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Child Item

Virgin 1Gb now available.

loyatemu

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/virgin-makes-gigabit-internet-available-across-its-service-1.4334185

TBH I don't see the point of 1Gb for domestic users, 500Mb should be sufficient for 99.9% of subscribers (I downgraded to 250Mb and didn't notice any difference). But anyway, it's now (or shortly) available to VM subscribers.

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Tempora

The key it appears is to talk to sales, not technical support.

We rang today and got an upgrade to the 500Mbps package and the sales guy was happy to include the new DOCSIS 3.1 modem with that. He seemed a little confused by which modem was which and stuff but confirmed that it was a "Hitron DOCSIS 3.1" modem and that it was black and being used for the Gigabit service. They don't appear to be calling it the SuperHub 4 here in Ireland.

Will be delivered by Nightline and I'll report back with how the setup process goes. I imagine I'll have to ring back and ask for things like disabling IPv6 tunneling to get bridge mode, etc.

Gonzo

ED E wrote: »

Pinging 35.176.0.252 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 35.176.0.252: bytes=32 time=27ms TTL=239
Reply from 35.176.0.252: bytes=32 time=25ms TTL=239
Reply from 35.176.0.252: bytes=32 time=27ms TTL=239
Reply from 35.176.0.252: bytes=32 time=24ms TTL=239

^ AWS in London

Pinging 54.171.63.252 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 54.171.63.252: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=237
Reply from 54.171.63.252: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=237
Reply from 54.171.63.252: bytes=32 time=12ms TTL=237
Reply from 54.171.63.252: bytes=32 time=12ms TTL=237

^ AWS in Dublin

Really not unreasonable. 240Mb DOCSIS.

That's grand probably for 90% of customers but for first person shooter online gamers the ping times on FTTH is significantly better. With Eir the Irish server returns 2ms and the UK one 13ms.

I still remember the NTL/UPC days better pings, UK pings back then would be around 16 or 17. Either Virgin have changed the routing or done something else to increase the ping time.

djivide_

Sam the Sham wrote: »

I see that, along with the rollout of the 1Gb service, the 500Mbs has become the middle tier and the 360Mbs has disappeared.

I'm on the 360Mbs now. Is this one of those things where I can expect an automatic upgrade to 500Mbs? Or will I have to wait for my contract to be up?

Virgin have done away with the automatic upgrades. with upc i was getting free upgrades from 30, 60, 120, 240 etc but since its rename to virgin I am still at 240 and I refuse to pay for the higher tiers and i did not want the hub3 router with the puma 6 chipset anyway. To be honest i am tempted to dump the whole lot for eir ftth but with a different provider. I was holding out for siro but its been on the "planned" phase for ages here and out of a 9months 1/2 price with virgin now.

Sam the Sham

I see that, along with the rollout of the 1Gb service, the 500Mbs has become the middle tier and the 360Mbs has disappeared.

I'm on the 360Mbs now. Is this one of those things where I can expect an automatic upgrade to 500Mbs? Or will I have to wait for my contract to be up?

kippy

TheQuietBeatle wrote: »

If working at home it's definitely useful.

What kinda work do you do that makes the increase useful?

MarkR

I tried getting a new modem out of them, also a resounding no. Unless I wanted to get onto sales about a new package. I'm with VM til january at least, then I'll move back to Siro.

I can get it from Pure, Vodafone, or Sky in my area.

Virgin's pricing is gone crazy expensive over the years.

Paying half price to virgin now, and that's costing me about 35 euro I think?

ED E

Gonzo wrote: »

pings on Virgin do seem quite a bit higher than they used to back in the UPC days. I remember when UPC was well ahead of DSL/VDSL especially for UK pings, now it seems Eir and other operators give better pings not just on FTTH but on vdsl as well. Has something changed with Virgin in terms of latency, I remember their UK pings would be around 12 to 18 but now they are upwards of 20 in many cases.

Pinging 35.176.0.252 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 35.176.0.252: bytes=32 time=27ms TTL=239
Reply from 35.176.0.252: bytes=32 time=25ms TTL=239
Reply from 35.176.0.252: bytes=32 time=27ms TTL=239
Reply from 35.176.0.252: bytes=32 time=24ms TTL=239

^ AWS in London

Pinging 54.171.63.252 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 54.171.63.252: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=237
Reply from 54.171.63.252: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=237
Reply from 54.171.63.252: bytes=32 time=12ms TTL=237
Reply from 54.171.63.252: bytes=32 time=12ms TTL=237

^ AWS in Dublin

Really not unreasonable. 240Mb DOCSIS.

ED E

Rattlehead_ie wrote: »

I was onto VM today and they are sending me out the New Hub (Media Hub v2). So will see what it's like. I'll need to set a baseline and do tests over the weekend with the current hub.

When you get it please post the model number supplied.

lotas

brimur69 wrote: »

Saw this on the VM site and was curious if the new Hub has a 2.5Gbps WAN/LAN ports?

The intel chipset that it uses mentions 2.5Gb Ethernet... but cant find official specs, even in the Uk...

vapor trails

I am getting Vodafone Gigabit broadband installed in Kilcock on Monday. Is this big news? I thought this was around a while

brimur69

Advertised Speed* Expected Speed Range** Minimum Guaranteed Download Speed
1140 Mbps. 1124 - 1145 Mbps 570 Mbps

Saw this on the VM site and was curious if the new Hub has a 2.5Gbps WAN/LAN ports? Otherwise you are never getting anywhere near 1Gb and closer to 850Mb. So if you are in a 500/50 package then going up to 850/50 send like a waste to me

degsie

gibgodsman wrote: »

I love all the posts from people who have no idea about how internet works, 1GB is absolutely great for most people, good luck streaming 4K easily with a 100Mb connection.

You want to jump on the game streaming bandwagon with Stadia or Xbox Cloud Gaming? That 250Mb will struggle BAD.

If your using your internet to its fullest, steaming in 4K, downloading games, watching on multiple devices, 1GB is a huge benefit, those suggesting 100Mb on 40+ devices is a good idea, id love to see how bad your kids ping is in anything they play online

Ahem, for someone who knows EVERYTHING internet, 1GB=8Gb/s, this is not what VM are offering

Gonzo

pings on Virgin do seem quite a bit higher than they used to back in the UPC days. I remember when UPC was well ahead of DSL/VDSL especially for UK pings, now it seems Eir and other operators give better pings not just on FTTH but on vdsl as well. Has something changed with Virgin in terms of latency, I remember their UK pings would be around 12 to 18 but now they are upwards of 20 in many cases.

Nonoperational

bk wrote: »

Cool, I'm curios, would you mind doing ping to boards.ie and google.ie and posting the results ?

I'm curious is there any difference from their HFC network?

Sounds like they are using RFoG (Radio Frequency over Glass) like they are doing in the UK:
https://www.technological.co.uk/broadband-technologies-cable/

It does make sense, it allows them to use network architecture, rather then two different ones and allows them to deliver their standard cable TV service (rather then an IPTV one which would be required over ethernet).

Because those are the long term, ideal speeds, that can only be reached if you make a whole bunch of major changes. Like get rid of most of the existing TV channels and move to some sort of IPTV platform, upgrade lots of backend equipment and cabling, you'd need an even more powerful/expensive CPE, etc.

It allows for a future upgrade path, but all that cost isn't justified given demand at the moment.

Having said that I do think they should stretch to 100Mb/s upload on this product. I suspect they need to make some more changes to the network to make that happen.

Ping to google is around 15-20ms. Don’t think its significantly different.

CoBo55

shipposter wrote: »

Starts off by berating "people who have no idea about how internet works"

Proceeds to talk through his hole demonstrating how little he knows about how the internet works.

Exactly:pac:

shipposter

gibgodsman wrote: »

I love all the posts from people who have no idea about how internet works, 1GB is absolutely great for most people, good luck streaming 4K easily with a 100Mb connection.

You want to jump on the game streaming bandwagon with Stadia or Xbox Cloud Gaming? That 250Mb will struggle BAD.

If your using your internet to its fullest, steaming in 4K, downloading games, watching on multiple devices, 1GB is a huge benefit, those suggesting 100Mb on 40+ devices is a good idea, id love to see how bad your kids ping is in anything they play online

Starts off by berating "people who have no idea about how internet works"

Proceeds to talk through his hole demonstrating how little he knows about how the internet works.

Thor

No reason anyone who wants the new modem can't simply upgrade to 1gb, get the new modem and cancel before the 14 day cooling off period is up.

Most likely they will continue with the new modem and you can say the new speed wasn't for you, and request to stay on whatever you were previously on, they will be more than happy to keep you as a customer.

Tempora

beauf wrote: »

I'll jump to Eir for a year, or 18 months, whatever the contract is.

Haha good luck on that one. If you switch to Eir you'll be on Eir for life considering the stories going around about how they keep charging you despite cancellations, no phone support except for sales, sales transfers you to non-existent other support lines if you need any kind of cancellation/tech support, etc.

beauf

Love to hear how you get on. if it was a lot better I'd upgrade the package for 6 months just to get it.

Otherwise I'll jump to Eir for a year, or 18 months, whatever the contract is.

bob11

FaganJr wrote: »

Report back agent irishgeo

I tried this ,but got a resounding No, even though I have been having issues with my Hub 3 and the tech diagnosed that I have a level problem. He is sending a tech to resolve but refused to upgrade the Hub 3.

I had asked about upgrading to 1GB, but I cannot do it yet, as it I have a free TV concession and it not available to anyconcession holders yet, which seems a very strange decision. I have 3 boxes and I am paying €82 per month currently on 360 Mb, but didnt seem to matter ... If only I had a viable alternative ...

FaganJr

irishgeo wrote:

I'll try this myself.

Report back agent irishgeo

irishgeo

Rattlehead_ie wrote: »

I just asked. Whatsapp chat this morning, just said long term user. Wanted to replace my white Hub3 modem with the newer Black Media Hub, mentioned Id consider upgrading to 1G at a later date and boom, one will be here Monday morning. No upgrade and no renew contract.

I'll try this myself.

CoBo55

Rattlehead_ie wrote: »

I just asked. Whatsapp chat this morning, just said long term user. Wanted to replace my white Hub3 modem with the newer Black Media Hub, mentioned Id consider upgrading to 1G at a later date and boom, one will be here Monday morning. No upgrade and no renew contract.

Well done, let us know how it goes pity it doesn't have a usb port.

Rattlehead_ie

irishgeo wrote: »

Care to tell us how you got it out of them?

I just asked. Whatsapp chat this morning, just said long term user. Wanted to replace my white Hub3 modem with the newer Black Media Hub, mentioned Id consider upgrading to 1G at a later date and boom, one will be here Monday morning. No upgrade and no renew contract.

irishgeo

Rattlehead_ie wrote: »

No didn't sign up for it, sticking with the 360 product for now. I wanted to see what the modem was like (anything would be better than the Hub3 atm). May go for the 1g product at some point, so might as well have this in place. No harm in having a lookie

Care to tell us how you got it out of them?

Rattlehead_ie

irishgeo wrote: »

Have you signed up for 1gb or why are you getting it?

No didn't sign up for it, sticking with the 360 product for now. I wanted to see what the modem was like (anything would be better than the Hub3 atm). May go for the 1g product at some point, so might as well have this in place. No harm in having a lookie

CoBo55

schmoo2k wrote: »

This is the third time now (by my count) - so won't hold my breath... (maybe in 12 months LOL).

It's out already I've seen one in action very impressive, picture quality is fantastic, it's nice and quick too. Channel lineup is very poor compared to sky.

irishgeo

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Am I right in thinking that this only adds value for wired devices? If you're largely connecting your work or home laptop and phones via wifi, getting 50-80 MBPS, then the router speed is a moot point, right?

You could use the analogy of a road network. This improves the speed limit on the motorway and possibly how many lanes it has but because your living on a local road (WiFi) you still have to slow down to get to your house.

If you get a new router it could improve the WiFi but that depends on the hardware in your device.

Krusty_Clown

schmoo2k wrote: »

Its also worth mentioning that anyone on a TV / phone bundle deal, the new speed works out cheaper for the next 12 months at 82 Euros a month (and you get the new modem, a free Chromecast dongle and some sports).

I think you might be looking at new customer pricing? If you're an existing customer, looking to upgrade, the pricing seems to be full whack.

[Deleted User]

Am I right in thinking that this only adds value for wired devices? If you're largely connecting your work or home laptop and phones via wifi, getting 50-80 MBPS, then the router speed is a moot point, right?