if I switch from consumer to business broadband...

[cybmole]

i understand that I get a different router, and that I lose the TIVO. both those things are OK

 The busines offer says that for 42 per month I can have a 350 speed broadband and a phoneline with unlimited calls

 it is not clear whether I can keep my existing  virgin landline number though and how I should go about arranging that.

 it is also unclear if unlimited calls included unlimited calls to UK mobiles ? which is what we have now on our VM phone

 if both those thinks can be sorted I would rather pay 42 than my existing 64, and lose the Tivo which we hardly use.

 i appreciate also the my various old blueyonder etc email addresses will probably die but how long do I get to migrate those ?. or should I work on that first, then do the swap later.

 i have most emails shifted to gmail but a few stragglers sill com in on blue yonder / virgin media addresses

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who has done a similar switch, has to how smooth it is.

for the £50 install fee, I assume someone comes and actually swaps out and tests the new router, put is in same upstairs location as the current hub 3, and does not leave until it is working

[cybmole]

hmm, yes but they are likely so send inspectors round to see if you still have any tv sets...

i think we will keep paying that, and honestly answer the nag in iplayer,,,

 BBC are slowly evolving the rules, the aim is to get to where you need a licence to stream iplayer. As at now its a simply honestly check question, but i can see it getting to a point where you have to use a licence ID to buy a streaming pass to login with.. they now force a sign in via our web site for smart TVs, Fire TV etc, so you cant activate the BBC app unless you have created an account at BBC.com. That does have a benefit, you can have a watchlist which is the same on all devices. BBC iplayer Kids does not do that though- that android app is free to all and unchecked.

tested catchup in the sky go extra app on tablet yesterday. that works will. willtest on buig screen lounge tv via xbox one today.

 wife watches some TV still and we have a tv in the apartment we let on airbnb

 my next task is to check that I am definitely out of an 18 month contract, or about to be... i will search for any note and see if there are any clues on the main web site i vaguely recall making the last change round about the october before last...

 my confidence in ditching the landline is growing. My (adult) kids have all done it, and I can see a full calls history on our bt8500 handsets so I can see how little we are using it

[cybmole]

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@jpeg1 wrote:

Is the Business phone via voip? 

 someone here said yes. but when I asked the VM busines sales rep he said you have to be taking 5 or more phones lines to get VOIP.

 anyway, my latest plan is to just ditch the landline, so I have not gone into any great detail.

and I shall resume playing with the hands free hey google, call xxxx  feature as we have a couple of Google homes which in theory will call anyone in our contacts { we are both known to the GH by voice so it uses our respective google contacts lists, and visitors/strangers cannot access those } .

GH can allegedly call any business  without you having to look up the number so ok call google call tesco is supposed to work. i said before that it was a bit laggy the last tiem i tested it but I think its the future of phone calls: hey gadget, get auntie flo on the line, is so much slicker than having to store and enter an number. that will naturally evolve into being a video call via google DUO if they can get critical mass. One of our Google homes is actually a JBL Link view with a screen ( and superb music quality which is why I bought it ). so its video-call ready. Google Duo is being pushed hard in latest android version,. it's on the home screen of new phones.

Back to the topic -  I see on the Hiltron router spec that there are 2 or 4 line conencts( depens which model hub ou take) as well as the 4 ethernet ports. which suggests you can connect a phone or two direct to the hub ? but I have no idea if that feature is actually enabled. there are folks here with those routers - maybe one will add an answer

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[cybmole]

i was able to find contract info on my virgin media

 i see..

Contract start date:
8th August 2017
Contract number:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Contract signed on:
15th August 2017

so if that was for 18 months, it should have ended feb 2019 and I am out of contract

 meanwhile - changing email on  my virgin media is a mess

 there is an option to change contact email so I do that and the web site says 

1. look for an email from Virgin Media
2. Open the email and click on the 'Confirm my contact email address' link... until you do that we will use the old email
3.  BUT I get the email saysing you have successfully changed... and there is NO LINK in it for me to click
4.  it says 

   All done! Your contact email address on My Virgin Media has been changed to xxxxxxx

   Thanks for keeping your details up to date. We'll use this email address from now on to send you information about your account and services. If you've signed up for eBilling, we'll also use this email address to let you know when your bill's ready to view online.

so have I changed it, really or not. email says yes, web site says NO

 Update; 5 mins AFTER  posting the above I get another email saying please confirm the change... so its done, just poorly implemented, they shoudl ask for verify THEN say success, not the other way around!

I still see no way to remove xxx@blueyonder as the login email for my virgin media but that's just a nice to have, as I am looking for all instances of where that is still in use

[jpeg1]

If you can transfer the phone number it might be worth keeping it just for the first contract period as an assurance that every contact has been informed of pending closure.

Changing to business would be an opportunity to move to VOIP since the copper landline will be ditched anyway in a few years.

[cybmole]

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@jpeg1 wrote:

If you can transfer the phone number it might be worth keeping it just for the first contract period as an assurance that every contact has been informed of pending closure.

..

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that's the option my wife wants to take, as there are elderly relatives still with BT who prefer to call her on a landline.  Keeping it for a year on the business offer would be 12 x 10 = £120. not too bad.

 also she uses the landline constantly to ring her own mobile because she's "lost"  it somewhere in the house !

 I would prefer the clean break though. Also we have 4 x BT wireless handsets in different rooms .  I figure I can sell off a couple of those on Ebay, even if we keep the line

  FYI I just googled BTs calling costs - on behalf of those relatives. 18p per minute to call a mobile from a BT landline + a 23p set up charge. What a rip off !. 

It seems that  BT don't have a calling plan like Virgins top tier plan which gives free calls of up to an hour to any UK mobile.

[jpeg1]

You could port your VM phone number to a separate VOIP service.

Your folks wouldn't notice the difference and AFAIK the calls shouldn't cost them more.

https://www.voipfone.co.uk/PB_Porting_Numbers.php

[cybmole]

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8jpeg1 wrote:

You could port your VM phone number to a separate VOIP service.

Your folks wouldn't notice the difference and AFAIK the calls shouldn't cost them more.

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But at what cost, and where would i find

more info.

If it takes call guardian out of the loop we are back to having " Microsoft. "Bt, "Canadian pharmacy etc calling at all hours  to fix my viruses, boost my libido.... No thanks

[cybmole]

trying a final conversation, given todays announcements

retentions, after ages on hold, say they cant improve the deal but maybe cancellations can.... so i am in another long queue to ask them..

also, i get the same recorded message on 150 as i did friday. we will be turning off services for a short while in the - insert my postcode-- area.

 has someone forgotten to delete that ?

ps the business deal is 24 months contract . so if we port the landline to them we have to keep it for 2 years.

... sill on hold for cancellations...

[chenks]

what announcements would that be ?

[cybmole]

this one.

 anyway, after another conversation with a 3rd guy in retentions, we can get our price down a little by dropping the free calls out on landline except aw weejends, with a view to losing the landline completely next year. and keep the tivo for another year as my wife want to do that, once they lower the V6 initlal cost, we may switch... now I have to go grovel to the business sales guy

ISP Virgin Media UK Launch New 500Mbps Broadband and TV Plan

Monday, April 29th, 2019 (6:00 am) 

As expected cable operator Virgin Media UK (Liberty Global) has today unveiled their new 500Mbps download capable (35Mbps upload) ultrafast broadband package (VIVID 500), which is being introduced as part of a soft launch alongside a new triple-play V.VIPTV Bundle (average speed of 516Mbps).

The new tier is still based off Virgin’s existing EuroDOCSIS 3.0 network standard and Hub 3.0 router, not the new Gigabit capable DOCSIS 3.1 upgrade. The latter requires a new broadband router (Hub 4.0 / Gigabit Connect Box) and the operator recently revealed that they intend to launch a 3.1 based service sometime during 2019 via two initial UK cities (here), although those details are currently being kept under wraps.