Virgin available on street, but not freehold Flat

[JessieWFW]

I'm about to move into a freehold flat and want to try and get our internet connections sorted. Currently, Virgin broadband is unavailable in the building itself, but both addresses on either side have access to 600mbps with Virgin (as well as other houses/buildings on the same street) so it seems the entire road is hooked up somehow. By contrast, our flat is limited to a 50mbps connection via competitor services like BT or Sky, which is insufficient for our needs long term.

The building management company has instructed me that they wouldn't block anything from being upgraded in this regard, but actually finding a way to get the Virgin connection hooked into the building feels impossible.

I've asked before how we can arrange this to be installed into our building too as it faces directly into the road like every other building on the street, but messages go unanswered or i'm met with "we will let you know when this is available in your area"...which it already appears to be. I've also tried calling Virgin directly and i'm met with a similar response.

How else can I request that the building itself is connected to the existing cables on the street?

Many thanks

[Christy_D]

Hi there,

Is it a purpose built block of flats? Or is it a converted house?

If it’s purpose built then it’s very unlikely we would service it due to wayleave issues.

Thanks,

Christy 

[JessieWFW]

Hi Christy,

The building is purpose-built, but the building management company has expressed that the landowner/board of directors wouldn't block any upgrades to the building regarding broadband upgrades or installation.

Would that suffice, or is there something else that would need to be done regarding wayleave issues? 

Many thanks,

Jess

[Roger_Gooner]

Christy, I'm surprised at your post as VM is keen to cable MDUs having contacted hundreds of landlords in the past several years to get wayleaves from them. To be a bit more exact VM typically seeks a ‘bulk wayleave agreement’ that covers multiple properties owned by the same landlord.

[JessieWFW]

Hi Christy,

Sorry to bump this but I really don't want my inquiries to be ignored again. Is there anyone who I could speak to at Virgin about this, or a specific route to get it installed into the building as I can get permission from the landlord/building management company?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

Jess

[Christy_D]

Hi all,

If this whole block is owned by one landlord or one lettings company then they would need to contact us. 

However if we were to install an MDU into the block of flats then this isn’t a quick procedure. It can take well over a year to plan and then install. So it wouldn’t happen anytime soon. 

For example if all the flats are owned by one landlord bar one which is owned by someone who has purchased a flat, then the landlord would need to get wayleave from that one person as the cables and infrastructure would be inside and externally on the building. 

Purpose built blocks of flats are notoriously difficult to service due to these reasons (wayleave mainly) and this is most likely the reason that they haven’t already been cabled.

Hope this makes sense.

Many thanks,

Christy