Lesser of two evils... Virgin vs BT
Discussion
I am moving into a new build in a month or twos time and it is served with FTTH with both BT and Virgin (apparently a rarity to have both?). I am looking at a business line as I work at home, would appreciate the 12/24 hour SLA for fixes and I might have prioritised traffic on the network (no idea if true?)
Virgin's top package is: 500/35
BT's top package is: 300/45
Out of the two, the higher upload of BT interests me more.
Has anyone got positive/negative experience of FTTH from either of these ISPs? My natural instinct had been to avoid BT like the plague, but talking to friends it sounds like Virgin is no better. Anyone have experience with their "business line" offerings both in terms of connectivity and customer service?
Virgin's top package is: 500/35
BT's top package is: 300/45
Out of the two, the higher upload of BT interests me more.
Has anyone got positive/negative experience of FTTH from either of these ISPs? My natural instinct had been to avoid BT like the plague, but talking to friends it sounds like Virgin is no better. Anyone have experience with their "business line" offerings both in terms of connectivity and customer service?
Try other providers like zen and uno you dont need a business line for working from home and to be honest you pay alot for an actual worthwhile sla. if it goes down and its very very unlikely just tether via mobile or get a router with 4g backup
Edited by Trustmeimadoctor on Saturday 25th January 09:20
Are you sure Virgin is FTTP, not just coax?
I have both Virgin coax and Openreach copper FTTC and switch back and forth and swap ISP every contract to keep costs down. I've never had an unreliable service, had Virgin, BT, NowBB(Sky) and the Post office. All have been 100%. I work a lot from home, I just use the standard package, which is fine for everything I do. Currently on Virgin 100/10 which is fine.
I have both Virgin coax and Openreach copper FTTC and switch back and forth and swap ISP every contract to keep costs down. I've never had an unreliable service, had Virgin, BT, NowBB(Sky) and the Post office. All have been 100%. I work a lot from home, I just use the standard package, which is fine for everything I do. Currently on Virgin 100/10 which is fine.
Not a business line, but cheap offer: https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/virgin-media-broa...
Worth testing the water with that and tethering if you get an issue on the rare occasions you might.
Worth testing the water with that and tethering if you get an issue on the rare occasions you might.
Like mobile networks, your service will depend on the area. Virgin suffers problems when they oversell services, they may not throttle speeds as much as they used to, but their latency times can be poor during peak hours, which is not so great for gaming (and to a lesser extent, scrubbing through streamed video). I've never had a problem with BT (or the companies that use the same cabling) but then I've not got FTTH and I know some people have endless issues with them.
On a new build, it's going to be a bit of a shot in the dark. You'd hope with fresh infrastructure you wouldn't have any problems with either. There shouldn't be any risks of overselling until after your initial contract expires at least.
For what it's worth, the extra upload speed with BT would sway me.
On a new build, it's going to be a bit of a shot in the dark. You'd hope with fresh infrastructure you wouldn't have any problems with either. There shouldn't be any risks of overselling until after your initial contract expires at least.
For what it's worth, the extra upload speed with BT would sway me.
Edited by Brainpox on Saturday 25th January 13:24
The_Jackal said:
All I'll say is that you won't know how good either were installed till you sign a contract.
Providing they were installed properly, with Virgin you tend to get the max you paid for.
This. When I've had problems with them, I've had problems (maybe 3 times in 14 years?). But do work to try to resolve them mostly it just works though, and I never need to speak to them.Providing they were installed properly, with Virgin you tend to get the max you paid for.
Which is fine.
And you do get what you pay for.
I've only got a 76mb BT connection but it's been faultless other than 20 minutes once. I've had it since May time last year I guess.
I had Vodafone before and had to cancel mid contract because the connection was so poor (despite sharing most of the infrastructure with BT).
Admittedly it's been a long time since I had Virgin, about 8 years I guess and not at this house but that was awful. So unreliable and good grief the router was unbelievably poor. Having said that, a lot can happen in 8 years.
I had Vodafone before and had to cancel mid contract because the connection was so poor (despite sharing most of the infrastructure with BT).
Admittedly it's been a long time since I had Virgin, about 8 years I guess and not at this house but that was awful. So unreliable and good grief the router was unbelievably poor. Having said that, a lot can happen in 8 years.
Trustmeimadoctor said:
Try other providers like zen
This would be my suggestion too. They use BT lines, the hardware they give you is surprisingly decent, and their customer service is second to none. Zen have been so good a supplier to my employer that myself and most of my colleagues now use them for home broadband too.
12 month rolling contracts and if you want, cancelling is easy. I tried to cancel a Virgin contract a few years back and they literally wouldn't accept any communications other than a letter.
alex98uk said:
Thanks for the input. I had not realised Zen offered me a good connection. Seems they can do a competitively priced 350/50. I know some people with them and they've all been complimentary of the service.
Gives me a bit to think about, but the Zen package is very attractive.
was years ago that we used zen but if there was an issue they were on it, even when it was openreach side. I remember a tech guy talking me through the router settings even though it was an unsuported brand so he didn't have all the info, menu structure etc until we got it working.Gives me a bit to think about, but the Zen package is very attractive.
Probably in less time than it takes to get to speak to an English fluent person from one of the other two shambles.
We had a BT line (ASDL and then FTTC) for over a decade at three addresses and never had a single issue, we did used to have a new BT home hub every few years but I could live with that and they always sent a replacement foc on a 24hr delivery and always got our guaranteed speed wherever we were.
We have been forced into Vodafone for FTTH now that it is available and so far we have had two issues both related to their router and the fact we have IoT devices and Apple Watches but the support has been first class and the speed is as advertised.
No experience for Virgin as although MK was built on a cable infrastructure its the wrong one and Virgin have never been interested in offering their services around here.
We have been forced into Vodafone for FTTH now that it is available and so far we have had two issues both related to their router and the fact we have IoT devices and Apple Watches but the support has been first class and the speed is as advertised.
No experience for Virgin as although MK was built on a cable infrastructure its the wrong one and Virgin have never been interested in offering their services around here.
alex98uk said:
Thanks for the input. I had not realised Zen offered me a good connection. Seems they can do a competitively priced 350/50. I know some people with them and they've all been complimentary of the service.
Gives me a bit to think about, but the Zen package is very attractive.
Been with Zen (FFTH/P) for a few years now, never had an issue, they do answer the phone promptly unlike others who like you to wait in an orderly queue.Gives me a bit to think about, but the Zen package is very attractive.
Probably irrelevant to OP (sorry OP) considering the phone line.
One thing to consider is that Virgin seem (in some cases) to be adopting a phone line connecting via the router itself (effectively a type of VOIP)
That's fine when it works but a friend of ours in Manchester recently had an issue with his standard installation. By standard I mean he has a Virgin Media Broadband cable internet connection, a Virgin Media TV connection and a Virgin Media Phone line connection with the phone plugging into a socket on the wall.
There was recently an issue regarding the TV connection and an engineer came out. For whatever reason the engineer disconnected his phone line from the socket on the wall and plugged it into an adapter he connected into the virgin router. Didn't explain the reason apart from this is how they do them now
Unfortunately since then my mates phone connection cuts off after around 15 minutes of a call and Virgin tell him to reboot the router. Before the change his phone worked just fine.
One thing to consider is that Virgin seem (in some cases) to be adopting a phone line connecting via the router itself (effectively a type of VOIP)
That's fine when it works but a friend of ours in Manchester recently had an issue with his standard installation. By standard I mean he has a Virgin Media Broadband cable internet connection, a Virgin Media TV connection and a Virgin Media Phone line connection with the phone plugging into a socket on the wall.
There was recently an issue regarding the TV connection and an engineer came out. For whatever reason the engineer disconnected his phone line from the socket on the wall and plugged it into an adapter he connected into the virgin router. Didn't explain the reason apart from this is how they do them now
Unfortunately since then my mates phone connection cuts off after around 15 minutes of a call and Virgin tell him to reboot the router. Before the change his phone worked just fine.
techiedave said:
Probably irrelevant to OP (sorry OP) considering the phone line.
One thing to consider is that Virgin seem (in some cases) to be adopting a phone line connecting via the router itself (effectively a type of VOIP)
That's fine when it works but a friend of ours in Manchester recently had an issue with his standard installation. By standard I mean he has a Virgin Media Broadband cable internet connection, a Virgin Media TV connection and a Virgin Media Phone line connection with the phone plugging into a socket on the wall.
There was recently an issue regarding the TV connection and an engineer came out. For whatever reason the engineer disconnected his phone line from the socket on the wall and plugged it into an adapter he connected into the virgin router. Didn't explain the reason apart from this is how they do them now
Unfortunately since then my mates phone connection cuts off after around 15 minutes of a call and Virgin tell him to reboot the router. Before the change his phone worked just fine.
Cheers, I probably won't use a phoneline to be honest. Never have had a landline before, don't see any real reason to start when we have mobiles with included minutes.One thing to consider is that Virgin seem (in some cases) to be adopting a phone line connecting via the router itself (effectively a type of VOIP)
That's fine when it works but a friend of ours in Manchester recently had an issue with his standard installation. By standard I mean he has a Virgin Media Broadband cable internet connection, a Virgin Media TV connection and a Virgin Media Phone line connection with the phone plugging into a socket on the wall.
There was recently an issue regarding the TV connection and an engineer came out. For whatever reason the engineer disconnected his phone line from the socket on the wall and plugged it into an adapter he connected into the virgin router. Didn't explain the reason apart from this is how they do them now
Unfortunately since then my mates phone connection cuts off after around 15 minutes of a call and Virgin tell him to reboot the router. Before the change his phone worked just fine.
But good to consider anyway, hadn't thought about that.
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