some of you may be getting your Virgin Broadband through the telephone lines rather than through their cable network, that's all they can offer in areas without cable. Broadband through telephones lines is nothing short of crap!

I get my Virgin broadband through the cable network and I get 20Mb download no problem at all. Bring on the 50Mb Virgin, I have no doubt that service will be great as well.

Cant fault Virgin Broadband via their cable network. My 2Mb connection has always worked and delivers 1.7Mb plus. Will upgrade to 4Mb to take advantage of the free upgrade to 10Mb

You will only get those high speeds if you are directly connected to Virgin's own fibre optic cable system.If you are getting telephone lines, the limits are due to the line owner,not Virgin.
I get full speed on my connection,and when my modem needed a later type, Virgin sent me one free of charge.
Those people that are not happy with Virgin, why don't you change? Or is it because you have already got a better deal than you can get elsewhere.

my 4Mb broadband usually comes in as 4.2Mb, i download alot of stuff everyday and never had my speed cut due to the fair usage policy, never had a problem with customer services, but then ive never had to ring them.
just a bit miffed there's no package deal for the 4Mb with the tv.
in short i cant wait for 10Mb speeds, but please virgin think about who want a decent speed broadband but dont need enough bandwidth to run skynet down and make a package with the 'L' size braodband and tv

i am a virgin media 20mb customer who gets download speeds of 600kbps when im really lucky it gets up to 4mb but i have to stay awake till 3 am to get 4mb . i have complained and asked why i dont recieve anywhere near the 20mb but for some reason the great virgin media team have started to ignore my complaints and questions , so i can only think they have no answers. 50mb oh how i laughed there such jokers!

forgot to mention yes i am on the fiber optic connection and yes its very poor in my area

The speedtests are useless and inaccurate!! As the speedtest servers share the same burden when the network is overused.
Actually i was at three places with 20Mbit connection and always got the speed I payed for. And stupid speedtest were showing 4 to 5 Mbit depending on the server i chose to check the speed. Try to find a good server for example www.gamershell.com and try to download something when the servers aren't used too heavy. Or try to download 2 or 3 big files from this server or from another really good one. Right now i have 20Mbit from Virgin of course and mostly get 20 Mbit (the only exception is when the overall traffic is too big but this affects everyone (depends on servers not Your connection)).I can only say You complain because of Your lack of knowledge. And actually Virgin Media is the only provider that can actually deliver the speed they advertise and that's for sure.

Pointless! Paying £37 for a service which is only 25% of what is advertised, when I need to use it most? I'd be happy, and was happy to pay £35/month for a service which was provided as advertised. This STM policy has poisoned what was a pretty good relationship between Telewest/VM and a significant portion of its customer base.

VM:10/10 for reliability (credit where credit is due) - 2.5/10 for services rendered.

yo just to let you no that if connect through cable not bt phone line then they have to give you the speeds advertised (trust me) trade descriptions,,,,, and virgin have only recently just brought the fair usage policy to the cable customers (becouse bt charge heavy for over usage by virgin :( . every1 can check this checking you ip address when u meet the limit from exp 750mb-1gig ip changes to only allow 1mb connect words of the bradband support team at (india via ) grimsby hehe

Oh yes who are they trying to kid!
OOh look up there, a squdron of flying pigs!! What a load of rubbish! Just like the rest of the organisation.

I always get 20MB so no complaints from me there. What I don't understand though is their pricing policy. Im paying £37 a month but whenever you see adverts the top price is £20!! It seems new customers get a better deal.

The speeds advertised by Virgin are in mega bits so 4mega bit will download at around 500KB there 20mega bit should be around 2.5MB I know this is correct as I continually get 2.5MB when downloading, so don't forget all companies advertise in mega bit not mega byte which is stupid since computers use mega byte (MB) not mega bit (Mb), so the people who say that they are not getting 20Mb are actually as it is only 2.5MB...............so Virgin do give you speed as promised.......50Mb should be fun at around 6MB/sec

For those of you who are receiving "slow" speeds, are you on VM ADSL Or Fibre Optic Line? Tried going into the VM Newsgroups where you do actually get support from ENGLISH people here in the UK? Some older cable modems are not compatible with 20mb therefore will not be compatible with 50 mb so its reccomended to request a new cable modem which will be sent free of charge to your home address normally within 5 days

i'm on the 20meg service which works fine for me. i have no probs with virgin at all. A friend of mine who was also on the 20meg service could only achive 4megs. This was because he never checked his modem, like most people he never visited the virgin web site where it said you may have to udate your modem to achive the higher speeds. I wonder how many people out there are paying for the 20 meg service and have never read that you may have to upgrade your modem are complaining about the service.

I wouldn't touch Virgin with a barge pole. Virgin, TalkTalk, and BT are the big three who support Phorm. Even if you refuse to opt in to Phorm, every Web site you visit - and possibly every e-mail sent out - is still being recorded and possibly passed on to Phorm.

Many informative articles here on Phorm:
http://www.theregi...ndup/

Click on "ISP" for ISPs who refuse to deal with Phorm:
http://www.antipho....com/

For latest info.:
http://phormwatch.com/

I left Virgin last year, thankfully. Aside from Phorm, the speed at peak times was atrocious.

I have a 20mb Virgin Cable line, and I regularly download at 2.4megaBytes a second, on average its probably at 1.6MB but thats still well quick, around 1gig in just under 10minutes.
Max I have done was around 8 or 9 gigs in one hour. Cant wait for 50mb cable. Only complain I have with Virgin is the offshore help desk, other than that cable is the way forward

Virgin is against net-neutrality, and thus should be avoided like the plague. All those who support this will ultimately cry later when the internet is censored via bandwidth (ie: good bandwidth will only be available to websites they pay virgin... OMG)

I cant say anything wrong about Virginmedia. Been with Telewest since nearly the start of the their broadband. I'm a very regular user of the internet for many uses likes games and media and always been on the fastest speed availible. I constantly check my connection speed using speedtest.net and very rarely has it been short of the max.

Everyone moaning about speeds being very slow remember 20Mb is 20megabits and theres 8 bits in a byte so your file transfer rate will only be 2.5MB.

If you'v meant to have the 20Mb package and your not getting a download rate of 2.5MB it could be that you need to run spybot or adware destroying programs to eliminate the problems they cause. It could also be due to the web pages being slow themselfs not your connection. Also check that you're service is being brought to you by the optical cable rather than through phone lines which slow down the further you are from the exchange.

If your still not happy, STOP MOANING AND GO SOMEWHERE ELSE, i'v always been happy with Telewest/Virginmedia and can't wait till 50Mb is here, and i hope that the upload speed is increased too. Keep up the good work Virginmedia, am chuffed

The problem with all IPS's is that they're sociopaths and have no problems lieing. They tell you when you have speed problems that its your fault and the system is perfect. I've known numerous occasions when this has happened to me and when its been Virgin who are at fault but they won't admit to it. I then have to pay for the phone call.
Most of the time their service is OK but when it isnt they should be man enough to admit liability and own up. However, it seems there is no point in moving because all ISPs are the same. Like most big businesses all they care about is the bottom line and if that means telling a few porkies to a number of customers then what the hell.
It sucks but there's little you can do about it when business is purely profit motivated.

I only have the 2MB (cable) service, and that is what I usually get. I will probably upgrade to the 4MB service soon, to take advantage of the free upgrade to 10MB as soon as it is available in my area.I would not bother if I was on ADSL, because that would mean I was relying on BT a telephone lines which is dismal.

Drinnan is spot on.

Many people fail to make the distinction between MB and Mb: the later standing for Mbit.

As Drinnan pointed out "20Mb is 20megabits and theres 8 bits in a byte so your file transfer rate will only be 2.5MB." So if you're getting a download speed of 2.5MB/s then you're getting the full service speed.

It is also worth bearing in mind that traffic density has a significant impact on service levels. Although the fibre optics in the ground are no where near capacity, the switches at the end are and so when everyone is trying to use those switches at the same time, you'll have problems.

Most Broadband companies are dirty robbing A.D.S.T.B.R.A.S and for what ever reason, they continue to screw us and force this generally accepted culture of 'us accepting half of what we should be getting...'

It's wrong and if all they can afford (at 100% of the time) is 4Mb, then so be it, otherwise STOP saying unlimited because as far as I am concerned, they are breaking the law and trading standards or whatever bodies that oversee these companies have just as much to answer for letting them get away with it...

right here is a update to my problem, virgin media admitted that there was a problem in my area (at last i cheered after 8 months of telling them there must be) they informed me the box which provides cable in my area needed updating and this has now been done and at last i can say for the last 3 weeks i have been recieving good internet speeds which i test through downloads as i know speed test sites can be incorrect . so now i am a happy customer which is all i ever wanted but virgin medias customer service is poor its a fact . but getting better i hope , and yes i did know a mb was a megabit thanks

I'm on a 20mb connection and get an average of 19.8mb. This only happened after I was sent the latest modem, worth checking if yours are capable of the new speeds.

I have a 20mb connection which consistently records download speeds of >15mb with a variety of speed testers. The shortfall is often due to other applications running in my house. I once got traffic managed to 2 mb when I left a BitTorrent file running between 4 and 9 pm, but that was my fault. I look forward to a 50 mb connection, but haven't heard a sausage yet!
I sympathise with folk still stuck on Virgin accounts using BT lines. BtYahoo was rubbish too. I never got more than 4 mb with them. Just pray for fibre!

I have never recieved less my my agreed speed from Virgin (currently 4MB). I'm not an overtly heavy web user, but do download demos and HD videos from Xbox Live and PSN, and partake in a fair bit of online gaming. Not once been throttled. And whenever I speed test my connection I'm never more than 200KB off my paid for speed (sometimes that's 200KB over, too). I'm very pleased with the service.

I was on the 20MB at never had more than 4-7MB according to speedtest.net. Thought is was my old 6 year Motorola modem. They promised to send me replacements twice but nothing ever arrived. Now that I have moved into a better area the speeds have gone upto 17MB. I spose less users connected on the street bandwidth increases.

try www
speedtest.net and see whats your true connection speed...

well they cant please evry1
but from were i'm standing no other provider comes even close to what virgin provide
cant wait 4 50mb
should b out by xmas (i think)