Virgin Media Community

[Sydh]

Considering joining Virgin Media broadband but have questions. I am currently with Plusnet.

1. Will I be able to continue using my Netgear Orbi routers?

2. Can I continue to use my Netflix account or must I change it to Virgin Stream?

3. Virgin state I should be able to keep my landline phone number but they then state they will contact me if this is not possible. When would I know if it is not possible and would it then be too late to cancel the application?

4. Can I still use my phones or will I have to scrap them and buy new phones? I have standard Panasonic cordless phones with an answer phone base station.

5. Is there anything else I should consider in changing from ADSL to fibre?

Thanks for any advice you can give.

[Client62]

We travelled the Plusnet to Virgin route in winter of 2017 / 2018 and this is what we did ...

1. Will I be able to continue using my Netgear Orbi routers?    ( I don't have this product but I don't see why not )

2. Can I continue to use my Netflix account or must I change it to Virgin Stream?  ( Yes, we have a stand-alone Netflix HD a/c & no VM TV services )

3. Virgin state I should be able to keep my landline phone number but they then state they will contact me if this is not possible. When would I know if it is not possible and would it then be too late to cancel the application?  ( We left our landline & Plusnet ISP services in parallel for 2 months until the VM service was running and then ported the BT number to Sipgate a VOIP provider.  We connected existing phones + house alarm to a Cisco SPA 112 Analogue Telephone Adaptor that is connected the the VM Hub.  On porting a BT number to a VOIP providers or to VM the BT a/c is promptly terminated for phone and any broadband services )

4. Can I still use my phones or will I have to scrap them and buy new phones? I have standard Panasonic cordless phones with an answer phone base station.  ( Most BT style analogue telephones can be used with Virgin's phone service as provided from the Hub's RJ11 analogue phone sockets.  A small RJ11 plug to BT socket adapter is used.  The exact same adaptors are used with the Cisco ATA  )

5. Is there anything else I should consider in changing from ADSL to fibre? 

( Virgin Media installation delays often occur, so if possible avoid cancelling the existing ISP arrangements until Virgin Media goes live. A couple of months of Plusnet and Virgin is easier to live with than no internet. Regarding existing phones keep a firm grip on the RJ11 to BT plug cables that are with the existing phones - not all phones use the US RJ11 standard - some will only work with the factory supplied cables. 

If you wish to take the existing phone number to Virgin the option to hold the line & Plusnet in parallel goes away, so consider if there was a bit of delay from the cut over could you perhaps get by using you mobile phones as hotspots ?

Be aware that M125 (132/20 Mb/s) is lots faster than a 40/10 FTTC service.  With VM it is super easy to over buy bandwidth. 

You can see Virgin Media connection boxes on the out side of homes - I'm sure the folks would not mind if you asked them how is the VM service.
)

Thanks for any advice you can give.   ( Fire away if you think of anything else. The only daft questions are the ones you wished you had asked )

[Roger_Gooner]

VM provides you with a hub which you put into modem mode and connect it to your Orbi's WAN port.

You must tell VM that you want the number to be ported. On no account should you cancel Plusnet as a working landline number must be avaible for a successful port. In the unlikely event that a number port is impossible you'll get a VM number, in which case you'll need to contact Plusnet to cancel your contract.

You can cancel up to 14 days after the VM installation without penalty.

[Sydh]

Thank you for that in depth reply. The connection between existing equipment to VM sounds complex. Will an engineer do this when the cable is installed or will I have to work it out myself?

With the new VM hub, is this like a router with wifi or is it just the equivalent of the existing ADSL box? I would like to keep my existing mesh wifi network.

[Roger_Gooner]

The tech will install the VM kit and get your broadband working with the hub in router mode. You then log into the hub, switch it to modem mode (so it behaves like a modem with no WiFi) and connect it to your Orbi which will provide broadband and Wifi as usual.

[Sydh]

Thanks guys. That pretty much answers all my questions. I have to say I'm not totally comfortable with Virgin being the sole supplier on that fibre cable. I'm trying to decide if I should stick with Plusnet and wait for BT to install full fibre to our address which will presumably happen before 2025 as that us when the copper network will be switched off. I would then have more choice of ISPs because the new fibre cables will be accessible to all companies. 

I'm suffering from indecision and possibly over thinking but thanks for clearing up the tech issues.

[Roger_Gooner · Accepted solution]

You are mistaken in thinking that the withdrawal of PSTN by the end of 2025 means that copper wires will get replaced by fibre. What will happen is that DSL broadband will continue to be deliver over copper and you will instead get your analogue phone working by plugging it into BT's Smart Hub 2 (or whatever version the ISP provides). Some people will wait a long time, in some cases perhaps even decades, before they can get Openreach's fibre.