Virgin Media 20MB

[Mnia786]

Hi guys. I am a 20MB virgin media customer for the same price as the 10MB connection but I hardly ever get anywhere near 15MB let alone 20. Is this only for me or for others too? I have rung up VM but they just say its to do with other traffic which I find a silly excuse.

The only reason I prefer the 20MB is the much larger cap limit (3GB) which allows iPlayer etc. in peak times.

Mnia786

[alsenior]

unfortunatly its the way the cable system works im afraid there is only limited capacity to go around. this is obvosly not helped by vm's chronic lack of investment in some areas.

[Mnia786]

Mmm, the thing is, on 10MB, I usually got speeds of 8Mbps but on 20, I usually get 9-11Mbps. Im not fussing and venting over the small increase because I'm not paying as much as most on 20Mbps but the fact they heavily advertise it as lightening quick 20mbps internet is irritating. Yes, I might get 18-20 at 4am but whats the point then when most of us use it between 7-11.

[Jay]

I was getting less than 1Mb/s at times on my 20Mb, I dropped it to 2Mb/s and now get 2Mb/s all times!

[BUFF]

I used to get 12-14 on 20Mb whereas on the 10Mb I would get a solid 10Mb ...

[Joanne C]

As Alsenior said, some areas are oversubscribed, and VM would rather pay hollywood actors to do adverts than to improve the situation.

My service is really good, and usually get the full speed.

The upgrades they've done for the 50mb service should start trickling down to 20mb users eventually, so that might make things a little more bearable.

There's some useful folks over on Cable Forum that may be able to help, some of them are VM employees they'll tell you what the problem could be, and check if your area is over subbed and not feed you the old.. Switch off your modem, wait a minute script you sometimes get on the phone.

It might also be worth checking that your modem is 20mb capable too, as some of the older ones aren't up to it.

[BUFF]

In my case I had a new modem so that wasn't the problem.
Anyway, switched to O2 due to VM billing issues rather than service & am now (actually) getting 18Mb for less money than 10Mb on VM.

[shamend143]

i get crappy 5mbps currently and sometimes so slow i cant even access any webpage but overall while downloading its ~ 625kbps which is not too bad

[LuckyNV]

Be aware the bits to bytes conversion

data transmission uses bits and data storage uses bytes
8bits to 1 byte

20Mbps connection = 2.5MB/sec max theorectical download rate (say around 15% less to account for TCP/IP overheads)

[Mnia786]

Be aware the bits to bytes conversion

data transmission uses bits and data storage uses bytes
8bits to 1 byte

20Mbps connection = 2.5MB/sec max theorectical download rate (say around 15% less to account for TCP/IP overheads)

Yeah but I usually struggle to get about 700kb/sec ;/
Main reason I stuck with VM is because I've been a customer for over 10yrs and I get unlimited phone, 20MB internet and line rental for about 32 quid a month which seems to be worth it

Would consider Be but have to pay BT to reconnect my line which is about £150 in itself.

[Hawker1986]

Well im on the 10mb service, I get the full speed most of the time, im pretty sure in the evenings they just limit ur speed and i get about 2mb, but its ok. Tiscali who im with at uni are just as bad. Also I wasnt aware there was a cap, im sure I dont have one, hell i downloaded 3Gb today :S.

Hawker

[Joanne C]

Here's a link to the latest traffic management (throttling) details for VM

http://www.virginmedia.com/help/traffic-management.php

Hope this helps

[Mnia786]

The VM cap periods are 10am-3pm and 4pm-9pm.
I think its 350mb for 2mb users, 750MB for 10mb users and 3GB for 20mb users.
The cap limits are pathetic tbh, If I get the maximum theoretical dl rate of 2.5mb/s, I can get capped in about 20 minutes flat ;/

Edit: joanne beat me to it

[Barrichello]

In my case I had a new modem so that wasn't the problem.
Anyway, switched to O2 due to VM billing issues rather than service & am now (actually) getting 18Mb for less money than 10Mb on VM.

Is that including the monthly charge for a phone line as well? The thing that would stop me leaving vm is having to shell out for a phone line i don't need. Overall though im pretty lucky on my 10mb, always seem to get around max speed.

[Hicks12]

Im paying £42 now as the price has gone up but this includes:

Phone M
Broadband L(10mb)
TV XL

So not to bad, they have started to throttle me even when i download at night now though but normally a good solid 10mb/s. I want to move to O2 20mb but cant split the bills as land line isnt with bt.

[Mblaster]

Just did a test now on, at peak time and I get 12.2mb/s down on a Virgin 20mb/s connection, was getting 9.5mb/s on the 10mb/s connection. It's better in off peak times though I've not seen it reach 19/20mb/s ever (16mb/s best, but i haven't tested much). Although the increased traffic caps are the main reason to upgrade.