Why Are VM So Obsessed...

[Ignition]

 ... with forcing me to have an engineer before you'll upgrade me to 100Mb?

You're doubling my speeds anyway in March / April.

So far your customer service have been great. Truly outstanding.

India informed me that 100Mb uses a completely different wire from 50Mb, so I'll need to be rewired. I asked how you were planning on doing the speed doubling and was informed everyone would be rewired.

Hit your UK office and was informed that 100Mb uses a different frequency from 50Mb, and engineer is needed to check power levels. I queried it and was informed by the CS guy that he would check, which he did with his technical team, who informed him that it was on a different frequency.

Finally as I had a few minutes hit a lady in Scotland, and was informed that engineer visit would be needed. When I queried this I was informed that it was to check levels and if cable needed renewing. Apparently when you guys are doing the speed doubling you're sending engineers to each and every 50Mb and 30Mb customer to upgrade them, but can apparently send a Superhub to 20Mb and they can install themselves, despite the switch from DOCSIS 2 to DOCSIS 3.

Quality training there. One instance of misinformation is fine, 3 separate people giving incorrect information says you aren't training people properly.

Why are VM so obsessed with wasting an engineer's time sending him here to make a call and get the hit arranged? You have enough issues with engineer availability anyway.

I don't trust engineer visits from you guys in any event having had a 50% success rate for them actually turning up at all.

Ridiculous. My power levels are perfect, I should know I adjusted them myself after the most recent engineer no-show. I don't need an engineer, I don't want an engineer, and you guys clearly don't want my custom. Customer service is less of a service and more of an exercise in BS right now.

Upstream Channels
Lock Status	Modulation	Channel ID	Max Raw Bit Rate	Frequency	Power
Locked	ATDMA	9	20480 Kbits/sec	35800000 Hz	45.3 dBmV

Downstream Channels
Lock Status	Modulation	Channel ID	Max Raw Bit Rate	Frequency	Power	SNR	Docsis/EuroDocsis locked
Locked	QAM256	53	55616000 Kbits/sec	291000000 Hz	4.3 dBmV	41.2 dB	Hybrid
Locked	QAM256	54	55616000 Kbits/sec	299000000 Hz	4.2 dBmV	41.2 dB	Hybrid
Locked	QAM256	55	55616000 Kbits/sec	307000000 Hz	3.3 dBmV	40.8 dB	Hybrid
Locked	QAM256	56	55616000 Kbits/sec	315000000 Hz	2.9 dBmV	40.8 dB	Hybrid

[legacy1]

If VM didn’t use high quality shielded cable from the start then even if your SNR looks fine now if by putting the Downstream Frequency’s up for 100Mb they may not look fine since higher Frequency’s disrupt more easily.

[Ignition]

Except of course that 100Mb uses the exact same service group as 50Mb. While higher frequencies attenuate more quickly with that noise on the network, the major cause of which on the downstream is from the amplifiers, also attenuates more quickly. It's not a direct linear relationship between them and poor shielding will affect signals across the board not just higher ones, though this doesn't happen, far more likely issues are caused by badly terminated ports, damaged taps, failing amps.

In addition the attenuation is balanced by sloping, the amplifiers amplify higher frequencies at a higher level than lower ones to compensate to an extent for the increased attenuation.

Even if 100Mb were using different channels VM are going downwards in frequency as they add new channels, not up - here's a readout from a modem in a test area for 8 downstreams, notice also that the SNRs don't change much, neither do the power levels. That's the sloping. 

EDIT: Anyway have contacted VM's Product Director: Broadband - he agrees that an engineer visit should not be required for any move from one DOCSIS 3 tier to another and is making enquiries.

[legacy1]

Maybe your right and VM can just go push your new speed through and the only reason they send someone round is so you don't make a complaint that it don't work being a top package and all.

[steve1978]

In terms of people you speak to on the phone mate, these people are not the most technical and probably dont have a very good understanding of the entire product range, this IS acceptable and understandable. there is alot of information. technical stuff for the technicians, customer service stuff for customer relations. The same reasons that the technicians dont take customer service calls i expect.

[Ignition]

Not really. All three claimed to have checked with the technical team and all three came out with complete made up nonsense. This is neither acceptable nor understandable.

Misinformation happens, blatantly making things up and trying to blag me shouldn't. If they don't know they should admit it, and if they did in fact speak to their technical team the technical team fail as they don't know the basics of the products they're supporting.

This points to serious training issues on the part of VM to be honest.

[Ignition]

---

legacy1 wrote:

Maybe your right and VM can just go push your new speed through and the only reason they send someone round is so you don't make a complaint that it don't work being a top package and all.

---

VM were able, when people were upgrading from DOCSIS 2 20Mb to DOCSIS 3 30Mb, to remotely poll modems and only send an engineer out if the power levels or performance was marginal. There is nothing stopping them from doing this for 30Mb -> 50Mb and 50Mb -> 100Mb.

Not to mention that if signal levels are acceptable for 30Mb they are almost certainly acceptable for 100Mb, the tolerance range between the two is miniscule.

Complete waste of VM's money and technician resource and customers having to rearrange their time around a completely unnecessary install.

[jhuk]

I think they do it as its totally temperamental and needs to be bang on (look at all the unhappy peep in this section).

I did the unmanned 30meg install upgrading from 20meg and also talked my way into getting 50meg then 100meg both unmanned.

I was not taking a half day of work for no real reason and after all VM were the ones to move the goalposts to unmanned installs not me as I was fine with talking time off before to get things fixed or upgraded.

[Ignition]

It's no more temperamental than 50Mb, the only difference is the numbers on the service flow parameters, that's it.

Most complaints relate to congestion and network issues, nothing a service tech can do about that.

[jhuk]

I never said it was, fact is they do it to cover there backsides as its all twitchy at best.

The system should be bulletproof enough it does not need manned upgrades and I highly doubt they will do so for the double upgrades.