I currently run a 3Com wireless router to access broadband through a BT line at home.

I'm also considering a switch to Virgin when my current broadband deal runs out in June - will I need to change my router? Does the broadband that Virgin provide come into the house through the TV socket/cable connection box or the telephone connection that they install?

The Virgin package we're looking at is 2mb broadband which should be a little faster than our current ISP which tests at 1.8 meg.

If you are switching to cable they will provide a modem which plugs into the cable they install and will then connect via ethernet to your exisitng router, therefroe it should be fine.

Do yourself a favour and dont bother.

My Virgin/NTHell cable 'should' be 4mb but very rarely is. And customer support hasn't improved any since Branston took over.

damn richard and his pickle eating evil!!!

Indeed.

Our cable broadband came through a set top box, when it worked that is. Virgin were absolute sh*te!:thumbdwn: The deal we got wasn't a bad price but we spent most of the time turning the box off for 5 mins and computer off. When you ring customer services you get a call center in India. Steer clear if I were you we now have bt, it's very good.

You will need a replacement router. The ADSL one you currently use will not work, even if you plug the modem into one of your ethernet ports.

We have been with NTL (Virgin) for many years now and are currently connected to the 4mb service. We have no problems with speed in our area and I can still get 4mb at peak time. My website is currently being serviced from a home server, link is in the sig below and has not had any issues with performance for normal browsing from other locations.

The service seems to vary depending on if you are in a former Telewest or NTL area.

I've been with telewest for years and it's been a very good service

I've had Virgin since it was Yorkshire Cable. It's very good IMO. we got the 4MB service last year and through a bit of moaning down the phone about Sky's latest offer, we get it cheaper than normal. I can't remember the last time the service was down and the telly's alright as well.

The thing with Virgin is that they are taking all the glory for all the hard work put in by the original small companies such as Yorkshire Cable when the service was initially set up all those years ago. It's definitely worth finding out if your area was previously serviced by an old school cable company as the service will be top notch if it was.

in oxford we had comtel which was ****e, it then became ntl which was ****e so i don't hold out a lot of hope for virgin media in this area.

OK maybe I'm talking ****e! What you need to do is move to Yorkshire then.

quite possibly, everything in oxford seems to be more expensive and/or ****e :(

That Inspector Morse seems to have a pretty good clear up rate on Moiders though.

Not anymore, hes dead.

RIP John Thaw :(

Our house already has an NTL phone socket from the previous owners.

That wont be used for the Broadband though.

But would imply that its a former NTL area and hence, point to bad service.

I have broadband from Virgin via the BT line, didn't fancy the cable route.

I have 8 MB and mine runs at 7.2 MB when you check it on the router and do tests, must be right near the exchange though.

Can't say I've had any bad experiences since the pickle man took over.

Yup, new router required.

Seems people have a right pig of a job with the cable BB?

Is it bad for everyone?

we've got cable with Virgin, was Telewest, and have no problems. Occassionally the modem needs turned off then on, but that's happened about 3 times in the past 15 months or so.

I'm on ntl / virgin and have only had 3 interruptions of service in over 5 years, so it's pretty reliable. My speeds have never been a problem - on 10mb now and always get it.

The only issue that I have experienced is dodgy proxy browsers and dns servers every now and then - i.e. you're connected OK, but some sites take a while to load up because the ntl servers can't "find" the remote website quickly.

Funnily enough, the third loss of service was yesterday. Checked with my neighbours and they lost their TV, so the problem was obviously the line and not my setup. Phoned them up, you now have a 0871 number at 10ppm, no longer the 0845 number it used to be. Had to wait 10 minutes, only to end up speaking to a girl in India who was just so plain obviously going through her script. First thing I say is "I've already rebooted my modem, with no luck so went to see the neighbours and they have losss of service, so I can tell you now the problem is not my setup". "Thank you, Sir, now can you please reboot your computer and modem for 30 seconds to see if it fixes the problem"

So, in my experience, it's stonking when it works, which is 99% of the time. Technical CS though is a bit of a joke :(

We've been on Telewest/Virgin for years. Service is very good, but it does seem expensive.

I'm confused about the router. I've got a cable modem & just bought a standard router (Linksys BEFSR41) & it works just fine. Or did I buy a cable router through dumb luck?

You dont need a specific 'cable' router, just a normal standard one.

Some ADSL modems come with a router built in, so I'm not sure if that would work with Virgin..

I too have been an NTL/Virgin customer for 6+ years on the top broadband package with them and its been rock solid. I would not consider changing to ADSL as I work from home and need reliability, which NTL has given me.

Not too keen on the recent addition of limits between 4pm + Midnight, but at least it works

Virgin Media/ NTL / Telewest/ Yorks Cable/ Bel Cable Media / Diamond Cable or whatever they where are or ever will be called in my exp are good.

However i have to admit i have worked for them for the last 6 years. Virgin Media cable will require a router that has an ethernet (rj45) connection as an input and then either ehternet and / or wireless out. Netgear, Linksys, Belkin etc all make a tool to do the job no problems. However if you just have a single PC as said prev u can just plug the VM Cable modem directly into your ethernet connection on your PC.

With regards to the speed issues / availability of service it does depend on area and time of day, wind speed, pixies and a whole host of other nasties but all in all (and its not coz i work for them) they are pretty good.

Yes the support is lacking at times however it is rare that it goes wrong and if it has most of the time there is not a lot that the person on the end of the resedential help line can do for you, especially if your whole street is down. (BTW i dont work for resedential - thankfully - wouldnt get on with India).

Price wise they are fantastic in my oppinion, TV Phone and BB for